The Evolution of In Situ Urbanization and the Status of Quasi-Urban Populations and their Planning and Environmental Implications in China: Case Studies from Fujian Province

Yu Zhu, Fujian Normal University and Australian National University

The emergence and development of in situ urbanization has been one of the major characteristics of China's recent urbanization process. Based on case studies from Fujian Province using GIS technology and census and statistical data, this paper examines the evolution of in situ urbanization and its planning and environmental implications. The results show that as a result of in situ urbanization, quasi-urban areas and populations are so well developed that they have become major components of rural-urban transition process, posing great challenges to conventional rural-urban dichotomous approach in urban and regional planning. Analysis on the temporal trend of these quasi-urban areas and populations shows that they are still in the process of spatial expansion, and their examination in an international context suggests that they are part of the recent changes in human settlement system, calling for a new theoretical and planning framework to deal with this new form of urbanization.