Cities of different grades, as the growth poles of regional economies of different scales, play an agglomeration, radiation and driving role in regional economic development. Therefore, the level of urbanization is one of the important indicators to measure the degree of economic and social development in a region.
1. The overall level of urbanization is not high and the regional distribution is unbalanced.
Huang-Huai-Hai region is one of the regions in northern China with a long history of economic and cultural development and good infrastructure conditions such as industry, agriculture, transportation and towns. However, due to the large population base in the region, the regional differences in economic and social development are very obvious, the overall level of urbanization is not high, and the regional distribution is unbalanced. According to statistics, from 65438 to 0995, the urbanization level of the whole region was 23.2% in terms of non-agricultural population, slightly lower than the national average (24.37%). According to the statistics of urban population, the actual urbanization level in this area has reached 29.2%, slightly higher than the national average (29.04%). However, compared with the economically developed Yangtze River Delta and southeast coastal areas, the level of urbanization is 5 ~ 10 percentage points lower.
Corresponding to the level of regional economic development, the level of urbanization in this region varies from region to region. For example, the urbanization level of Beijing and Tianjin has reached 60% ~ 70%, while that of Shandong Province is about 30%, while that of Hebei Province and Henan Province is only 22.4% and 2 1.2% respectively. In different parts of the same province, the differences are also obvious. For example, the urbanization level of Shandong Peninsula in Shandong Province is 8 ~ 10 percentage points higher than that of northwest and southwest Shandong.
2. In the urban system, megacities are the majority, and small towns are underdeveloped.
1 8 megacities and megacities with non-agricultural population over110,000 in 1995, with a total population of193.42 million, accounting for 25% and 21%of the country respectively; There are 3 large cities with a non-agricultural population of 500- 1 10,000, with a total population of 8.835 million, accounting for 30.2% and 20.5% of the country respectively; There are 39 medium-sized cities with a non-agricultural population of 200,000-500,000, with a total population of11997,000, accounting for 20.3% and 7.9% of the country respectively. However, there are only 58 small cities with a non-agricultural population of 500,000-200,000, with a total population of 6910.7 million, accounting for only 15.5% and 3.2% of the national total respectively (see table110.6). In 1990, there were two 144 towns in the whole region, accounting for only 18% of the total number of towns in China.
Small towns are underdeveloped, not only in small numbers, but also in low density, far lower than the Yangtze River Delta and the southeast coastal areas. This shows that the development level of local economy, especially rural economy, in this area is still low, the development of county and township enterprises is slow and small, and a large number of rural surplus labor forces have not transferred from traditional agricultural industries to non-agricultural industries.
3. Urban functions are mainly comprehensive cities, and the number of specialized cities is small.
According to the present situation and industrial structure characteristics of cities in Huang-Huai-Hai region, the types of cities in the whole region can be divided into two categories: comprehensive cities and professional cities.
(1) comprehensive city. Such cities are mainly administrative centers at all levels, which are formed by the growth of various economic factors driven by administrative functions. According to its management authority and subordinate relationship, it can be divided into: ① Central municipality-the national political, economic and cultural center. Among them, Beijing is the core of China's administrative center city and the political, cultural and management center of the national urban system; Tianjin is an important industrial and commercial economic center and port city in northern China. (2) The provincial capital and the first city in the province are the political, economic and cultural centers at the provincial or district level, including Jinan, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou and Qingdao. (3) The inland first-class central cities in the province are comprehensive regional political, economic and cultural centers, such as Handan, Xingtai, Baoding, Tangshan, Cangzhou, Langfang and Hengshui in Hebei Province, Zibo, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai, Jining, Taian, Dezhou, Linyi, Binzhou, Heze and Liaocheng in Shandong Province, and Kaifeng, Luoyang, Xinxiang and Anyang in Henan Province. (4) Political, economic and cultural centers of county-level cities and counties. There are 68 districts with non-agricultural population over 50,000.
(2) Professional cities. It is mainly developed on the basis of mining, transportation hub and tourism. Among them, most professional cities with a long history and large scale have developed into comprehensive cities to varying degrees. Specialized cities can be divided into: ① industrial and mining cities, such as Tangshan (coal, steel), Handan (coal, steel), Renqiu (petroleum), Zibo (petrochemical, building materials), Dongying (petroleum), Laiwu (steel), Zaozhuang (coal, chemical) in Shandong Province and Pingdingshan (coal, electricity) in Henan Province. ② Transportation hubs and port cities. According to the completeness of various modes of transportation, Tianjin and Qingdao are all modes of transportation, Xuzhou, Lianyungang and Bengbu are combined by land and air, Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Jinan and Luoyang are combined by land and air, Qinhuangdao is combined by land and water, and Rizhao is combined by land and water. ③ Historical, cultural and scenic tourist cities. Including Beijing, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Henan, Qingdao, Jinan, Taian, Yantai, Weihai, Shandong and Xuzhou, northern Jiangsu.
4. The spatial distribution of central cities is relatively concentrated.
Consistent with the spatial distribution characteristics of local economy, the layout of central cities is relatively concentrated, forming four groups along the main traffic trunk lines, namely: ① Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan urban agglomeration, including Beijing, Langfang, Tianjin, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao, with megacities as the main body and urban non-agricultural population of about130,000; ② The urban agglomerations along the Ji Jiao Railway, including Ji, Bo, Wei and Qing, are mainly megacities with a non-agricultural population of over 6.5 million; (3) The Central Plains urban agglomeration with Zhengzhou as the center is dominated by large and medium-sized cities, including Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Luoyang and Xuchang, with a non-agricultural population of about 465,438+10,000; (4) Urban agglomeration in southern Hebei, with Shijiazhuang as the center, including Shijiazhuang, Handan, Xingtai and some small cities along the Beijing-Guangzhou railway, with a non-agricultural population of about 2.8 million.
Second, the development and construction of central cities.
1. Accelerate the modernization and internationalization of central cities.
As the carrier of modern economic and social activities, with the rapid development of economy and society in Huang-Huai-Hai region, the requirements for its agglomeration and radiation functions are getting higher and higher. At the same time, with the increasing internationalization of world economic activities, it is more urgent to speed up the modernization and internationalization of central cities in this region to adapt to the world development trend. The most important ones are megacities, megacities and megacities with a non-agricultural population of more than 500,000. Therefore, all aspects of urban construction and management must be carried out in accordance with international standards and norms, so as to enhance the economic strength of the city, adjust the industrial structure and productivity layout, and continuously improve the overall quality of the city.
In the process of accelerating the development of central cities in this region, internationalization and modernization complement each other and promote each other, especially for the development of coastal cities and megacities. The introduction of foreign capital, technology and talents by these cities through various economic and technological development zones and bonded zones is not only an important driving force for upgrading their urban industrial structure and accelerating the pace of economic development, but also an important demonstration and driving role for the economic development of the whole region. In view of the present situation that the urban infrastructure in this area is seriously lagging behind, heavily in debt and the urban investment environment is poor, efforts should be made to modernize the urban infrastructure and management in order to further accelerate the process of urban internationalization.
2. Beijing and Tianjin have jointly developed into an international metropolis in the north of China.
In the process of China's economy entering the international market on a large scale, it is of great significance to choose a mega-city with great development prospects to become an international metropolis in order to further enhance the position of this region and even China in the economic structure of Northeast Asia and even the world, and improve the overall competitiveness. Beijing and Tianjin are the second and third largest cities in China. In the process of modern political and economic development in China, the two cities alternately became the most economically developed cities in the north of China, with a good development foundation and the possibility of building into international metropolises in the future. However, according to the main standards of international metropolis, although the development of the two cities has certain advantages, it also has obvious limitations and shortcomings. For example, on the basis of economy and technology, Beijing is superior to Tianjin in general, while Tianjin is superior to Beijing in international trade and financial markets; Although Tianjin's industrial technical equipment and technicians are not as good as Beijing's, the quality and management level of employees are higher, so the economic benefits of enterprises are higher than Beijing's; On the overall level of urban construction, Beijing has also obviously surpassed Tianjin; In terms of external transportation, the two cities have their own advantages. Beijing, as the largest transportation and communication hub in China, has much better transportation conditions of roads, railways and civil aviation than Tianjin, but Tianjin's large-scale seaport function (the port cargo throughput is the sixth in China and the container transportation volume is the first in the northern coast) is not available in Beijing; In terms of opening to the outside world and the development of high-tech industries, Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone and Bonded Zone are superior to Beijing, while Beijing High-tech Industrial Development Zone has developed rapidly and achieved remarkable results. As mentioned above, if Beijing and Tianjin are integrated, they will develop into an international metropolis with complementary advantages and strong strength.
The common development of Beijing and Tianjin into an international metropolis in northern China is not only an objective need, but also fully conforms to the development laws of the two cities. Beijing regards Tianjin as its maritime gateway and economic assistance center; Tianjin, on the other hand, takes advantage of Beijing's political, scientific and educational influence, combines its own convenient conditions for foreign exchanges, and expands its economic strength through large-scale foreign economic activities to better play a supporting role for Beijing. The two complement each other and complement each other. In order to speed up the coordinated development of the two cities, it is necessary to coordinate the economic development of the two cities, speed up the transformation of traditional industries, vigorously develop tertiary industries such as commerce, finance, real estate, tourism and information consultation, and adjust and optimize the industrial structure of the two cities (the proportion of tertiary industry in the GDP of Beijing and Tianjin increased from 50.195 and 38.6% to 50% respectively). At the same time, it is necessary to plan and construct the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan-expressway industrial belt, and build an industrial belt with international trade as the guide and export-oriented economy as the main body. In addition, the two cities will jointly develop Tanggu Binhai District (covering an area of 683 square kilometers), which will help alleviate the pressure of over-concentration of population and economy in the two cities, make full use of land, minerals and seawater resources, develop the tertiary industry and high-tech industry related to marine chemical industry, petrochemical industry and foreign trade, and build it into the "leader" of the northern coastal areas in accordance with the Pudong development model.