Functional structures of small towns in China: a case study of Guangdong province

Abstract

For years, China’s urban policy has favored the development of medium-sized and small towns. Chinese small towns have been growing rapidly since economic reforms were initiated in 1979. Two types of towns in Guangdong Province are quantitatively analyzed to reveal their functional features. The county towns and market towns are found to be different in the forms of enterprise ownership, employment structure, educational and health facilities, urban infrastructure, and in the absorption of surplus rural labor. Manufacturing dominates the employment of both county and market towns.

本文通過對廣東省兩種類型城鎮的功能特征進行定量分析,探討了廣東省小城鎮的功能結構,揭示了縣城和非縣城建制鎮在企業所有制構成、就業結構、文教衛生設施、基礎設施和接納農村剩余勞動力等方面的差異。