Economic Development, Urban Sprawl, and Agricultural Land Loss in the Pearl River Delta, China

Abstract

The Pearl River Delta is developing very rapidly in the two decades. Concomitant to this development is the loss of valuable agricultural land by the encroachment of urban development, especially by massive construction sites from land speculation. This paper examines the relationship between economic development, urban sprawl, and agricultural land loss in the Pearl River Delta, Using Dongguan, a newly established city that was upgraded from a rural county town, as a case study. It is found agricultural land loss and urban sprawl is much related to the stages of economic development in the Pearl River Delta. Agricultural land loss and urban sprwl are most serious in the period of land speculation in 1990-1993 as a result of the property boom in the Pearl River Delta that was induced by the property boom in Hong Kong. Urban sprawl in the Pearl River Delta is much related to rural industrialization, rise of localism, influence from Hong Kong, road development, and lack of land management and monitoring system. There is an urgent need to develop a sustainable land development strategy to protect further loss of valuable agricultural land and environmental degradation. A better development control process and planning with a sustainable development objective may need to be formulated in the pearl River Delta. A higher development intensity may also be needed to minimize land consumption. The forms of urban development and problems of agricultural land loss that are presented in Dongguan in not unique in China. They are very commonly found in the cities of China, especially those newly establiched cities which used to be rural county towns. If we can find a solution for Dongguan, we should be able to apply it to other cities, making cities of China to be more sustainable.

珠江三角洲自改革開放的２０年來經歷了巨大的發展，但也導致了城市的迅速擴張以及大量寶貴農田的流失。本文以珠江三角洲發展最快的城市之一的東莞為例探討其經濟發展、城市擴張以及農田流失的關系。研究發現了農田流失與不同階段的經濟發展有密切的關系。自進入９０年代以來，由于房地產的過熱發展，造成了農田的加速流失，嚴重浪費土地資源。珠江三角洲的農田流失與鄉鎮企業的發展，地方自主權的擴大，香港的影響，交通條件的改善以及土地管理等一系列因素有關。