Urbanization or “Townization”? Measuring the evolution of urban systems in modern China

The rapid urbanization in China reveals distinct regional patterns: some areas demonstrate a pattern of concentrated growth of cities (“metropolization”), while others experience the rapid proliferation of dispersed small towns (“townization”). We present a novel approach for quantifying the size of urban settlements in China using remote sensing big data. Additionally, we propose a criterion based on Zipf's law to determine the population threshold for classifying a settlement as a “metropolized settlement.” This criterion enables us to distinguish between metropolization and townization. Analysis of China's urbanization rate decomposition indicates a swift expansion of townization, whereas metropolization progresses at a more moderate pace between 2001 and 2020. Townization has predominantly driven urbanization in most regions of the North China Plain and Northeastern provinces, overshadowing metropolization. Furthermore, we examine the connection between these urbanization patterns and economic development. Empirical findings highlight a stronger association between metropolization and economic growth compared to townization.