URBAN LAND EVOLUTION IN SUZHOU AREA: FROM EARLY 1980S TO MIDDLE 1990S

Key words: 
• urban land evolution /
• land evolution feature /
• land evolution mechanism /
• Suzhou area

Abstract: Firstly the general category and pattern of urban land evolution is theorized on the basis of correlating researches. This offers a research framework and theoretical reference for the case study in Suzhou area. Then four features of urban land evolution in Suzhou Area are summarized, including amount, locality structure, function structure and spatial structure. It is contended that all these features resulted from the developing process that has been followed with specific institutional transformation of China in this period. And in general economic development and structure shift is the key factor contributing to urban land evolution. Meanwhile rural demographic urbanization and town residents re urbanization and landuse institution reform are other two important underlying causes. In comparison with classical Western model, such urban land evolution happening in Suzhou area is explicitly distinct due to many ‘abnormal' characteristics. But it is ‘normal' according to the underlying mechanism, which arguably illustrates the invalidity of empirical theoretical model.