CHANGING SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION AND DETERMINANTS OF LAND-DEVELOPMENT INCHINESE CITIES IN THE TRANSITION FROM A CENTRALLY PLANNED-ECONOMY TO A SOCIALIST MARKET-ECONOMY - A CASE-STUDY OF GUANGZHOU

The spatial distribution and locational characteristics of land develo pment have changed dramatically in Chinese cities since the land refor m of 1987 which allowed the paid transfer of land-use rights - i.e. la nd leasing, This has led to the rapid transformation of the urban spat ial structure of Chinese cities, There is an urgent need to study the general trend of such changes and their policy implications, However, due to the lack of data, such investigations lag far behind the rapid land development in Chinese cities, This paper attempts to examine the new spatial pattern of land development in Chinese cities and its det erminants by studying land development in Guangzhou before (1979-87) a nd after (1987-92) the land reform by analysing data obtained from aer ial photographs with the aid of GIS techniques, The determinants of la nd development are analysed using a logistic regression model, It is f ound that there has been significant acceleration of urban redevelopme nt and urban sprawl in Guangzhou since the adoption of the new land-le asing system in 1987, The changing spatial distributions and determina nts of land development suggest the emergence of new locational behavi ours of land development in Chinese cities in the transition from a ce ntrally planned economy to a socialist market economy.