Quantifying urban land expansion dynamics through improved land management institution model: Application in Ningxia-Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract It is of great importance to investigate mechanism of urban expansion as to policy-making and implementation of urban planning in China. The purpose of this study is to carry out a thorough investigation on quantifying dynamic process of urban land expansion through an improved Land Management Institution model (LMI), which was further applied in Ningxia-Inner Mongolia region, China. Therefore, an improved LMI model was developed by introducing the varying panel approach which can well determine the major contributors of spatial differences of urban land expansion and quantify the evolution of land management institution. Through this investigation, following findings were achieved. Firstly, the improved LMI model could efficiently quantify and determine spatial differences of endogenous factors of urban land expansion, and the land management institution evolution. The land management institution evolution presented a path dependence with a stable trajectory, which meant urban land expansion were well coincided with the evolution of land management institution. Secondly, the improved LMI model application in Ningxia-Inner Mongolia region disclosed that urban land expansion had an obvious negative effects of lock-in phase characters in land management institution evolution. Marginal effects of major influencing factors of urban land expansion contributed greatly to the differences of urban land expansion in terms of different sectors and regions. Finally, dynamics analysis of urban land expansion in this study area suggested that its urbanization had similar urbanization patterns with cities in elsewhere of China, and meanwhile it presented distinct characters. The massive conversion of land use has stimulated high-speed economic growth in the short term at the expense of eco-environment in the long term. It is suggested that governments at all levels should pay more attention to land management institution reform, industrial adjustment, technological innovation as to realize sustainable urbanization.