Identifying risk factors of urban-rural conflict in urbanization: A case of China

• A conical analysis framework is established to resolve the intertwined urban-rural conflicts in China.
• The paper reviews property, resources and development conflicts in urban-rural conflict risks.
• The dual structure of household management and land property right is the key urban-rural conflict for China.
• Land requisition, damage to environment from industrial projects, urban and rural planning are three critical risk factors.
• Political stability has a significant impact on China's urbanization.

Urban and rural areas are two different yet coexisting systems. Developing countries such as China have been undergoing a rapid urbanization process. However, urbanization often causes competition for land resources between urban and rural areas, and such competition can result in conflicts between the two systems. To identify the risk factors of urban-rural conflict, this paper utilizes a research framework including content analysis, brainstorming and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the main risk factors between urban and rural areas comprise conflicts in property, resources and development. Suggestions are proposed to reduce the conflicts occurring between urban and rural areas during the urbanization process.