Suburban residential development in the era of market-oriented land reform: The case of Hangzhou, China

Suburban residential development is one of the most prevailing urban phenomena in Chinese cities, where it occurs in a very different context from the West. However, research has seldom assessed suburban residential development in blocks, especially based on parcel-level land use data and site-specific land leasing data. This paper attempted to address this critical gap through analyzing residential land development of a case city, Hangzhou, in the era of land market reform since 2000. The major spatial determinants of development were identified through Logit models on the scales of timing, density, and intensity. The results indicated that Hangzhou has formed a fragmented and dispersed pattern in the suburbs, characterized by large-scale development and a relatively low floor area ratio. It was found that travel time to the central business district, distance to urban arteries, distance to schools and colleges, distance to the Qiantang River, percentage of industrial land and residential land, and surrounding land transactions impacted suburban residential development. These variables had different impacts on the timing, density, and intensity of suburban residential development. In particular, residential development was encouraged in suburbs despite the lack of adequate public facilities. The results call for policy and planning that can better manage suburban residential development in Hangzhou.