Sustainable land urbanization, urban amenities, and population urbanization: Evidence from city-level data in China

Objective With the emergence of rapid urbanization and the increase in per capita income, migration in China has been changing from economy-driven to amenity-driven. We seek to investigate the relation between land urbanization, urban amenities, and population urbanization by analyzing urban amenities in the analytical framework of land urbanization and population urbanization in China. Methods Using panel data of 277 cities in China from 2009 to 2018, we first employ the principal component analysis to calculate urban amenities and then conduct panel threshold model regressions. Results Land urbanization has a positive effect on urban amenities at the individual city level, while urban amenities have a negative effect on population urbanization in both large and small-medium cities. Reforming the household registration system has effectively improved the accessibility of urban amenities for high-skilled labors in large cities. Thus, amenities in large cities have a positive effect on the urbanization of high-skilled labors. In contrast, amenities in small-medium cities have a threshold effect on population urbanization. Conclusion Amenities in large and small-medium cities, which are located in the same urban agglomerations, could be coordinated and improved, thus achieving a long-term sustainable and coordinated development of land and population urbanization.