Urban sprawl among Chinese cities of different population sizes

Urban sprawl has attracted continuous attention from scholars since the 1970s. Though abundant studies exist, little is known regarding either the sprawl of small and medium-sized cities or the difference in sprawl degree among cities of different sizes. Taking a case of Chinese cities, this paper aims to compare sprawl degree among cities of different sizes. Using land use data and population census data from 2000 to 2010, we quantified urban sprawl by two metrics to reflect the characteristics of sprawl in quantity and morphology, respectively. We observed that small and medium-sized cities, in general, sprawled the most followed by large cities, while mega cities sprawled the least. There were also regional differences: the Eastern region had similar characteristics with the whole sample, while large cities in the Central region and mega cities in the Western region had a relatively high sprawl degree. The low commuting cost and land price in small and medium-sized cities may contribute to their high sprawl degree. In China, some institutional and economic development factors, including the loose urban planning, favorable national policy, industry-oriented growth pattern and land finance system, also have some explanatory power. According to our findings, we suggest that the sprawl of small and medium-sized cities should draw further attention by scholars and governors, especially how to deal with the sprawl problem in these cities.