Research On Yunnan Middle-sized City Groups

Depend on the topography, the resource distribution, the basis of urban development, the regional transport and other aspects'impact, in recent years, the economic and social relations between Yunnan medium-sized cities and surrounding small towns become more and more inseparable, and the cities'transport contact with the neighboring counties or the major towns in the neighboring counties'are increasingly convenient. By the stimulation of economic and social development demands, the intensity of interactions between medium-sized cities and these towns is growing stronger, these medium-sized cities gradually become regional central cities. There is in agreement by mere coincidence on one similar point in various cities overall planning or regional planning, there consistently appears a type of collection of the regional central city and closely linked neighboring towns in them. In this text, it is called the city (and towns) group,or the group city. It is called "the city group" to emphasize its composition within city and towns, and called "the group city" to highlight the regional central city's core position.The city group is a collection of one regional central city such as a medium-sized city or a small city, and some closely linked neighboring towns. This kind of aggregates have significant differences with "Urban Agglomeration" such as Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration in many respects, for instance, the composition of members, the internal structure, the extent of influence and so on. Simultaneously, as the central city of the grouping urban areas in Yunnan are medium-sized cities, the author call this kind of city and towns cluster "Yunnan medium-sized city group".This paper has six chapters. Chapter I is mainly about the background and the objects of this study, and it makes up a exact definition about "Yunnan medium-sized city group", then gives some analysis about the differences and similarities between the city group and other groups. In the end of this chapter, there is a concise description about the research significance and methodologies of all this paper.Chapter II focuses on domestic and foreign theories or research associated with the "city group", it gives brief analysis about the expanse of the city group theory, and then talks about the main train of thoughts all through the writing. Chapter III makes detailed analysis of the present situation about the medium-sized cities and the urban system in Yunnan province. Based on these grounds of argument, it points out that Yunnan medium-sized cities show up to different levels of "city group" while developing, and then it makes the composition of each city group clear.On the basis of the research on each specific medium-sized city group,Chapter IV points out the city groups'general features and personality traits, and further, it elaborates on the substance and significance while Yunnan medium-sized cities and towns start grouping.Chapter V analyzes the conditions for the groups of medium-sized cities and towns to grow up in Yunnan, and further discuss on the basic and common plans for Yunnan medium-sized cities'grouping. Through the analysis of the specific situation in Yunnan, the author introduces the concept of "governance", to guarantee the implementation and performance of the internal relevant policies and regulations in groups of cities. And the author takes Chuxiong as a simple example.Chapter VI is the conclusion. As the summarize of the full text, it points out that Yunnan medium-sized city groups have three stages of development, and analyzes the evolution of the various stages of development. Finally, the author makes some outlooks about the future developments of Yunnan city groups and the feasibility for using the "city group" theroy in the western region of China.