Towards Land Use Efficiency In China's Economic Development Zones

This thesis analyses the existing situation of land use in Economic Development Zones (EDZ) by reviewing the histories of EDZs, the characteristics of their land use, the changes of China' s land policies. It evaluates the present situation of the EDZ' s land utilization by three cases: Chang Zhou New District in the north of Jiangsu Province, Qi Dong Seaside Industry Zone in the middle of Jiangsu Province, Long You Industry Zone in the west of the Zhejiang Province. Meanwhile, it argues that there are several reasons coursed the low efficiency of land use, namely: The attitudes of local governments, the policies of state, the techniques of urban planning, and the institutions of land management.The problems of the land use in the EDZ should be dealt with in these ways: Changing the value-orientation of local officials; encouraging the cooperation between cities; enforcing the roles of policies and regulations; increasing the efficiency of the land use in the built areas; setting up rational assessment systems for land use in EDZs; adopting new planning approaches; dealing with the rural issues more reasonably, and so on. Only a comprehensive approach will change the status of undesirable land use pattern and make the EDZs more successful in future.