Research On The Quality Of Life Of Residents In Shrinking Cities

Improving the quality of life of residents is the core and prerequisite for solving urban development problems in the context of economic development transformation and the new normal,and it is also a major issue that must be faced in the journey of promoting new-type urbanization.As China’s current urbanization construction has gradually got rid of blind expansion as the main oriented stage and turned to a development mode of sustainable development,urbanization in some areas of China has gradually entered a "tightening period",the city’s "partial contraction","population loss" and "low economic growth" have already begun to emerge.Therefore,in the context of new socio-economic development,we should explore the quality of life of residents in shrinking cities and formulate better plans for the remaining residents,which is of great significance for the sustainability of urban development,for examining the problems of shrinking cities objectively,and for exploring the future of the new model of urbanization development in China.In this study,the shrinking cities in China are first divided into population-shrinking cities,economic-shrinking cities,and absolute shrinking cities based on demographic economic statistics.Then,the spatial distribution pattern and residents’ quality of life of each type of shrinking cities are analyzed and evaluated.In the empirical test part,gray correlation model and stepwise regression model are used to explore the factors that influence the quality of life of urban residents.The study found that from 2006 to 2017,the living standards of residents in China’s population-shrinking cities have gradually improved,while the living quality of residents in economic-shrinking cities and absolute shrinking cities have decreased to varying degrees.Among them,the decline rate of the living quality in economic-shrinking cities are higher than that in the absolute contraction cities.From the perspective of the evaluation factors of residents’ quality of life,the three types of shrinking cities have improved to varying degrees in terms of income and consumption,living level and infrastructure,and have declined in terms of urban environment and social security,of which social security has fallen the most.Gray correlation model and independent sample T test results show that the process of urban shrinkage will have a certain degree of inhibition on the improvement of residents’ quality of life.Moreover,there are differences in the internal influencing factors of the quality of life of residents of different types of shrinking cities.Through a stepwise regression model,it can be found that more reasonable industrial structure and more investment in urban renewal can avoid the side effects of urban contraction on residents’ quality of life.Based on the research findings,the study also puts forward policy recommendations in terms of facing the contraction phenomenon,rationally allocating medical resources,beautifying the urban environment,upgrading and optimizing the industrial structure,and enhancing the internal vitality of the city.