Abstract

This paper adopts a case-comparison method to study the spatial layout features of maritime industrial development areas (MIDAs) in Liaoning, China, in reference to similar projects in other Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Our study focuses on industry-city spatial relationship, land position and proportion, coastline utilization intensity and industrial land organization. We show that supplementary residential and recreational land has primarily occupied the high-quality coastlines, and resulted in limited industrial access to marine resources. Our theoretical and empirical analyses connect this feature to local government finances, purchase restriction policy and an investment-driven surge in demand for coastal residential housing. Many areas now exhibit low utilization of industrial land accompanied by the emergence of “ghost cities” phenomenon, which are critical factors that the policymakers should consider in the future planning of coastal development. Interviews with local developers, housing authority personnel, relocated employees and residents confirm our findings. We conclude with policy recommendations for promoting long-term sustainable development in the coastal area.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.