Urban Governance and Green Space—The Transformation of Land Use during New-style Urbanization

Green space not only improves urban ecological environment, but also increases the physical and psychological wellbeing of urban residents and advances social integration, thus playing an important role in urban humanistic and natural ecosystems. Based on the study of green space, the effect of urban governance on land use was discussed in the paper. An empirical study based on data from 336 cities in China shows that economic development is positively associated with both the area and ratio of green space. Additionally, there is an interaction effect between economic development and rural-urban gap. In cities with lower levels of economic development and a bigger rural-urban gap, urban governance is more economy-oriented and emphasizes less on the socio-ecological benefits associated with land use, resulting in less green space; in cities with higher levels of economic development and a smaller rural-urban gap, urban governance stresses multidimensional development and the economic, social, and ecological benefits of land use, hence there is more green space. The results illustrate the influence of urban development on land use, and imply the possibility of a win-win situation for socioeconomic development and environmental protection under the guidance of green development strategy, which is crucial for urban green development.