Reviving China's Countryside: How Urban and Rural Development is Changing Along the Yangtze River

Ever wondered how China is trying to bridge the gap between cities and villages? One way is through the "new-type urbanization" (NTU) and "rural revitalization" (RR) plan. This isn't your typical growth story; it's about creating a new urban-rural relationship. Researchers used something called the "entropy method" to measure how well NTU and RR are doing in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). They found that from 2011 to 2022, both areas have seen steady growth, but NTU still has a lot of catching up to do. The good news is that the "coupled coordination degree" (CCD) between NTU and RR is improving, with eastern regions doing better than western ones. The gap between the two is slowly narrowing, but in absolute terms, it's still growing. Funny thing is, agriculture's development is the biggest boost for this coupled growth, while financial support for agriculture is actually holding things back.