The effects of Taobao villages’ spatiotemporal agglomeration on urbanization: A case study of Quanzhou, Fujian

Abstract

The agglomeration of the rural e-commerce industry represented by Taobao villages has reshaped the existing urban and rural spatial organization and proposed a new urbanization model. This study identified the spatiotemporal characteristics of Taobao villages in Quanzhou city and built panel regression models to examine the impact of these villages on urbanization level, which is measured via nighttime light (NTL). The results show that (1) while the number of Taobao villages in Quanzhou city has increased rapidly, it has also experienced sporadic growth and monocentric agglomeration, finally forming a polycentric agglomeration pattern; (2) Taobao villages display a significant near-city tendency, and the urbanization level of towns with Taobao villages is higher than that of towns without Taobao villages; (3) the panel regression model highlights that Taobao villages have a significant positive impact on urbanization level. Taobao villages near the city exhibit a greater effect; meanwhile, those that are far away from the city cannot improve their urbanization level unless they reach a considerable degree of agglomeration. Rural e-commerce will become an important direction for the transformation of urban fringe areas, which provides a certain reference for the development of new urbanization in China.