Abstract:

The evolution characteristics of city size distribution in post21978 Central Liaoning Urban Agglomerationis analyzed through five indicators : primate city size, the number of cities, ratio of primate city, big cites development index, and Giny index. It is found that an overwhelming majority of urban population of the agglomeration isconcentrated on big cities, and the urban2rural disparity in Central Liaoning is widening. The authors suggest thatamong the underlying driving forces, institutional change has played and still plays a unique and primary role in theevolution, while economic development is the most immediate driving force. Dual structure in technology and indus2trial organization in the region remarkably influences the urban2rural disparity. Finally,the paper puts forward thecountermeasures toward an optimal city size distribution from the perspective of urban2rural cohesion, which includedeveloping the property right market in the villages and improving the peasants’quality energetically.

Key words: Central Liaoning Urban Agglomeration, city size distribution, dual structure, sustainable development