Abstract:

With urbanization, the influx of populations into economically developed large- and medium-sized cities, and the reality of high property prices are forcing the rental housing market to expand. The population, economy, and housing rental market interact, and the coordinated development of the three systems is an inevitable requirement for sustainable urban development. To coordinate the relationship between population, economy, and the housing rental market in large and medium-sized cities, it is crucial to solve the housing problem and achieving "housing for all so that everyone can live and work happily". Based on coupling coordination and spatial error models, this study explores the level of coupling coordination of the population-economy-housing rental market system in thirty-five large and medium-sized cities across China in 2018-2019, and explores its influencing factors. The results show the following: (1) As three social systems, the population, economy, and housing rental market interact with each other. In the perspective of sustainable urban development, the harmonious development between the three systems is a rational movement of population, a well-functioning economy and a smoothly functioning housing rental market, where the three systems win and prosper together. (2) Among the 35 large and medium-sized cities, the integrated population level and economic subsystems are on an upward trend; the integrated housing rental market level has slightly decreased, and although the integrated evaluation value of the housing rental market in the eastern core cities is higher, it still lags behind the population and economy development. (3) Considering the time, the difference in the development of the coupling and coordination degree of the population-economy-housing rental market system of each city has become more extensive. Still, the overall trend is upward, and the coupling and coordination degree of cities classified as pilot housing rental cities are relatively high. (4) For space, there are significant differences in the degree of coupling and coordination of the population-economy-housing rental market system between regions. The degree of coupling coordination in eastern cities is generally higher than in other regions; Shanghai and Beijing have reached a substantial coordination level. Among the central cities, the coupling coordination of Zhengzhou and Changsha remains at the primary coordination level, the coupling coordination of Wuhan rises to the primary coordination level, and the coupling coordination of the other cities is mainly at the barely coordinated level. There is a wide gap in the coupling coordination between cities among western cities. The coupling coordination of Chongqing is at the primary coordination level, of Xi'an and Urumqi is at the barely coordinated level, and of Chengdu has increased from the slightly coordinated level to the primary coordination level. The coupling coordination of other western cities is at the verge of dissonance, except for the cities mentioned above. The coupling coordination degree of all four cities decreased slightly in the northeast region, while Harbin dropped to the near-disordered level. (5) The level of economic development, population size, level of development of the real estate market, and educational resources are notable factors in increasing the level of coupling and coordination of the system. This study analyzes the coupling and coordination between population, economy, and the housing rental market in 35 large and medium-sized cities in China from the coordinated development perspective. This enriches the housing rental market research and alternatively provides a reference for decision-making to address the housing problem in large and medium-sized cities in China and achieve "housing for all".

Key words: housing rental market, population, economy, coupling coordination, China