Small towns are regional systems characterized by gathering population, commodities, culture, information, science and technology, education, finance and services. Small towns are located at the head of the countryside and the tail of the city, which are inextricably linked with the rural economy and are important support points for realizing agricultural modernization; It is also closely related to large and medium-sized cities and is the foundation and backing for the further development of large and medium-sized cities. The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out: "Gradually improve the level of urbanization, adhere to the coordinated development of large, medium and small cities and small towns, and take the road of urbanization with China characteristics." This is the fundamental guiding ideology for Shiyan to coordinate urban and rural economic and social development and promote urbanization. Speeding up the construction of small towns and taking the road of urbanization in line with Shiyan's reality is the fundamental way to solve the "three rural issues" and the strategic problem of building a well-off society in rural areas in an all-round way.

First, the strategic significance of developing small towns and accelerating the process of urbanization

Shiyan, as a new industrial city located in the mountainous area of northwest Hubei, has a single industrial structure, a typical urban-rural dual economic structure and an arduous task of poverty alleviation. Accelerating urbanization is not only a historical stage that our city must cross in building a well-off society in an all-round way, but also the key to solving many problems in economic and social development at present and in the future. Develop small towns, promote urbanization, realize the transformation of social and economic structure, organically combine urbanization with rural industrialization and industrialization, promote the transfer of rural surplus labor to non-agricultural industries and towns, and realize the harmonious development of urban and rural areas. Therefore, accelerating the urbanization process and improving the level of urbanization has become an important and urgent strategic task for our city to build a well-off society in an all-round way in the new century.

1. Promoting urbanization will help farmers get rid of poverty and become rich and well-off. The key and difficult point of building a well-off society in an all-round way lies in rural areas, especially in economically underdeveloped areas like Shiyan. Nearly 70% of the population in Shiyan is in rural areas, and there are still 6.5438+0.4 million poor people who have not solved the problem of food and clothing. The natural conditions in poor mountainous areas are harsh, the output rate of unit land is limited, and the planting and growth space is limited. The only way for farmers to get rich is to realize the transfer of farmers to non-agricultural industries through urbanization, reduce the number of farmers and improve the per capita productivity. The income of the transferred rural labor force has increased, the value of the rural labor force has also greatly increased, and the income has also increased accordingly. The ability of large and medium-sized cities to absorb rural surplus labor force is extremely limited. Therefore, the only way to realize the large-scale transfer of rural population is to develop small towns, realize urbanization, improve the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas, realize the rational distribution and free flow of population and economic factors, and promote the coordinated development of regional economy and urban and rural prosperity.

2. Promoting urbanization is conducive to accelerating rural industrialization and agricultural industrialization. Theoretically, urbanization is the result of social division of labor and production specialization. Industrialization and urbanization are two aspects of the modernization process. Industrialization needs a state of agglomeration. Only when human activities are concentrated can the cost of industrial production be reduced and the agglomeration effect be formed. Therefore, urbanization is the inevitable product of industrialization. Without urbanization, the efficiency of industrialization will be reduced. Without industrialization, urbanization will be aimless and lose the motive force of development. At present, the scale of township enterprises in our city is small and the degree of intensification is low. By developing small towns, township enterprises will gather in small towns. Give full play to the role of small towns as rural transportation centers, information centers, technology centers and talent centers, and provide infrastructure, markets, technology and talent conditions for the development of township industries; Give full play to the radiation effect of small towns on rural areas and promote agricultural industrialization.

3. Promoting urbanization is conducive to improving the ecological environment. Shiyan, as the water diversion source of the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project, has a glorious and arduous task of improving the ecological environment. There are few mountains in our city and the ecological environment is fragile. Among the more than 2.4 million rural people in the city, the land owned by families is only 6.5438+0.6 million mu. Due to scattered residence and frequent natural disasters, it is estimated that 70% of the planting industry will have a bumper harvest. Only by urbanization, reducing the number of farmers, correspondingly reducing the population carried by the existing cultivated land, changing farmers' way of making a living, improving their quality of life, making them gather in towns and giving nature a chance to recuperate, can we finally solve the ecological and environmental problems such as soil degradation, soil erosion and reduced forest coverage.

Second, the status quo and problems of small town construction

Since the reform and opening up, especially after the merger of 1994 towns, Shiyan cities and towns have developed rapidly. Up to now, the number of established towns has grown from 13 in 1984 to 63, of which 9 have an urban population of over 1 10,000, and the total urban population is 1 1.8 million. In just 17 years, the urbanization rate has increased from 14.9% to 32.5. The spatial layout of cities and towns mainly develops along Xiang-Yu Railway, Hanjiang River, National Highway 209 and National Highway 3 16. The function of towns has changed the situation of single political function or low-level commercial function in the past, and formed various types of structures with economic function as the main function. Throughout the process of urbanization in Shiyan, there are two characteristics: first, Shiyan (the central city) is a regional economic growth pole, because of the agglomeration effect of automobile industry, the urban population is growing rapidly and the comprehensive strength of the city is increasing day by day; Second, rural urbanization means that the development of small towns is relatively slow. The development of established towns was restricted by administrative divisions before the merger of towns, and the economic ties between central towns in the region were loose. The economic development of regional towns mainly depends on the development and utilization of natural resources, border trade and the adjustment of agricultural industrial structure. The radiation ability of central cities to the development of small towns is weak. After the merger of cities and towns, urban construction has entered the track of coordinated development. Due to the sparse rural population, limited land resources, especially cultivated land resources, the pressure of agricultural labor transfer is moderate, and the rural economy is very backward. Therefore, the internal and external motivation for the formation of small towns in rural areas is weak, which leads to the lag of the development of small towns.

There are many problems in the development of Shiyan small towns: First, planning. Planning is unscientific and implementation is not serious. Urban construction lacks characteristics and follows the same pattern; The second is financing. At present, urbanization is still a kind of government behavior, and it has not yet faced the market and formed a diversified investment subject. Therefore, the source of urban construction funds is not smooth, the investment channel is single, and the investment is seriously insufficient; The third is institutional obstacles. The household registration system, which divides urban and rural areas, slows down the pace of farmers leaving their homes, which is not conducive to mobilizing farmers' enthusiasm for working and doing business in cities. The reform of social security system lags behind and the social security system is not perfect, which makes farmers lack "sense of security" and increases the cost of urbanization; The fourth is the policy issue. A series of preferential policies to encourage farmers to work and do business in cities have been introduced in various places, but they have not been implemented effectively. Farmers do not enjoy preferential treatment in market access, tax collection, schooling for their children, and even some local farmers do not enjoy the treatment of urban residents when they enter cities and towns. There are many reasons for the lagging development of small towns in our city, but subjectively, the main reason lies in the misunderstanding of the thinking mode and guiding ideology of urban construction, which we must overcome:

First, we must overcome the misunderstanding of official standard in setting up the market. In the long feudal society, except for the emperor, the following states, prefectures, counties and counties were all hierarchical and insurmountable. There are strict rules on how high the city walls should be, how many streets there should be, and how big the yamen should be. From the founding of the People's Republic of China to the reform and opening up, under the condition of planned economy, the establishment of provinces, cities, counties and towns basically followed the feudal society, and cities were set up in strict accordance with administrative levels, jurisdiction areas and population. The size of the town is basically determined by the official hat, not by the economic scale and the speed of economic development. After more than 30 years of reform, many things that are divorced from reality, including systems and concepts, have changed, but this traditional model of setting up cities and towns is still stubbornly preserved. Moreover, it has formed an inherent pattern in our minds and systems, which is difficult to reflect the spirit of the times and restricts the development of urbanization and must be overcome.

Second, we must overcome the misunderstanding of artificial market construction. If the ancient Loulan has made great contributions to the opening of the ancient Silk Road, then its disappearance should also be the inevitable law of economic and social development. The survival and development of cities and towns and their development scale are completely regular. Therefore, we can't build a city framework based on subjective imagination. We can't ignore the scale of urban development and the comparative advantages of regional economic and social dynamics, rush for success, artificially construct the market, blindly expand the market, and make the city "fatten", but there are cities without cities. For example, some small towns in our city have spent a lot of money to build several streets and squares, but they are still empty shells. Such waste and lessons are heartbreaking. In the future, the urbanization of our city must pay attention to overcoming this misunderstanding of thinking that violates the law and artificially builds the city.

Third, we must overcome the misunderstanding of omnipotence and chaos. Due to the influence of planned economy and natural economy, many small towns in our city always want to keep pace with all walks of life and make "big and comprehensive" and "small and comprehensive", ignoring their own industrial advantages and cultural characteristics and making "all-round towns". Mr. Fei Xiaotong, a senior sociologist, put forward the concept of "small town, big strategy" after his investigation in southern Jiangsu, which means that after the reform and opening up, the rural commodity economy has developed rapidly, calling for the development of small towns and providing them with information, market, scientific and cultural services. To speed up the construction of small towns, the first purpose is to solve the circulation problem of rural commodity economy development; The second is to solve the "common problems" of big cities with the extensive construction of small towns. Regrettably, we misunderstood Fei Lao's original intention, and unilaterally thought that the development of commodity economy in small towns was "small and comprehensive", but failed to keep pace with the times, and put the construction of small towns under the background of international social division of labor and economic globalization, which led to many "all-round towns" in the development of small towns, resulting in the waste of social resources.

Three, ideas and countermeasures to speed up the construction of small towns in our city

The construction of small towns in our city should be based on the market situation, not only to increase the number of towns, but also to improve the quality of urbanization, and not to engage in "one size fits all". It is necessary to scientifically plan, improve the system, rationally lay out, highlight key points, and gradually improve the comprehensive strength, agglomeration capacity and economic radiation function of cities and towns, and gradually form a characteristic urban system supported by key towns. It is necessary to take serving agriculture, countryside and farmers as the starting point and returning point of the construction of small towns, organically combine the construction of small towns with the development of township enterprises and the promotion of agricultural industrialization, enhance the attraction and driving role of small towns, and make small towns a strategic fulcrum for promoting the construction of a well-off society in rural areas. According to the basic idea of small town construction, in order to speed up the construction of small towns in our city, the following countermeasures should be taken:

1, change the official position and set up the city according to the economic scale.

Since the reform and opening up in China, some previously unknown coastal towns have surpassed many prefecture-level cities in the west, and the scale and pattern of their urban development have also surpassed many counties and cities in the west. As far as Shiyan is concerned, the urbanization process started late. Even in county towns, compared with some coastal towns, there is a big gap in economic aggregate and quality, and the gap in ideology and management concept is even greater. Although the country still follows the traditional administrative management mode of setting up cities according to administrative levels, it is only a matter of time before the traditional shackles are broken. Our city should follow the objective law that urbanization is a natural and historical process centered on economic development, arrange the distribution of urban resources according to economic scale, clench fist, highlight key points, grasp the law, and take its own urbanization road selectively and distinctively. Otherwise, our urbanization process will inevitably be immeasurably affected.

2. Change the artificial market into the industrial market.

The development of cities and towns must rely on economic industries. In recent years, most small towns in our city have some problems, such as chaotic layout, traffic congestion, incompatible urban service functions, and even "empty shell towns" without economic connotation. One of the important reasons is that they are not planned and structured from the perspective of economic development and industrial development, and lack the support of leading industries. A town can build a variety of industrial functions, but from the characteristics of the town, it can only highlight one or two main functions and form one or two advantageous industries, rather than covering everything. After China's reform and opening up, emerging towns, such as Wenzhou, Mianyang, Zhucheng, etc., all set up cities with characteristic industries. The development of small towns must be based on their respective advantages, promote the main direction, vigorously cultivate leading industries, and take the road of relying on industries to support radiation functions. Small towns in our city should give full play to the advantages of mountain resources, develop mountain resources processing industry, cultivate pillar industries in cities and towns, enhance the economic strength of cities and towns, and enhance the radiation function of rural economy.

3. Turn the all-round town into a characteristic town.

In the construction of small towns in our city, there is a phenomenon of one-sided pursuit of "small and comprehensive" to varying degrees, which makes the characteristics of small towns not prominent. The urbanization of our city should take the road of "small but special". Different small towns must create different characteristics, or highlight their characteristics with industrial characteristics, cultural customs, or location characteristics, form comparative advantages, implement differentiated competition strategies, form a "famous town effect" with distinctive urban characteristics, promote rural economic and social development, enhance the competitiveness of small towns, and in turn promote the expansion of town scale. Combined with the characteristics of Shiyan industry and resources, we can focus on the development of the following types of characteristic small towns: First, build industrial small towns. Closely combine the construction of small towns with the second venture of township enterprises, rationally adjust the industrial structure and layout according to the characteristics of regional markets and resources, guide the centralized and contiguous development of township enterprises, build small industrial parks, and shape township industries into the main force driving the construction of small towns. The second is to build a tourism service-oriented small town. Cities and towns rich in tourism resources should do a good job in the ecological environment construction of scenic spots, improve service facilities and comprehensively improve the hardware facilities and service reception level of scenic spots. The third is to build small towns for circulation and commerce. Kouzi Town of Border Trade should not only pay attention to the construction of hardware facilities such as markets, but also attract the surrounding merchants from Hubei, Chongqing and Shaanxi to do business with the most favorable policies, the most convenient services and the most relaxed business environment. The fourth is to build small towns with characteristic industries. Relying on mountain resources such as medicinal materials, turmeric, tea and turquoise, we should build characteristic industrial bases, vigorously develop processing, packaging and sales industries on the basis of expanding the scale, and gradually form an industrial town integrating planting, processing, packaging and sales. The fifth is to build immigrant towns. Seize the opportunity of the middle route project of South-to-North Water Transfer Project, make good use of the policy of living immigrants, and promote the construction of immigrant small towns.

4. Actively solve specific problems in the construction of small towns.

The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out: "The development of small towns should be based on the existing county towns and towns with conditions, scientifically planned and rationally distributed, eliminate the institutional and policy obstacles that are not conducive to urbanization development, and guide the rational and orderly flow of rural labor." According to this spirit, combined with the actual situation of our city, in order to make small towns develop healthily, we should also solve the following problems:

(1) Make scientific planning. The planning of small towns should adhere to the scientific and reasonable principle, and the site selection should be connected with the national macro-industrial policy, guiding policy and traffic and communication arteries. The starting point should be high and have the flavor of the times; We must adapt to the requirements of agricultural industrialization in our city and make small towns become carriers of agricultural production, processing, circulation and service. The development planning of small towns should not only consider the layout of long-term compulsory education facilities, but also consider the layout of vocational and technical education facilities to revitalize the town through science and education and ensure the implementation of the sustainable development strategy of small towns; It is necessary to combine the requirements of market integration with the local economic characteristics, bring the planning and construction of small towns into the urbanization system pattern with clear division of labor, reasonable layout and combination with the construction of central cities, and form a strong economic growth point with the big market; The style of small towns must reflect the comprehensive economic strength and the cohesion of residents, so that the local cultural and historical traditions can be inherited and carried forward; We should take environmental and ecological construction as the main content and use advanced technical means and natural conditions to build ecological small towns. Planning must reflect the overall awareness and focus on the long-term, and must not be changed because of the replacement of party and government leaders. Once the plan is approved, it has legal effect, so it should be included in the target assessment responsibility system and the implementation of the plan should be strengthened.

(2) Use market mechanism to raise construction funds through multiple channels. To raise funds for the construction of small towns, we can implement a diversified investment and financing system, with financial funds as the guide, mainly absorbing private funds and attracting foreign capital as a supplement. First of all, financial funds can be tilted to small towns. While paying attention to the construction of infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads, communications and markets, we can increase projects that are closely related to farmers' interests and have huge consumption space, attract private investment and foreign investment, speed up construction, improve urban functions and enhance urban economic strength. Secondly, attracting farmers to build houses through housing projects in small towns. Third, introduce market mechanism into the construction of small towns. The government has made small towns more attractive by improving service quality and work efficiency, perfecting rules and regulations, and creating a good investment environment. With the principle of "whoever invests, who owns, who benefits", it has attracted many people to participate in urban construction with funds. Boldly try and explore the idea of managing the town with assets, adhere to market-oriented operation, and constantly establish and improve the new mechanism of "managing the town" It is necessary to revitalize land resources to the maximum extent, turn natural resources into valuable financial resources for urban development, change the "administrative examination and approval system" of land use in the past into the current "market allocation system", maximize the capital benefits of state-owned land, vigorously promote various land management forms such as bidding and auction, and raise more funds for urban construction. At the same time, it operates municipal facilities to achieve rolling development. Manage tangible assets in cities and towns, and bring the right to use and operate public real estate and municipal facilities such as roads, bridges and highway lampposts to the market. If you can sell them, you can rent them. Management of urban intangible assets, urban space, outdoor advertising signs, traffic lines, roads and other facilities naming rights. , through the transfer, auction, lease and other forms to the market, so that intangible assets into tangible assets.

(3) Accelerate the pace of reform and remove institutional obstacles.

It is necessary to promote the reform of the urban household registration system, gradually implement the household registration system that divides urban household registration and rural household registration according to their current residence, implement the criteria for dividing residence according to family, occupation and source of life, divide urban population and rural population according to residents' residence, and divide agricultural population and non-agricultural population according to occupation. Ensure that children of migrant farmers enjoy equal treatment in enrollment, joining the army and employment. Encourage and attract farmers to settle down, work and do business in cities and towns. It is necessary to reform the way of land use, innovate the circulation system of rural land use while insisting on stabilizing the existing rural land contract relationship, and allow farmers to transfer, lease, subcontract, share in shares, mortgage and other circulation activities, so as to solve the problems that farmers are worried about leaving the countryside for a long time and have no guarantee and future outlet after encountering difficulties, and lay a good foundation for centralized land use after entering the city. At the same time, it is necessary to promote the reform of supporting systems, vigorously promote the reform of medical care, employment and education systems, and establish a standardized social security system for employment, pension and medical care to solve the worries of farmers entering the city.