A Method for Delineating Urban Development Boundaries Based on the Urban–Rural Integration Perspective

Urban development boundaries are efficient tools for coordinating urban–rural relations and ensuring sustainable development. From 2000 to 2020, the expansion rate of the built-up area in cities and towns throughout China reached 177%, far exceeding the urban population growth rate of 96.5% in the same period. As this spatial expansion seems to continue, there is a need to intervene and control urban boundaries. We believe using the urban–rural integration perspective to set (or reset) and maintain urban development boundaries will help manage urban expansion more effectively than present methods. This research, therefore, develops an urban development boundary delineation method from a macroscopic view for China. A new model for defining boundaries was developed based on the four dimensions of urban–rural interaction: economic demand, environmental protection, urban carrying capacity, and urban development resistance. And an empirical study was conducted in Guiyang City as an example. The results show that the resultant urban boundary can provide a more comprehensive and realistic growth model than current methods, making it more applicable for controlling and fostering sustainable urban and rural development.