Intensive-use-oriented identification and optimization of industrial land readjustment during transformation and development: A case study of Huai'an, China

This paper draws upon smart growth theory to provide an analytical framework of “smart identification” for industrial land to be readjusted. Huai'an city, Jiangsu province, China, is selected as a case example for the developed framework. Unlike the identification method of efficiency orientation for stock industrial land, which emphasizes the core goal of input and output of production factors per unit area, the smart identification framework covers the five dimensions of industrial policy, urban planning, socioeconomic benefits, transportation convenience, and environment protection. The framework pays more attention to the characteristics of high-quality socioeconomic development, including innovation-driven, coordinated, and sustainable development. Industrial land blocks are used as the research unit. A total of 1,552 industrial land blocks are identified for readjustment, covering an area of 4,008.7 hm2 and accounting for 54.3% of the total industrial land area in Huai'an city; this shows that considerable potential exists for adjustment. We argue that the evaluation index selection of intensive industrial land use and the method by which industrial land is identified for readjustment is influenced by the stage of socioeconomic development. The smart identification method is more consistent with the connotation of high-quality development, and more conducive to revealing the current demand and change law of industrial land against the background of industrial transformation and upgrading, which is of great significance with regard to promoting the intensive use and spatial optimization of industrial land.