Table 3 Alternative strategies for CLR.

S₁

Developing CLR special plans

Taking the spatial master plan as the basis, short-term and long-term special plans for CLR should be formulated in accordance with local development.

Mu et al. (2024), Zhou et al. (2024)

S₂

Improving and innovating CLR policies

Although a series of policies have been introduced to support CLR in recent years, there are still certain weaknesses to be improved, especially in terms of policy incentives, implementation standards, emergency response, effectiveness assessment, etc.

Zhang et al. (2019)

S₃

Reforming the land tenure system

Under China’s current urban-rural dual land tenure system, urban state-owned land is far more expensive and richer in land rights than rural collective-owned land, while rural collective-owned land can only be converted to urban state-owned land through the only means of government expropriation. The conversion of land ownership in CLR results in huge profits for the government and a loss of bargaining power for collectives and farmers. To overcome this problem, land tenure system reform should be promoted by allowing the marketization of rural collective-owned commercial construction land, implementing the reform of rural homesteads, etc.

Guo (2020), Li et al. (2021)

S₄

Increasing public financial support

The government should increase public financial support to cover the upfront investment costs of CLR and to motivate grassroots efforts.

Wang et al. (2021), Mu et al. (2024)

S₅

Broadening funding sources

As the government currently bears all the costs of CLR and has been under constant financial strain, relying solely on government financial allocation is likely to cause delays in CLR progress of CLR. Therefore, funding sources should be broadened, such as public-private partnerships, green financing.

Liu et al. (2015), Wang et al. (2021), Lu et al. (2022), Mu et al. (2024)

S₆

Establishing a market-based benefit sharing mechanism

Taking into account regional characteristics, stakeholders’ willingness and implementation costs, a mature benefit sharing mechanism with market allocation, policy incentives and social participation should be established.

Gu et al. (2022)

S₇

Providing diversified settlement options

The government should provide land-expropriated farmers and industrial enterprises with diversified options, including unified resettlement to centralized residential communities or industrial parks with limited subsidies, and large one-time compensation for the withdrawal of collective rights and interests.

Zhou et al. (2024)

S₈

Properly settling land-expropriated farmers and industrial enterprises

The government should give adequate compensation to land-expropriated farmers and industrial enterprises timely, relocate farmers and industrial enterprises in accordance with individual wishes, enhance public services and welfare for farmers, and guide the re-employment of the unemployed population.

Li et al. (2021)

S₉

Establishing a long-lasting income generation mechanism

The transfer of land development rights in CLR necessitates a more sustainable approach to compensating collectives and farmers for their long-term production and livelihoods. Therefore, a long-lasting income generation mechanism should be established through reasonable retention of construction land, introduction of high-quality industries to rural areas, equity participation, etc.

Guo and Tian (2016), Wang et al. (2021), Lu et al. (2022, 2023)

S₁₀

Establishing a cross-regional CLR quota trading mechanism

Currently, CLR quotas for new construction projects are limited to redeployment by the government within the specified area, with a series of problems such as narrow trading range, insufficient marketization and improper pricing. Therefore, on the premise of conforming to spatial plans, a CLR quota trading market and a CLR quota trading management system should be established to realize cross-regional trading of CLR quotas.

Liu et al. (2017), Wang et al. (2019), Guo (2020), Wang et al. (2020), Li et al. (2021), Wang et al. (2021)

S₁₁

Standardizing the administrative organizational operation system

The operation of CLR requires coordinated efforts among multiple departments at multiple levels of government. A coordinated organizational operation system should be established with the natural resource management department taking the lead and the participation of various departments at the city, district, and town levels.

Lu et al. (2022)

S₁₂

Encouraging multi-party participation

A cooperative governance mechanism led by the government and participated by multiple parties should be established. Government leadership ensures the seriousness of decision-making on CLR. The participating parties should include both stakeholders and non-stakeholders. The participation of stakeholders, including government, collectives, farmers, industrial enterprises, etc., can fully express their interests and ensure democratic decision-making; non-stakeholders, consisting of people of different economic levels, social classes, and occupations, can ensure more adequate and objective decision-making and reduce the negative externalities of CLR.

Wang et al. (2016), Zhou et al. (2022a)

S₁₃

Improving the information disclosure mechanism

The government should establish a centralized information platform for organizing and releasing information about CLR. The requisite information should include details about CLR plans, approval of new projects, implementation of established projects, compensation and resettlement to farmers and industrial enterprises, use of government funds, CLR effects, etc.

Wang et al. (2016)

S₁₄

Strengthening advocacy and interpretation efforts

The government should widely publicize the objectives and benefits of CLR and patiently explain CLR policies to the public, thereby stimulating public awareness and support for CLR.

Liu et al. (2017), Xu et al. (2021)

S₁₅

Improving the supervision and feedback mechanism

The government should establish a strict internal and external supervision mechanism, broaden the public’s supervision and feedback channels, and provide positive feedback and rewards for the public’s effective supervision and reporting.

Liu et al. (2017), Zhou et al. (2022a)

S₁₆

Performing routine land surveys and monitoring activities

Regular land surveys and monitoring should be conducted to clarify the scale and distribution of inefficient and fragmented construction land as a basis for CLR plans, and to track land use changes as an assessment of the effectiveness of CLR.

Hu et al. (2018)

S₁₇

Expanding CLR range

The present focus of CLR is primarily on illegal and poorly profitable industrial enterprises and idle and fragmented rural homesteads on collective-owned construction land, but little of such land is still available. It is worth considering expanding the range of CLR in due course, such as industrial enterprises on state-owned land.

Li et al. (2021)

S₁₈

Strengthening CLR-related human resource development

Training and guidance for CLR-related personnel should be strengthened to improve their professional knowledge and skills, and professional CLR teams should be established, thereby providing talent support for CLR.

Added by the decision-makers

S₁₉

Innovating CLR-related technologies

Innovative technologies are needed to drive CLR. For example, technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and machine learning can be used to facilitate intelligent CLR management; technologies such as land reclamation and ecological restoration can be used to rehabilitate inefficient and fragmented construction land to concentrated patches of high-quality arable land and ecological land.

Wang et al. (2016), Zhou et al. (2022b)

S₂₀

Strengthening post-CLR land management

The reclaimed arable land and the restored ecological land should be managed continuously to strictly prevent the utilization of arable land for non-food production and safeguard the quality of the ecosystem.

Zhu (2021)