县辖市问题的宪法评价与政区优化

在城镇化进程中,出现了建立县辖市或者镇级市的制度设想和某些实践,但其可行性受到质疑。从《宪法》的规范体系上看,如果按照政区间的管辖关系,县辖市或者镇级市难以获得成立依据。但是,《宪法》中的"市"和"镇"可以从城市功能的层面予以理解,由此,二者的制度鸿沟并非不可跨域。县辖市是基于城市化程度而给予某些地区以特定经济社会管理权限的政区载体,实质上是具有城市功能的小微型城市,是设在县以下政区层级上的市。县辖市有助于解决地方经济社会发展需要与制度供给的不平衡问题,能够完善城市类型,发挥城市公共生活的民主训练功能。以县辖市为切入点,我国的行政区划体系存在进一步调整和优化的必要和空间。未来,我国省以下政区的优化方向应当是简化层次、融合城乡、促进联动,形成三级区划体系。

Constitutional Evaluation and District Optimization of County-controlled City

In the process of urbanization,the design and practice of county-controlled city or town-level city arise but its feasibility is also questioned.The town,in China,plays a unique and irreplaceable urban function.Although the Constitution does not provide a normative basis for the establishment of the county-controlled city,it includes and supports its existence in value orientation.However,the "city" and "town" in the Constitution can be interpreted from the perspective of urban functions,and there is no non-trans-regional institutional gap between them.The essence of the county-controlled city is a small and miniature city which has the function of the city.The county-controlled city is the city located in the administrative division level of the town,rather than the township administrative rank.The mission of town-level city is changing traditional concept of taking town as the country or village and making agricultural population urbanization nearby.With the county-controlled city as the starting point,there is space for further adjustment and optimization in China’s administrative division system.County-controlled city can solve the problems of imbalance between local economic and social development needs and institutional supply,optimize urban types,and give play to the democratic training function of urban public life.The optimization direction of under provincial-level areas in the future should be the simplification of levels,integration of urban and rural areas and promotion of linkage and in the end,form a three-level system.