Resource-based cities in China have made momentous contributions to the development of the national economy for decades. However, with the depletion of natural resources, their sustainable development is challenging and transition is important. The Chinese government has made great efforts to help resource-based cities. The purpose of this study is to investigate transition policies and their implementation. Firstly, we reviewed previous studies and summarized the essential elements of some successful resource-based cities, which are useful experiences for Chinese resource-based cities. Secondly, we studied the development of resource-based cities over the past 10 years with a focus on economic development, industrial structure, government revenue and environmental conditions. We found that resource-based cities were less developed compared to other cities. The main reasons are the after-effects of a planned economy, an unreasonable tax system, planning mistakes and misguided resources exploitation policies. Thirdly, we analyzed several aspects of the policy responses after the introduction of transition policies, including designating 69 resource-exhausted cities, supporting cities with funds and projects, formulating transition plans and evaluating transition performance. However, there are some deficiencies in the process of policy implementation. Finally, some recommendations were provided to improve transition performance and sustainable development for resource-based cities. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
