Urban Planning in China:
The dominance of ideology, state control and economic planning on urban planning and development in China is rapidly diminishing after economic reforms in 1978. With the declining role of state enterprises in the economy and investment in cities, the introduction of housing and land reform, and the opening up of Chinese cities to foreign investment, the state and centrally-planned economy have less significant roles to play in influencing the development of cities. Past urban planning practices, which were legitimized by the socialist ideology of planned growth, are now fundamentally challenged. Economic reforms have triggered reorganization of the economy and society on which urban planning operates. Decentralization of decision making, market-led urban development initiatives, retreat from socialist ideology, deregulation and increase in the number of actors and conflicts of interests in land development have fundamentally challenged the practice of urban planning. The deficiency of the conventional urban planning system has been recognized.
The enactment of the 1989 City Planning Act is a major milestone that tries to re-establish and formalize the urban planning system in China to meet the challenges. But, there are still many deficiencies of the urban planning system in dealing with the rapidly changing socio-economic environment. Some of these deficiencies can be traced to the legacies of past planning practice and some are deficiencies of the City Planning Act. Experiments are taking place in Chinese cities which aim to provide better guidance to urban planning and development control from a centrally-planned to transitional economy. These include urban district plans, detailed development control plans and zoning. From a broader examination of current global challenges that confront urban planning in various countries, it can be seen that the problems in China stem from the reorganization of state and market in urban planning. Urban planning in China is now at a crossroads.
The urban planning system needs to undergo both institutional and philosophical reforms, such as the setting up of an urban planning commission, making the detailed development control plan statutory, setting up an independent planning appeal system, better coordination between development control and land leasing, increase in public participation, training of planners and strengthening of professionalism, in order for it to achieve its role in guiding urban development into the 21st century. |
Latest News:
China’s Pro-growth Urban Planning in Rapid Urbanization
Resource mobilization and responsiveness to market change
Urban planning should be an effective tool for maintaining status quo interests and establishing order for the land market. Planning as a positive instrument for socioeconomic change is demonstrated in the exercise of plan-making. However, there are no mechanisms in the planning system to generate development initiatives and thus to guarantee positive implementation of plans. China’s pro-growth urban planning paradigm emerges from the unique historical circumstances. Post-1978 deliberate urbanization results from pre-1978 suppressed urbanization which created great shortages of urban land and premises.
Huge demand for physical accommodation and great urban expansion hatch out a planning system which should fulfill the expiration of a growing economy. Both instruments of strategic concept plans and the flexible development control regime are listed by the local developmental state cannot be ignored as one of the important contributing factors to the spectacular economic growth. The essence of the pro-growth urban planning is three-fold.
Preference is given to newly emerging interests over status quo interests, land revenues are mobilized to develop quality infrastructure and public facilities, and planning is made responsive to market change. Nevertheless, a real long-term sustainable growth, which is not promised by the existing planning practice, requires further institutional change to the transitional paradigm of China’s urban planning. |
About Us:
Urban World is the official website for Chinese Society of Urban Studies and the International Forum on City Planning.
What is the International Forum on City Planning?
Organized by
Ministry of Construction, P. R. China
Ministry of Culture, P. R. China
State Administration of Cultural Heritage, P. R. China
Promoted by
China Development Bank
International Association for China Planning（IACP）
China Association of City Planning
Chinese Society for Urban Studies
Chinese National Commission for the International Council on Monuments and Sites
China Art Academy（China Immaterial Cultural Heritage Preservation Center）
Committee of City Sculpture Construction
Beijing Buddy Conference Co., Ltd.
Why?
Against the background of globalization, China’s urbanization is faced with big challenges as well as great opportunities. Cities are, on one hand, a hotbed of various social problems and contradictions, and on the other hand, the hope where the nation’s revival lies in. The process of urbanization is both a course of living space transferring and particularly a course of urban culture development. How to preserve the urban historic and cultural heritage and the fine traditions during this process of globalization and fast urbanization; how to cultivate the required cultures for all kinds of ingenious industries, service trades and new industrialization; how to strengthen the cultural identification of a city, promote city competitiveness and improve people’s sensation of happiness during the process of culture transformation; how to push China forward on a road of conservation-minded urbanization by means of city planning in an era when city development is increasingly conditioned by resources and energy; etc. ---all those are the burning questions we are facing.
Therefore, the Ministry of Construction, P. R. China, the Ministry of Culture, P. R. China, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, P. R. China, together with other domestic and overseas government organizations, societies, and academic institutions in the same camp will hold the International Conference on Urban Culture and the 2nd International Forum on City Planning in June 2007, to scientifically use the experience of other countries for reference and work together to solve the problems that Chinese cities are faced with.
When?
June, 2008
Where?
Beijing International Convention Center (BICC)
Who?
The conference participants include delegates from the host organizations and international organizations; domestic and overseas well-known scholars and experts; heads and delegates from departments concerned of municipal city planning, culture, cultural relic and heritage administrations; Heads of famous historic and cultural cities; experts, scholars and researchers in the fields of city planning, transportation, public health and environmental protection; specialists, faculties and students both from home and overseas colleges of city planning and design; famous real estate developers and city planning experts all over the world; experts and professionals from companies of planning and design, environmental design, gardening and landscaping design. |
Contact Us:
Urban World Office in Beijing
Officer in Charge: Andrew Wang
Tel: +86 10 88585381
Fax: +86 10 88585380
E-mail: chinacityplanning@163.com
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Conference Organizing Office
Tracy Xiang
Tel: +86 10 58933591, +86 10 58934771
Fax: +86 10 58933632
E-mail: chinaplanning@163.com
Address: Room 311, North Wing Building of Ministry of Construction, P. R. China No. 9 Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing China, 100835
Conference Official Website: www.cityup.org |
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