Beijing Released the Greenway System Special Plan for 2023 to 2025 (Part 1)

▲ A greenway in Chaoyang District, Beijing. [Beijing Daily]

1. Background of the Plan.

Promoting the construction of the Greenway System in Beijing with high quality is an important lever to deeply advance the implementation of the Beijing Master Plan (2016-2035); it is an active practice to integrate into the construction of the capital garden city or to build a beautiful home where human and nature coexist harmoniously; it is a vital action to accelerate the construction of a beautiful Beijing and a healthy Beijing. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources and the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau jointly organized and prepared the Beijing Greenway System Special Plan (2023-2025).

Basic concepts.
Based on the principles of multi-path integration, co-construction and sharing, and openness and inclusiveness, integrate the leisure greenways, forest trails, waterfront slow traffic systems, urban slow traffic systems, and other linear spaces into the greenway system, and through high-quality construction, greenway transformation, and other diverse methods, to continuously expand the greenway carrying space, to enrich the greenways function, and therefore to transform the greenway from a single public facility to a green public product.

2. Functional Positioning.
2.1 Serving the capital functions. To display the beautiful scenery of an internationally first-class harmonious and livable capital city.
2.2 Integrating into the ecological pattern. To build an open and connected ecological network for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
2.3 Meeting the needs of the people. To provide green public products for the healthy leisure life experience of the citizens of the capital.
2.4 Ensuring urban safety and resilience. To enhance urban resilience by providing important green infrastructure for dual use of peacetime and emergency use.

3. Objectives of the Plan.
Relying on strong integration of resources, high-quality construction of facilities, excellent supply of services, and strong support for maintenance, the plan aims to establish a comprehensive greenway system characterized by functional diversity, well-distributed layout, comprehensive services, safe, intelligent, and dual use of peacetime and emergency. It focuses on creating ecological ways, healthy ways, LOHAS ways, and happy ways, driving the Beijing Greenway System to become a new brand name for the capital city.
By 2025, several existing municipal-level greenway problems will be solved, and the municipal-level greenway network will be initially formed, the connectivity, comfort, and convenience of greenways will be significantly improved. A series of branded greenways that highlight the characteristics of the capital will be launched.
By 2035, the municipal and district-level greenways will form a connected network and community greenways will be extended naturally. Efforts will effectively promote the fine, intelligent, all-element, and all-process collaborative management of greenways. Over a hundred distinctive branded greenways will be built and greenway brands will be successfully established.
By 2050, municipal, district, and community greenways will be fully connected into a network, and the urban slow-traffic systems, waterfront slow-traffic systems, and others will be fully equipped with greenway functions, allowing residents to enjoy greenway services that are easily accessible, seamlessly integrated with the city while connecting to nature.

4. Principles of the Plan.
Ecological priority, safety assurance. Preserve and improve the ecological functions and landscapes along the greenway system.
Multi-way integration, functional diversity.Build a diverse and coordinated greenway network.
People-oriented, experience enhancement. Respond to diverse citizen needs and improve the quality of greenway.
Adaptation to local conditions, differentiated planning. Propose differentiated greenway planning guidance strategies tailored to local conditions.
Regulation and collaboration, co-construction and sharing. Combine planning guidance, government leadership, market allocation, and multi-party participation in the operational model.

5. Strategies of the Plan.
5.1 Adhere to the ecological safety bottom line, play a leading role in planning—ensure the safety of the greenway system.
Strictly adhere to the ecological safety bottom line, scientifically regulate the selection and layout of the greenway system, and minimize the impact on the natural ecological environment.

5.2 Insist on functional diversity and dual-use—expand the functionality of the greenway system in multi-dimensions.
Based on the “dual use of peacetime and emergency” flexible functional transformation, innovate and activate the “greenway plus” model, and provide rich and diverse usage scenarios.

5.3 Adapt measures to local conditions to solve the problems—improve the connectivity of the greenway system.
Adopting engineering measures, greenway transformation, and signage guidance, solve the problems in the current greenway system.

5.4 Make up for the shortcomings of supporting facilities and improve the comprehensive service—enhance the comfort and convenience of the greenway system.
According to the characteristics of different users and different periods, focus on improving the construction of greenway supporting facilities in a categorized and targeted manner.

5.5 Coordinate the construction, management, and operation costs, release the brand value of the greenway—stimulate the economic viability of the greenway system.
Relying on the resources along the greenway system, expand and upgrade business types, create distinctive and differentiated living, cultural, and consumption scenes, and explore a virtuous cycle of feedback to greenway construction, management, and operation.

Source:<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KIQ8IBLwKd051QcuivtyYg>
Edited and Translated by Guo Xinxin