China City Planning Review (No.3, 2020)

♦The Spatial Subject of China’s Urbanization: Development Patterns and Challenges of Urban Agglomerations

Author：Wang Xuxi, Peng Li, Xu Dingde, Liu Shoujiang

Edited by Qian Fang / Proofread by Liang Sisi

Abstract：China’s urban agglomerations have gradually become new world economic centers and strategic regions under the initiatives of “The Belt and Road.” Various researchers have long been interested in the issues encountered during the development of urban agglomerations. However, systematic research analyzing issues in the development of China’s urban agglomeration are relatively few. On the basis of a brief introduction to the concept of urban agglomeration and the status of current development in China, this paper analyzes current issues in China’s urban agglomerations from the perspectives of spatial attribution, function, resources, and environmental utilization as well as new patterns in urban agglomeration, which reaches the following conclusions: conflicts exist between spatial identification and layouts in urban agglomerations; issues such as, unsound internally functioning systems, improper land utilization, and stressful resource and environmental pressures still prevail in certain urban agglomerations; in addition, the number and layouts of newly constructed areas in urban agglomerations are controversial because some new areas are eager to develop new cities but have neglected their transitions from and interactions with older districts, thus wasting resources unnecessarily. This paper also proposes certain suggestions regarding the problems mentioned above. In short, these findings will elucidate a fresh perspective and ideas for researchers studying urban agglomeration and offer references related to policy making concerning China’s urban agglomerations in the future.

Keywords：urbanization; urban agglomerations; development challenges; new areas; China

♦Research on Spatio-Temporal Differentiation Characteristics of the Construction Level of Green and Plaza Land in China

Author：Liu Zhiqiang, Zhou Xiaoya, Wang Jundi, Hong Genwei

Translated by Li Caige / Proofread by Tang Yan

Abstract：Green and plaza land (GPL) is one of the basic elements of urban construction, and is also the most basic public space to meet the needs of citizens for a better life. The exploration on its internal development laws can provide theoretical foundations for the planning of GPL and creating good human settlements. Taking 612 cities in China as the study area and from the “people-land” perspective, this paper selects the total GPL area, the per capita GPL area, and the land use proportion of per capita GPL as indicators to analyze the spatio-temporal differentiation characteristics and evolution rules of the construction level of GPL in China from 1996 to 2016, by using mathematical statistics and spatial analysis methods. The result shows: ① from a national perspective, the construction level of GPL in China has been rapidly improved along with the temporal evolution, but there is still a big gap from the upper limit of the standard. In terms of the spatial distribution, regional differences have always been great, and the cities scoring below the standard are concentrated in the eastern and central regions, while high-scoring cities are more concentrated in the western region; the distribution of the land use proportion of per capita GPL is in a pattern that the eastern region has the highest proportion, followed by the western region, central region, and northeastern region successively. ② From the perspective of scale, differences between cities of different sizes exist over a long period of time, and there is an obvious imbalance in the per capita GPL area as well as the land use proportion of per capita GPL between different cities. The construction level shows that small cities have the highest level, followed by medium-sized cities and then large cities.

Keywords：green and plaza land; construction land; spatio-temporal differentiation; cities; China

♦Cross-Regional Collective Response Mechanism for Major Epidemic Control and Treatment

Author：Ouyang Peng, Liu Xiyu, Zhong Yichun

Translated by Liu Jinxin / Proofread by Tang Yan

Abstract：It is essential for cross-regional control and treatment of major epidemics to establish a collaborative, efficient, and precise collective response mechanism. Based on the observation of the COVID-19 epidemic, this paper concludes major measures and experience of cross-regional collective response for epidemic control and treatment, compares the difference between localities at home and abroad, and puts forwards major strategies for a cross-regional collective response, hoping to provide policy-making references to improve the modernization level of public health, epidemic prevention, and emergency management in China.

Keywords：cross-regional collective response for control and treatment; major epidemic events; COVID-19

♦Public Health Crisis Response Mechanism with Equal Stress on Construction of the Medical System and Cultivation of Public Awareness: A Case Study on Japan

Author：Akihara Masato, Huang He, Chen Xiaohui, Li Li

Translated by Li Min / Proofread by Liu Jiayan

Abstract：The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented worldwide shutdown, and made urban planning reflect on and discuss how to respond to public health crises. Japan’s medical system has been repeatedly rated as the world’s number one by the World Health Organization. This paper analyzes Japan’s diversified medical facility system, its prevention and control mechanism regarding public health emergencies, and the cultivation of social public awareness, and points out that the Japanese public health crisis response mechanism is characterized by an equal emphasis on the construction of the medical system and the cultivation of public awareness. It is proposed that an effective way to respond to daily medical needs and irregular public health security crises is to improve the community medical quality and grant administrative power to the director of public health centers, promote the “urbanization of people” with public awareness, and improve the resilience of the medical and health system.

Keywords：urban governance; community planning; public health; medical area; Japan

♦Taiwan’s Community Epidemic Prevention Based on Health Building and Collaborative Network

Author：Liu Jiayan, Li Yijing

Translated by Qian Fang / Proofread by Liu Jian

Abstract：The outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic in early 2020 triggered off worldwide concerns for epidemic prevention as a coping strategy against public health crises. Facing the epidemic which has been characterized by wide spreading range and a long incubation period, communities have become the frontier in the war against it. At the same time, various problems have been exposed at the community level, including the lack of epidemic prevention planning, the high workload of community staff, and the insufficient public awareness on public health, etc. Focusing on the construction of Taiwan’s community epidemic prevention system, this paper elaborates the significance and necessity of the community’s participation in epidemic prevention based on a systematic literature review and policy study. It analyzes the restructuring and transition of a community epidemic prevention system and the primary strategies of community epidemic prevention planning, community health building, community health resources networking, community epidemic prevention practice, and the emergency planning in response to the novel coronavirus epidemic. It finally summarizes the methods of building a sustainable community epidemic prevention system.

Keywords：community epidemic prevention; novel coronavirus epidemic; community building; healthy community; Taiwan

♦Changes of the Thermal Environment Caused by a City-Wide Lockdown: The Case of Wuhan City

Author：Cai Zhi, Tang Yan, Zhan Qingming

Edited by Li Caige / Proofread by Mao Qizhi

Abstract：The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan caused the city to go into a lockdown in January, 2020, and most outdoor activities stopped, which provided a chance to investigate the impact of human activities on the urban thermal environment. Using the land surface temperature (LST) and population distribution data, this paper analyzes the changes between normal workdays and the lockdown period. The results show that maximum population and LST changes can be seen in industrial and commercial areas, and the LST hot spots shrink and cold spots expand in many areas during the lockdown, which identifies that the impact of the lockdown on the urban thermal environment varies according to different types of lands. However, it should be noted that the LST has a similar spatial distribution during the two periods, in spite of the significant changes in population size. Compared with population size, the urban morphology indicators have a higher correlation with the LST. This indicates that the urban thermal environment is dominated by urban morphology, and the influence of human activities on it is still limited. All findings can help urban planners to improve the existing methods to address both climate change and public health issues.

Keywords：urban thermal environment; land surface temperature (LST); population; human activities; Wuhan

♦Fractal Evolution of the Spatial Form of the Town and Water System in Southern Jiangsu Province: A Case Study of Suzhou City

Author：Zhao Jingjing, Hong Genwei, Liu Zhiqiang

Translated by Li Min / Proofread by Liang Sisi

Abstract：Southern Jiangsu Province has a dense water network. Under the guidance of the new concept of harmonious development between humans and nature proposed at the 19th CPC National Congress, it is of great significance to build a good spatial relationship between the town and its water system. Using the grid method, this paper calculates the fractal dimension of construction land and water space of 20 towns in Suzhou City since 1995, finding that the fractal dimension of town construction land rises rapidly, whereas that of water space drops slowly on a high dimension. In addition, the spatial form of town construction land and water space form are characterized by planar aggregation and sporadic growth respectively. The paper discusses the evolutionary characteristics of the fractal correlation of construction land and water space in towns with low-, medium-, and high-density water networks, as well as the represented spatial form relations and the underlying relationship between humans and nature. It concludes with an ecological restoration strategy of the two-way interaction between construction land and water space in different types of towns, which may provide a reference for the ecological progress of towns in southern Jiangsu Province.

Keywords：town; water system; spatial form fractal; evolution; Suzhou City

♦Metropolitan Area Evolving from Spatial Concept to Public Policy: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province

Author：Zhong Rui, Guo Zijian

Translated by Liu Jinxin / Proofread by Liu Jiayan

Abstract：With the acceleration of China’s regional integrated development, some functions of large cities have been decentralized to the peripheral areas, resulting in the increasing phenomenon of commuting to and from school or work across administrative regions. As a spatial unit of various factors flowing across regions, the metropolitan area has gradually become a significant carrier in the background of high-quality urbanization development. However, due to existing policy limitation, it has been hard to avoid administrative barriers in metropolitan area development. To fill the gap in the traditional policy system, regional spatial governance is being widely used in practice at various levels. Therefore, from the perspective of spatial governance, this paper explores a new approach to the governance of metropolitan areas with Chinese characteristics based on the analysis of the connotation evolution of metropolitan areas and the international experience of metropolitan development and governance. By taking several metropolitan areas in Jiangsu Province as examples, this paper explains that the key to metropolitan governance is to treat a metropolitan area as “policy area” and to construct a spatial governance system suitable to regional integrated development, through the combination of spatial planning and public policy, so as to propel urban development towards regional coordination.

Keywords：metropolitan area; regional governance; public policy; Jiangsu Province