China City Planning Review (No.4, 2018)

♦Practice and Exploration of the Delimitation and Implementation of Urban Development Boundary in Hangzhou

Author：Zhang Qin

Abstract：The urban development boundary is an institutional arrangement of overall planning and regulations of regional urban-rural space and ecological space, an important public policy which ensures the healthy and orderly development of urbanization, and one of the key contents that deepens the reform of the economic system. The delimitation of the urban development boundary is considered as a significant content for urban master plan revision and a fundamental basis for urban space layout and infrastructure layout in Hangzhou. As to the methods of delimitation, from the requirements of overall and long-term regional development, with the idea of “seeking the greatest common divisor,” and in line with the layout requirements of population, facilities, and economic activities, the 18 space control elements sorted out according to the laws are integrated to form “one space map” that meets various requirements through interdepartmental negotiation and consultation. It should adhere to the principles including that it should follow related laws, should be implemented in space, should have multi-plan integration, and should be easy in operation. The Hangzhou Municipal Government formulates the Implementation Plan of the Hangzhou Urban Development Boundary, which, in line with the overall requirements of an intensive and highly efficient production space, a livable and moderate living space, and a pleasant and picturesque ecological space, classifies and disposes the present construction outside the urban development boundary, specifies the protection and utilization requirements for the space outside the urban development boundary, promotes the integration of functions inside and outside the urban development boundary, and establishes long-term management mechanisms including formulating regulations, dynamic monitoring, assessments of government performance, and social supervision.

Keywords: Hangzhou City; urban development boundary; delimitation; implementation; management

♦“Street Portraits” of Old City Streets in the New Data Environment: A Case Study on the Old City of Beijing

Author: Yang Dong, Xie Xiangya, Tang Yan, Zhang Yidan

Abstract: As China’s economic development turns into the “New Normal,” the focus of urban development and construction have transformed from “physical expansion” to “built-up area improvement.” Street, as the most fundamental component of public space, is of great significance to be interpreted and studied. This study attempts to quantify all the composing elements in urban streets to create “Street Portraits” which can clearly describe the characteristics of the street. Taking Beijing as an example, this study aims to make a comprehensive and objective evaluation of the streets in the Old City of Beijing. Methodologically, the properties of a street are identified and categorized into three aspects: street function, street vitality, and street quality, which further helps establish an evaluation indicator system for the “Street Portraits.” In result, various “Street Portraits” of the Old City of Beijing are presented by data visualization, by using the Nightingale Rose diagram tool to integrate all the indicators of individual streets and thus describing the distinctive “Street Portraits.” In the end, the paper discusses how the finding can influence the street space improvement and design in the future.

Keywords: Street Portraits; new data; old city; large scale; Beijing

♦The Path of Rural Revitalization in Rapidly Urbanizing Areas: Taking Southern Jiangsu as an Example

Author: Zhao Yi, Zhang Fei, Li Ruiqin

Abstract: Issues relating to agriculture, countryside, and farmers (called “sannong” in Chinese) are fundamental to China as they directly influence the stability of the country and the well-being of Chinese people. The 19th CPC National Congress proposed a strategy of rural revitalization, giving priority to the development of “sannong” to promote the modernization of agriculture and the countryside. Since China’s reform and opening up, Southern Jiangsu has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization along with the development of township and village industries, making its urbanization rate reaching 75.9%. While significant achievements have been made in urban and rural development, there are still many challenges in rural revitalization. Based on analysis on the characteristics and problems of rural development in Southern Jiangsu, this paper, aiming at rural revitalization, puts forward methods and paths of rural revitalization, such as value cognition, layout optimization, industrial revitalization, ecological livability, and rural governance, which are of practical significance to promote the integrated urban-rural development and the healthy rural development in the region and to provide a reference of rural development for other areas of the country.

Keywords: characteristics and problems of rural development; rural revitalization; rapidly urbanizing area; Southern Jiangsu

♦Rural Plan Implementation Based on Land Property Rights Innovation: A Case Study of Qinggangshu Village in Chengdu

Author: Wang Yue, Liu Jian, Xue Haotian, Tan Zongbo

Abstract: As widely discussed, rural planning in China has for a long time adopted the mentality and methodology of urban planning, resulting in implementation inefficiency. By reviewing the practices of rural land reform and rural planning in Chengdu, this paper points out that the fact that rural planning often ignores land property rights is the crucial reason for the problems and that the recent reforms on rural land property rights remarkably promote the efficient implementation of rural plans. Taking Qinggangshu Village as an example, the paper argues that the policy innovation of Chengdu aiming at clarifying the physical boundaries, complete attributes, rich functions, and effective protection of land property rights is the key premise to guarantee the efficient implementation of rural plans, based on which the new land use mode, land capital management mode, and integrated rural governance mode would further ensure the sustainability of rural plan implementation. The policy innovation on land property rights provides a brand new perspective to the institutional design for rural plan implementation mechanism and can serve as a useful reference to other localities.

Keywords: participatory planning; rural governance; rural planning; empowerment; subjectivity

♦An Exploration on the Implementation of Traditional Village Conservation with Enterprise Involvement: A Case Study of Xijingyu Village, Jixian County, Tianjin

Author: Zhang Tianjie, Zhang Lu, Yue Yang

Abstract: In contemporary China, considerable traditional villages have either suffered from “developmental and constructive” damage, or have gradually declined due to conservation constraints. Under the current rural revitalization wave initiated by the Central Government, products, capitals, enterprises, and urban elites have entered the countryside. The actors of conserving and revitalizing traditional villages become multiple, which include local governments, enterprises, planners, village planning committees, and villagers. The paper takes Xijingyu Village in Jixian County, Tianjin as a specific case, and investigates the new mode of multiple participation in conservation and revitalization. Based on empirical data, it identifies the main problems regarding agriculture, the rural environment, and peasants, and reveals how to coordinate the roles of local government, village committee, villagers, enterprises, and other actors.

Keywords: conservation and revitalization of traditional villages; planning implementation; multiple actors participation; Xijingyu Village

♦Promoting Good Governance Through Participation: A Study on the Influence of Rural Participatory Planning Under the Governance Perspective

Author: Sun Ying

Abstract: In recent years, rural planning and construction in China is confronted with a thorny problem of the absence of villagers’ subjectivity, for which it is especially important to promote participatory planning, realize empowerment, and stimulate the self-development capacity in rural areas. By taking an experimental participatory planning in a village in Zhejiang Province as a case study, this paper discusses participatory methods and routes, and analyzes the impact of participation on rural governance by means of behavioral research. According to the study, it shows that participatory planning could act as a social way to promote good governance, and in the meanwhile, certain institutional conditions are needed to ensure the validity of participation.

Keywords: participatory planning; rural governance; rural planning; empowerment; subjectivity

♦A Preliminary Exploration to Chinese Historical City Maps

Author: Yang Yuzhen

Abstract: This paper reviews ancient Chinese city maps and discusses their categories and features. Based on the status quo of research on the history of Chinese maps, the paper proposes existing problems and argues that ancient Chinese city maps are a kind of “ideological images.” Then, it focuses on the relationship between maps and cities. From the perspective of urban planning and architectural studies, it explores the corresponding roles of different maps (chorography, large-scale city maps, and regional maps) in city image, urban structure, and regional urban structure. Finally, it elaborates the significance of combining literature references with actual image analysis, to promote the research on ancient cities through both quantitative analysis based on ancient city database and research tools.

Keywords: ancient Chinese cities; city maps; chorography

♦From Continuation to Evolution: Historic Review and Value Enlightenment of the Lanzhou Urban Construction Plan

Author: Tang Xianglong, Wang De, Li Baihao

Abstract: This paper provides a holistic picture of the Draft Outline of the Lanzhou Urban Construction Plan in 1951 and the Work Report of the Lanzhou New Urban Construction Plan from 1952 directed by Chief Ren Zhenying of the Lanzhou Municipal Construction Department. The author analyzes the changing process of planning thoughts from “industry as subsidiary” to “industry-oriented,” putting these plans into the macro context of national social system reform and economic recovery during the early years of new China, and analyzes the evolution of the planning paradigm from the explicit continuation of European and American model to the implicit intervention of Soviet model. It is believed that the influencing process of the European and American model and other foreign urban planning ideas is not continuous, and obviously has phased and partial features. The evolving process of the urban construction plan in Lanzhou from 1951 to 1952 is historically representative, which manifests the transition history of an early Chinese planning paradigm from the European and American model toward a Soviet model.

Keywords: urban planning; planning paradigm; European and American model; Soviet model; Lanzhou City