China City Planning Review (No.4, 2016)

♦Settlement Construction of Ethnic Minority Under Survival Pressure in Mountainous Area of Guizhou Province: A Case Study of the Biandan Mountain Area

Author: Zhou Zhengxu, Feng Jicheng

Abstract: During the farming era, people were living under remarkable survival pressure, which was even harder for the ethnic minorities living in the mountainous area of Guizhou Province due to its unique land morphology. In this situation, the ancestors of Buyi ethnic group living in the Biandan Mountain Area gave priority to a reasonable response to the survival pressure when they started their settlement construction. When choosing settlement location, they fully took into account the mountain forms, water resources, and the distribution of the valley plateaus. In addition, they considered the valley plateau as the key element while building the “mountain-water-paddy field-woods-village” settlement organism through the general layout design and construction. After a long-lasting evolution, the settlement space was constantly improved due to population growth, adjustments to nature, responses to wars, and communications with the Han people. As a result, attractive human settlements are finally formed in this mountainous area.

Keywords: survival pressure; settlements in mountainous areas; human settlements; ethnic minority; Biandan Mountain Area

♦An Analysis on the Improvement of the Housing Security System Based on Population Mobility

Author: Qi Huifeng, Wang Weiqiang

Abstract: China’s urban housing security system has developed for years. The dual division between registered population and migrant population in cities still exists. While local governments undertake responsibility of the housing security through intergovernmental duty division, it is not appropriate because housing security is a kind of national income redistribution that belongs to the central government. From the perspective of the population mobility, the article discusses the problems of the current housing security system, based on which it proposes three recommendations for improving the existing housing security system. First, we should make a distinction between the national income redistribution carried out by the central government and the public services provided by local governments. The responsibility and fiscal expenditure of the local, provincial, and central government should be clearly defined. Second, intergovernmental fiscal transfer payment should be designed according to the population mobility status. Third, the housing security system should protect the demands of the new generation of peasant workers and migrant families.

Keywords: population mobility; social security; housing policy; the Central Government; local government

♦Policy Transition from Gated Community to Block System: Situation Study and Reform Approaches

Author: Wu Xiaolin

Abstract: The policy transition from gated community to block system, which is related to intergenerational justice and sustainable urban development, has aroused many controversies concerning public space. Through questionnaires and online-opinion survey, this paper finds that the public generally has a misunderstanding on China’s new “community opening up policy.” In detail, there is a remarkable group difference in the public’s evaluation on this policy transformation. Those who have already bought houses mostly disapprove of the policy, while other groups have various considerations based on their own interest. The public’s attitudes always have been influenced by different policy options and the ambiguity in policy implementation. Since the adjustment of urban space involves a wide range of interests, the relationship between individual interest and public interest and that between the government and civilians have become complicated when some property owners use the immature “common interest” as an excuse to protect their interests. The situation becomes even more complex when the power and voice is unbalanced. Thus, rational communication should be promoted to guarantee the procedural justice of policies, and systematic reform should also be promoted to guarantee the substantive fairness of policies.

Keywords: gated community; block system; community opening up; urban space

♦A Study on Planning Strategies for Urban Housing Block Development

Author: Zeng Wei, Wang Hua, You Juanjuan, Wang Linlin

Abstract: As a city is the carrier of human society and housing is an important part of a citizen’s life and survival, the citizens’ choice of their housing mode will influence the material and spiritual life of the individuals, families, and society. In view of the diversification of values and investments, people are eager for a harmonious relationship between the community and the city. As a kind of compact and efficient housing mode, the housing block highlights the organic link of the community within the city in an open and shared living environment. This paper reviews the development of housing blocks in various countries and summarizes the characteristics of housing blocks through a comparison with traditional gated residential quarters and urban blocks. It then analyzes the current difficulties of housing block development in China from aspects such as the planning concept, planning system, management mode, and development mode and accordingly proposes planning principles and strategies in hope of providing theoretical supports for the development and construction of housing blocks in China.

Keywords: urban housing block; urban block; open community; gated community; urban public space

♦A Study on the Underlying Mechanism of the Emergence of Gated Communities in Urban China

Authot: Yang Hongping

Abstract: Modern gated communities have emerged in China against a background of socio-economic transition. They are different from the gated communities in western countries in many aspects. In particular, they bear obvious Chinese characteristics in the reasons for their popularity. In order to explore the underlying economic, social, political, and cultural mechanism of the popularity of gated communities in China, this article conducts a comprehensive analysis from many angles by drawing on various theories. It is concluded that the emergence of gated communities in urban China is pushed by the special social relations of production in the period of transition. In particular the social, economic, governmental, and individual powers together promote the emergence and development of gated communities.

Keywords: gated communities; social stratification; driving mechanism

♦Exploring the Design Control of Gated Communities: Potentials and Approaches

Author: Xu Miao, Yuan Yuan

Abstract: From the perspective of urban design control, the study investigates the possibilities and approaches to reduce negative influences of gated communities, directly or indirectly, through effective planning policies or design strategies during the construction process. Based on empirical research of embedded-single case studies, it centers on three factors: enclosure scale, border effect, and shared facilities of gated communities, and discusses the necessity and feasibility to apply design control in gated communities as seen from different interest groups, i.e., developers, managers, users, and maintainers. Accordingly, it proposes several key design factors and implementation approaches to promote the integration of gated communities and “private-owned public space” into an urban social and spatial network.

Keywords: gated community; urban design control; enclosure scale; border effect; shared facilities

♦Spatio-Temporal Changes of Population Density and Urbanization Pattern in China (2000 – 2010)

Author: Mao Qizhi, Long Ying, Wu Kang

Abstract: Population distribution and their temporal variation are a direct proxy of urbanization. This study evaluates the population density variation of China between 2000 and 2010 at the township level by using the data of the fifth and sixth national population censuses. The urbanization patterns of China in 2000 and 2010 are depicted based on the population densities at various levels and the urbanization process of China between 2000 and 2010 is then analyzed through a comparative approach. It also tries to visualize the population density dynamics and urbanization pattern variations of China at the township level.

Keywords: population density; urbanization; city cluster; China; population census

♦Vernacular of the Urban Institution: A Circular Causal Reaction (I)

Author: Hu Yiran, Zhang Kaili, Zhou Xi

Abstract: This paper discusses how urban institutions affect urban form. It presents an introduction of the position of urban institutions into the research framework of new institutional economics, discusses the relationship between institutional reform and development of urban morphology, and carries out a comparison on New York, Hong Kong, and Barcelona in four aspects, i.e., policy-dominated type (formal and informal), regulatory strategy (compulsory and incentive), policy beneficiary (public and private), and the role of the government (manager and mediator), to attempt to ascertain in what specific ways institutions directly or indirectly affect changes in urban texture and urban form. Thereupon, it argues that release of institutions may not achieve its predicted purpose. On the contrary, the form of a city, generated unexpectedly and spontaneously within scope of the rules will to some extent prompt the transformation of old institutions. Finally, it indicates that the interaction between “effect” and “feedback” is actually a circular causal reaction.

Keywords: urban institution; urban form; government; private; public