China City Planning Review (No.2, 2014)

♦Research on the Characteristics and Evolution of Residential Morphology of Urban Villages in Shenzhen Under the Informal Housing Market

Author: Hang MA

Abstract: This article studies the phenomena of urban villages against the background of an informal housing market, and provides analysis of the characteristics and mechanisms responsible for its formation during different stages in its evolution, including the strategies and policies that affect urban villages, such as the Planning Layout of Industry Districts and the Affordable Housing Policy in Shenzhen. Lastly, the article examines how it enables a possible development tendency for the future residential morphology of urban villages in Shenzhen.

Keywords: informal housing; urban villages; residential morphology

♦Mobile-Source GHG Modeling Institutions and Capacities in China: Findings Based on Structured Interviews and On-Line Surveys

Author: Jiangping ZHOU, Yin WANG

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of practices of mobile-source greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling in China and related data sharing issues. It is based on structured phone interviews and two on-line surveys conducted in 2011 and finds that most cities have transportation-land use models but that few have mobile-source GHG models. A group of entities housed in the government have the strongest GHG modeling capacities and dominate the relevant consulting market. Data hoarding of public entities is the biggest barrier for entities without government ties to compete in the market. The reasons for data hoarding include government concerns over political implications of data release, a tradition of data hoarding, and a lack of confidence in reliability and accuracy of the data.

Keywords: mobile-source greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling; data hoarding; institutional capacity

♦Thoughts on Issues of China’s Urbanization

Author: Deci ZOU

Abstract: Urbanization in essence is people’s urbanization. China’s urbanization can be mainly characterized by a gradual rural-urban migration along with economic and social development, and the emergence of “semi-urbanized population,” who are like “migratory birds.” The quality of urbanization should be tested and judged from the effects of the urbanization process. Based on China’s basic national conditions, the key to improving the quality of urbanization is to reform the institutional aspects of the dual urban-rural structure and to carefully design various policies.

Keywords: China; urbanization; features; quality; suggestions

♦Study on Spatial Planning and Rational Pattern of China’s Urbanization Development: Review on Research Report

Author: Xiaojiang LI, Li ZHU, Yongbo ZHANG

Abstract: Based on an in-depth survey of different typical areas that are selected in different regions and at different levels, this paper identifies the general characteristics of China’s urbanization, the impacts that economic development driven by both exogenous and endogenous engines has on the spatial pattern of urbanization, and the two urbanization paths: gradient development and hierarchal advancement. By analyzing such factors as population growth, population mobility, and economic and industrial development, it sums up five spatial patterns for future urbanization development trends. Through the analyses on the three aspects: whereabouts of the present 260 million migrant workers and their families, whereabouts of the new-born population and new working-age rural population, and the migrant scale of the existing agricultural labors moving to non-agricultural industries, this paper predicts that China’s urbanization rate will slow down in the next five to ten years, and will reach about 65 percent in around 2030. On the basis of the analyses, it puts forward that “Five-Six-Eleven” regional pattern of urbanization should be established to guide the overall strategy for spatial pattern optimization. To optimize the spatial pattern of urbanization, it proposes specific strategies including coordinated development of large, medium-sized, and small cities, and small towns, as well as urbanization development strategies of differentiation according to different classes and regions.

Keywords: regionalization; county unit; classification; sub-region; metropolitan area

♦Seeking Urbanization Routes for Fragile Human Settlements in Mountainous Areas: A Peculiar Practice for China’s Western Region

Author: Kai WANG, Hao LI

Abstract: Based on a deep understanding of the significant strategic role of urbanization during the development of China’s western region, this paper sets out to investigate the characteristics of urbanization in the west from the perspectives of population and demographic growth, the level of urbanization, migration, and so forth, and then moves on to examine the major constraints to urbanization and suggest priorities for coordinated development in terms of protection of the ecological environment, poverty elimination, ethnic prosperity, and border security. By summarizing the typical urbanization modes, the paper argues that the healthy urbanization of China’s western region should be promoted in a scientific way under the guiding thoughts of “amenable to state intervention, oriented to people’s livelihood, suitable for local conditions, and subject to orderly progression.”

Keywords: western region; mountainous area; human settlements; urbanization; route

♦Impact of City Scale and Regional Difference on Small & Medium-Sized Cities’ Development and Its Implication

Author: Zhiqiang WU, Zhaohui LIU

Abstract: By studying the relationship between urban development performance and city scale and regional difference, this paper aims at revealing the real challenges faced by small and medium-sized cities (referred to as SMSC hereafter) in China. It analyzes the growth of different-sized cities, their positions in China’s overall urban system, the influence of city scale on their capability in migrant absorption, economic development, public service, and environmental remediation, as well as the capability difference among SMSCs. Results show that city scale is less a determinant in economic development capability and per capita ownership of public service than in economic performance, quality of public service, and environmental remediation capabilities. Besides, there are many other factors determined by regional differences instead of city scale. Therefore, in the context when SMSC plays an increasingly important role in the process of urbanization, relevant parties should avoid the “trap of scale,” and re-position urbanization within the framework of sustainable development.

Keywords: urbanization; small and medium-sized cities; sustainable development; city scale; China

♦Spatial Strategy for the Information Society: Rethinking Smart City

Author: Miaoxi ZHAO, Shifu WANG, Luying LI

Abstract: This study examines the topic of the information society from a spatial perspective. It reviews the basic impacts of information technology on urban space in terms of travel behavior, functional organization, and spatial image, and then puts forward the corresponding spatial planning strategy for the information society. Influenced by information technology, the concentration/ de-concentration of urban functional organization and the changes in travel demand have increased the complexity of the urban spatial structure, while the city image delivered by digital media promotes the blending of real space and virtual space. According to relevant researches, information society is considered an objective existence, whereas smart city can be perceived as a planning paradigm embodied with a promising vision. Therefore, spatial planning in the information society should be conducted from the two perspectives of both instrumental rationality and value rationality. On the basis of that, this study proposes that the construction of a smart city should foremost improve the spatial efficiency with the help of information technology, and pay attention to the spatial probability during the process of urban development, so as to bestow the spaces of all levels the adaptability to respond to different scenarios; on the other hand, the spatial strategy of a smart city should return to people-oriented values and shape localized spaces, so as to cope with the challenges of global mobility and ultimately achieve sustainable regional development.

Keywords: information society; urban space; smart city; resilience

♦Change and Continuity: Chinese Villages in Transition (IV) – Wanmin Village

Author: Nick R. Smith

Abstract: This is the final installment in a series of four articles ethnographically exploring instances of village transformation in peri-urban China. Each article presents an in-depth case study of a single village and its unique combination of change and continuity. Together, these case studies demonstrate the specificity and idiosyncrasy of village transformation and the need for planners to “take actions that suit local conditions” (yin di zhi yi). This installment investigates Wanmin Village, in Pujiang County, Chengdu. Wanmin has yet to experience dramatic urban transformation, and it is currently undergoing a planning process in order to prepare for such change. This article thus takes a forward-looking approach, seeking to demonstrate how the ethnographic insights from this series can be employed to develop actionable planning recommendations for other transforming villages in China. In investigating Wanmin, I identify three main dimensions along which change and continuity are in tension: development versus conservation, concentration versus dispersal, and socio-spatial mobility versus investments in fixed land resources. I then propose four potential strategies for resolving these tensions: economic diversification, transportation, adaptive re-use, and cooperative governance. I conclude by considering how an ethnographic approach might be implemented in other instances of village transformation in China.

Keywords: village planning; peri-urbanization; ethnography; Chengdu