City Planning Review（2024.3）

♦UNDERLYING LOGIC AND TRANSFORMATION DIRECTION OF URBAN SPACE USE REGULATION IN CHINA

Author: ZHOU Lin

ABSTRACT: The method of “detailed planning + planning permission” for urban space use regulation in China has played an important role in the era of incremental expansion, but not an effective method anymore in the era of stock-based regeneration, which has been a consensus now. However, it is difficult to explain what kind of regulation system is needed if it is not thoroughly analyzed and examined. This paper begins by explaining the contents and procedures of current urban space use regulation system, and proposes a generalized explanatory framework – “four subjects, five types of land use” – for the relationship between the land use and the economic growth and development pattern, to demonstrate how the land use regulation system supports “land capitalization” and “redistribution” and is embedded in the logic of high-speed growth. Furthermore, based on urban regeneration cases and policy documents, this paper tries to reveal the real demands and institutional support needed for the land use conversion in the era of stock-based regeneration, rethink the original purpose of the establishment of land use regulation, and provide suggestions for the transformation direction of urban space use regulation, including the establishment of stock land development rights and a more direct mechanism for land value capture. KEYWORDS: urban space; use regulation; institutional transformation; urban regeneration

♦PROMOTING “STAYING” THROUGH “FLOWING”: SPATIAL PATTERN AND PLANNING STRATEGY OF NEW URBANIZATION IN THE COUNTIES OF THE YANGTZE RIVER DELTA

Author: WANG Yao

ABSTRACT: Faced with the reality that facilities provided by China’s large cities can hardly meet the needs of 300 million farmers settling down, counties have become a focus of new urbanization. This paper aims to drive the development of county towns and enhance their spatial carrying capacity through guiding the flow of regional resource elements, and ultimately achieve the goal of new urbanization – promoting “population staying” through “elements flowing”. The paper analyzes the spatial types, functional mechanisms, and spatial patterns of county towns in the Yangtze River Delta region by developing a theoretical framework of“promoting ‘staying’ through ‘flowing’”, using the Fortune 500 companies’ data and mobile signaling data to identify the flow of elements like capital and population, adopting the analysis methods of “big data and questionnaire survey”, and using the analytical mechanism of “macro constraints and individual decision-making”. The findings reveal that, firstly, county towns in the Yangtze River Delta exhibit two typical development patterns: “networking” and “central flowing”. Among them, the “networking” pattern is more likely to achieve the goal of promoting “staying” through “flowing”. Secondly, the two typical patterns differ in the mechanisms. The “networking” pattern refers to the balanced flowing of elements inside and outside counties and towns driven by industrial division of labors, while the “central flowing” pattern refers to the flowing of dominant elements in county town under the comprehensive effect of housing and social security. Thirdly, it proposes planning strategies for promoting “staying” through “flowing” from the aspects of urbanization path, spatial carrier, scale borrowing, and spatial governance. 

KEYWORDS: elements flowing; county towns; functional mechanisms; networking pattern; central flowing pattern; the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

♦CONFLICT, EVOLUTION, AND CONTINUATION: SPATIAL SYSTEM AND CONSTRUCTION WISDOM OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENT IN URBAN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN THE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

Author: HU Gengen

ABSTRACT: The theoretical and technological development of city defense during the Northern and the Southern Song dynasties was close to the peak. The defense space and construction wisdom of the human settlements in the Southern Song Dynasty is mainly reflected in three aspects: historical figures, city guards’ military books, and construction practices. Among them, the construction of defense environment of human settlements is shaped by the game among knowledgeable people. The ideas of urban construction developed into a predominantly defensive pattern in the midst of conflict and intermingling, which promoted the participation of the literati in the military, contributed to the evolution and development of the book of city guards and soldiers, and directed the planning and design of defense space of urban human settlements in the Southern Song Dynasty. Analyzing the characteristics of the site layout, joint defense mechanism, and defense space of the border city by summarizing the wisdom of the military book of city guards and the construction of the defense system of human settlements, this paper further probes into the historical continuity and renewal of the wisdom in the defense system of human settlements, and summarizes the structure and construction wisdom of the city defense space of the Southern Song Dynasty, hoping to provide a reference for the understanding, protection, and development of the military city defense heritage of the city walls in Ming and Qing dynasties. 

KEYWORDS: cities of the Southern Song Dynasty; human settlements; construction wisdom; defense system

♦“COMMON PROPERTY RIGHTS”: LOGIC OF “RE-COLLECTIVIZATION” AND CONCEPTION OF SPATIAL GOVERNANCE IN THE REGENERATION OF URBAN VILLAGES

Author: HUANG Junlin

ABSTRACT: Urban village regeneration has been an important means in recent years for major Chinese cities to alleviate land resource constraints, promote land use efficiency, and improve the quality of urban space. However, under the constraints of both urban and rural land systems and the pressure of economic downturn, urban villages are trapped in the dilemma of overall “low efficiency” of land use and villagers’ increasing their incomes through illegal constructions and rent-seeking behaviors. This situation underscores the pressing need for institutional innovation and breakthroughs. Related analysis demonstrates that the evolution of Houhu area in Changsha from a “fishing village” to an “urban village” is a typical process of public domain rent competition. The local government has realized the integration of village property rights through a “demolition without relocation” approach, and carried out spatial transformation, ecological restoration, industrial optimization, and other governance measures, thus creating for multiple stakeholders mutually beneficial outcomes such as regional development, debt relief, and improved well-being. Through institutional innovation, the regeneration practice of urban village in Houhu area explores the “public domain” of spatial resources by integrating property rights, and develops a co-governance and co-prosperity mode for urban villages based on “common property rights” and “re-collectivization”, providing a spatial governance strategy and implementation path for current regeneration of urban villages and efficient reallocation of spatial resources. 

KEYWORDS: urban village; public domain; tragedy of the anti-commons; integration of property rights; spatial governance

♦RECONSTRUCTING THE INTEREST GAME MECHANISM OF URBAN RENEWAL: A NEW PERSPECTIVE OF “LAND DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS GAP”

Author: LIANG Yinlong

ABSTRACT: The incremental interest generated by the distribution of land development rights (LDR) is the core of the complex interest game among the government, society, and market in urban renewal. In the process of distributing LDR, there exists a significant gap between the “nominal LDR” conferred by policies and the “actual LDR” approved by the government. This paper defines the “gap between the nominal and the actual” as “land development rights gap (LDRG)”, and puts forward three control powers (rights) that affect the distribution of LDR in urban renewal from the perspective of control theory: policy-making power, gaming and voting right, and supervision and approval power. Taking the renewal of Hubei Area in Shenzhen as an example, this paper discusses the process of multiple subjects using the three control powers (rights) to compete for the LDRG. It is found that the competition for LDRG is the core to the interest game of urban renewal. The size of LDRG, along with the exercise of control power (right), presents an evolutionary feature of “inhibition, release, expansion, and closure”, which can be used to characterize the complexity and intensity of the interest game. The game of LDRG provides a new perspective for policy optimization and spatial governance capacity enhancement in urban renewal. 

KEYWORDS: urban renewal; interest game; land development rights gap (LDRG); control power (right); Shenzhen

♦REPRODUCTION OF MARGINALIZED SPACE: DISSIPATION MECHANISM AND CAPTURE PATH OF ECOLOGICAL VALUES IN URBAN FRINGE AREAS

Author: LIANG Chen

ABSTRACT: Rapid urbanizat ion is often accompanied by ecological degradation and value dissipation in urban fringe areas (UFAs). The consequent weakening of comparative location advantages has restrained the potential of capital accumulation and value generation in the UFAs, leading to the development dilemmas of sluggish urban regeneration progress and inefficient urban expansion. Through a retrospective review of ecological capitalization process in the UFAs, this paper develops an explanatory framework for the spatial representation and cognitive limitations of ecological value dissipation, and proposes corresponding spatial planning strategies for the capture of ecological values in the UFAs. The paper concludes that: (1) the ecological value dissipation in the UFAs triggers the substitution of spatial elements, impedes land regeneration processes, and

leads to the diffusion of ecological costs at multiple scales; (2) the deviation of value accounting, the dilemma of decoupled growth, and the paradox of ecological regulation are key factors restricting the cognition of ecological values in the UFAs; (3) in planning practice, the spatial reproduction of the UFAs can be promoted through coordinated resource allocation in time and space, value creation based on the integration of urban and green spaces, and system maintenance featuring protection-development complementation. 

KEYWORDS: urban fringe area; production of space; ecological value; spatial representation; planning response

♦REGIONAL PLANNING WITH NETWORK SYNERGY FOR DIGITAL CHINA

Author: ZHAO Miaoxi; XU Min; LIN Siyi; CHEN Jiahong; JI Rui

ABSTRACT: Rapid advancement of digital technology has triggered regional restructuring of capital and labor force around the world, with city agglomerations and metropolitan areas becoming critical for the harmonious development among Chinese cities of various sizes. Nonetheless, the unequal economic effects of digital infrastructure construction in different regions and uneven distribution of digital resources in urban and rural areas have hindered the digital development in less developed regions and small and medium-sized cities. This paper firstly examines the problems existing in coordinated regional development in China in the digital era from multiple perspectives: (1) the disparities in the development of eastern, central, and western regions; (2) the differences in the development of big, small, and medium-sized cities; (3) the imbalance in the development of urban areas and rural areas. Then it proposes a regional coordination network model driven by digital advancement to accelerate the development of less developed areas, and illuminates the thought of coordinated regional development featuring “multiple centers and networked structure” as well as the establishment of a supporting system for regional coordination network incorporating “digital infrastructure construction, industrial economy, and public services”. The paper provides valuable insights for the formulation and adjustment of planning strategies for coordinated regional development in China both at present and in the future. 

KEYWORDS: Digital China; network synergy; regional coordination; planning

♦RESEARCH ON THE CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS AND PLANNING GUIDANCE MECHANISM OF NEW INDUSTRIAL LAND

Author: WANG Xingping; YANG Qingli; LI Kailun

ABSTRACT: New industrial land is a crucial space for incubating and supporting new quality productive forces. It serves as an important supplement to the current industrial land system. It is essential to clarify the concept and connotation of new industrial land and explore its planning guidance mechanism. This will greatly contribute to standardizing and promoting the planning and management of new industrial land. This article analyzes the academic concept and policy definition of new industrial land. It compares the characteristics of new industrial land in Jiangsu Province with industrial land in Jiangsu Province and the rest of the country in terms of land transfer indicators. These indicators include relatively small land area, high average land price, and high development intensity. The article summarizes the planning guidance of new industrial land based on relevant practices. It highlights the characteristics of mixed land use functions and complex access requirements. Additionally, it identifies existing problems in planning guidance, land use supervision mechanisms, and land use efficiency of new industrial land. Finally, based on policy guidance and practical needs, the article proposes strategic suggestions for optimizing the new industrial land planning guidance mechanism from six dimensions of “people, land, time, space, cost, and trend”. 

KEYWORDS: new industrial land; emerging industries; new quality productive forces; planning guidance mechanism

♦RESEARCH ON AGGLOMERATION CHARACTERISTICS AND PROXIMITY MECHANISMS OF INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES AT MESO AND MICRO LEVELS: BASED ON THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF FOUR TYPICAL CITIES IN THE YANGTZE RIVER DELTA REGION

Author: ZHANG Jingxiang; LI Di

ABSTRACT: In light of the reconstruction of the logic of spatial use under the innovation economy, this paper seeks to analyze the agglomeration and location selection of innovation elements in cities. This paper first develops a framework to analyze the agglomeration and location selection of innovative enterprises, and use the data of small and medium-sized innovative enterprises and questionnaire survey to study four typical innovative cities in the Yangtze River Delta – Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou – so as to understand the new changes and demands of the spatial use of innovation elements. The following conclusions are drawn. (1) Agglomeration trend: in the context of urbanization driven by both inner-city regeneration and new city construction in China, the agglomeration of innovative enterprises exhibits the characteristics of returning to urban centers and growing in the suburbs. The latter, to some extent, has matched the spatial demands of innovative talents who prefer the emerging suburban scientific parks featuring low density and high space quality. (2) Structural evolution: the agglomeration structure of innovative enterprises coincides closely with the spatial transformation and functional evolution of cities. The division of regional functions and spatial structure of cities exert profound impacts on the agglomeration of enterprises. The concentration intensity of innovative enterprises decays from the center to the periphery, forming a core-edge structure with a radius of 1-3 km. (3) Location selection logic: in addition to traditional factors such as policy support and industry cluster, innovative enterprises not only gather towards young industrial clusters and application-oriented research clusters, but also manifest a clear urban life orientation. Soft factors such as space quality and innovation milieu have become high-level demands that cannot be ignored. 

KEYWORDS: innovative enterprises; innovative talents; spatial evolution; location selection; typical cities in the Yangtze River Delta

♦MEASUREMENT METHOD OF URBAN BLOCK FORM BASED ON “ACCESS STRUCTURE”

Author: SONG Yacheng; ZHANG Ye; HAN Dongqing

ABSTRACT: In order to enhance the correlation analysis between physical form and behavior activity, this paper puts forward an “access structure” approach to quantitatively describe the morphological characteristics of urban block based on the topological connection among the three form elements of street, plot and building. The paper establishes a basic urban block structure and a cognitive concept of three types of complex structures: interlocking, concurrent, and overlapping, and proposes a complexity index system and its calculation method based on graph theory tools. By analyzing the internal composition logic of Gaoloumen block and the block type characteristics of three urban centers of Nanjing in different periods, it verifies the practicability and effectiveness of the method on two scales. It provides a scientific measurement method for the cognition of the inner organization logic of urban block morphological structure, and lays a technical foundation for the refinement and digital development of urban design at the micro level. 

KEYWORDS: urban block; measurement method; complexity; morphological structure; access structure

♦COMPREHENSIVE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF STREET TEXTURE IN TRADITIONAL VILLAGES: A CASE STUDY OF TRADITIONAL VILLAGES IN XISHAN ISLAND

Author: LIU Lan; QIU Bing; XIONG Xing; WANG Junwei; CAI Runhui

ABSTRACT: In the construction of beautiful countryside, the scientific analysis of street texture is an important premise for the protection of historic styles and features of streets and lanes, as well as for the inheritance of original landscape characteristics of traditional villages. However, it is difficult to quantify the street texture. From the relationship between the walking experience and visual perception of pedestrians and the street form, this paper introduces the indicators of interface density and build-to-line ratio, and innovatively puts forward the frontage ratio as an indicator to quantify the street texture. Taking the main streets and lanes of typical traditional villages in Xishan Island of Taihu Lake as the research subject, the paper carries out a quantitative analysis of their texture by use of the three indicators. The data obtained from the analysis objectively reflect the diversity of spatial form of streets and lanes in traditional villages, thus providing a basis for the protection and inheritance of the traditional styles and features of them.

KEYWORDS: traditional village; street texture; comprehensive analysis; quantitative analysis

♦EVOLUTION OF SEA SALT SETTLEMENT SYSTEM UNDER THE ACTION OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL: A CASE STUDY OF LIANGHUAI SALT REGION IN THE MING AND QING DYNASTIES

Author: ZHANG Xiaoli; ZHAO Kui

ABSTRACT: This paper summarizes the changes in the function of each level of government control in the sea salt production area during the transformation process from “branch-saltworks-group” to “branch-salt farm-stove” in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the settlement development systems corresponding to the government control systems of “branch-saltworks governance-group” and “branch-saltworks governance-town-production”. From the perspective of time, the paper analyzes the vertical and horizontal development of the overall structure of the sea salt settlement system and summarizes the evolution law of the distribution of the settlement pattern based on the shift of the government control focus, as well as the changes of economic, natural, cultural, and other factors. Then it summarizes the evolution law of the hierarchical spatial form of the sea salt settlement system based on changes in the function of each level of government control, as well as the quantitative analysis of the spatial components of the sea salt settlement system in the Ming and Qing dynasties. This paper aims at exploring the origin and development process of the modern coastal settlement system in eastern China, laying a foundation for the subsequent comprehensive construction of the ancient sea salt handicraft settlement system. 

KEYWORDS: level of government control; evolution of the sea salt settlement system; pattern distribution; spatial form; spatial components