City Planning Review（2025.1）

♦ CLIMATE-RESILIENT TERRITORIAL PLANNING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: A CHINESE MODEL

Author：YU Kongjian

ABSTRACT:This study is the continuation of the author’s 30-year exploration of territorial planning and urban ecological security. It proposes a Chinese model for climate resilience in territorial and urban spaces defined by three dimensions: nature-based philosophy, ecology-based spatial patterns, and ecological engineering technologies and infrastructure that are aligned with the principle of “following nature’s course”. Rooted in China’s millennia-old monsoon culture and traditional ecological wisdom, this model has been scientifically and modularly designed and then tested in over 200 cities across the country. By regulating water process and constructing integrated ecological infrastructure, it has achieved multiple objectives, including protecting and restoring ecological environment, controlling floods, droughts, and urban heat islands, flexibly addressing tidal surges, naturally purifying water and soil, and providing shelters. These efforts have significantly enhanced climate resilience in territorial and urban spaces. This model demonstrates the feasibility of transitioning global climate strategies from a carbon emission-centered, single-focus approach to a holistic climate resilience framework centered on land-based and water-driven process. In light of the increasingly “monsoon-like” global climate pattern and the escalating disaster frequency, this Chinese model holds profound significance for global development.

KEYWORDS: climate resilience; ecological civilization; flood control; ecological security; water-driven climate resilience; nature-based solution; sponge city; Chinese model

♦ CONSTRUCTING DIGITAL PROFILES OF URBAN POPULATION FROM A HUMANCENTERED PERSPECTIVE: THEORY AND METHOD

Author：YANG Junyan; ZHANG Xun; SHI Yi

ABSTRACT: From a human-centered perspective, achieving the accurate matching between urban spaces and the diverse needs of urban population has long been a central issue in urban planning. However, in existing planning practices, insufficient attention is paid to the differences of “people” in the city, ignoring the in-depth analysis of their diverse characteristics and correlation with urban spaces. As a result, the practical challenges of meeting the needs of various population groups are becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, this paper focuses on the hierarchical structure of individual needs and constructs a multi-dimensional attribute system for urban population, consisting of “static basic social attributes, stable jobs-housing behavior attributes, and flexible travel preference attributes”. It then proposes the theory and methodology for constructing “digital profiles of urban population”. Based on this theory, the paper constructs digital profiles of the population in the Yuejianglou Area of Nanjing, identifies and extracts the multidimensional attributes of typical population groups, and provides targeted spatial optimization recommendations.

KEYWORDS: human-centered perspective; digital profile; multi-dimensional attribute; indicator system; pattern characterization

♦ CONTRADICTION AND COLLABORATION: INDUSTRIAL LAND TRANSFORMATION OF TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIAL TOWN FROM A BILATERAL PERSPECTIVE OF GOVERNMENT AND ENTERPRISE - A CASE STUDY OF DIANKOU TOWN IN ZHUJI CITY

Author：ZHU Kai

ABSTRACT: Due to the relatively extensive development path in the past, the actual situation of industrial land in many traditional industrial towns fails to satisfy to the strong demand for transformation and upgrading. The government and relevant enterprises constantly game with each other, and there is an urgent need to accelerate the design and implementation of governmententerprise collaboration policies. From the perspective of stakeholders, this study extracts clues for the intervention of bilateral entities of the government and enterprises in the entire process of industrial land transformation. Taking Diankou Town, Zhuji City, a traditional industrial town in Zhejiang Province, as a specific case, the paper analyzes the typical problems in the current transformation of traditional industrial land in industrial towns, and then sorts out the bilateral contradictions in the transformation of traditional industrial land in such towns, namely the mismatch in both needs and interests between the government and enterprises. What’s more, a linkage analysis of the relevant attributes of industrial land and the different stages involved in the transformation process are conducted, and a government-enterprise collaboration framework to guide the industrial land transformation in traditional industrial town is designed. Finally, this paper clarifies and explains the four key points of government-enterprise collaboration: innovative multi-scenario land supply methods, establishment of standard land transfer systems, improvement of incentive and constraint measures, and promotion of diversified collaboration updates, in order to promote the transformation of industrial land in traditional industrial towns, and provide a reference for optimization and upgrading of urban space.

KEYWORDS: industriall and ; bilateral contradiction; government-enterprise collaboration; traditional industrial town

♦ AN EXPLORATION OF THE RIGHTS SYSTEM AND PLANNING MECHANISM FOR AUTONOMOUS REGENERATION IN OLD NEIGHBORHOOD

Author：SHAO Yongwei; QI Dongjin

ABSTRACT: The government’s financial support for the renovation of old neighborhoods is limited, and residents are increasingly calling for autonomous regeneration. The current urban regeneration system’s ambiguity regarding the positioning of autonomous regeneration has become a key constraint on the advancement of regeneration projects, highlighting the need to address institutional obstacles. Based on domestic case studies, it has been found that unclear roles and responsibilities of the main stakeholders is one of the dilemmas facing autonomous regeneration, which stems from the insufficient definition of rights related to regeneration and renovation. This paper explores the connotation of development rights, the beneficiaries of empowerment, the specific forms and effects of these rights, and draws on the experiences of the UK and Japan in resident-led regeneration. It is proposed that the legal or policy framework should clearly define the rights of the main stakeholders in autonomous regeneration and the entities responsible for implementation. In terms of planning, the relationship between various types of regeneration plans (or programs) and statutory planning and permits should be clarified. The paper suggests that the government should implement targeted policies for different types of old neighborhoods, encourage social capital investment, and mobilize the active participation of both residents and private investors.

KEYWORDS: renovation of old neighborhood; autonomous regeneration; development right; neighborhood plan; urban redevelopment project

♦ SPIRAL TRANSLATION-BASED PROGRESSIVE REGENERATION MECHANISM: A CASE STUDY OF HEHUATANG HISTORIC CONSERVATION AREA IN NANJING

Author：YUAN Yulong; YU Tao

ABSTRACT: The small-scale, progressive regeneration mode has gradually become the mainstream of urban regeneration theory and practice. This paper discusses the concept of “spiral translation” in the actor-network theory, and points out that progressive regeneration demonstrates a process of spiral rise, so regeneration planning should be dynamically adjusted in response to network change. Through a survey on the Hehuatang Historic Conservation Area in Nanjing, the paper identifies the actor types and objectives of the regeneration through interviews and develops an actor network. It then reveals that some problems have arisen in the spiral translation process, which makes it difficult to implement the regeneration planning. In the end, the paper presents corresponding optimization strategies in accordance with the spiral translation-based progressive regeneration mechanism in the Hehuatang Historic Conservation Area, with the aim of promoting the innovation and advancement of the regeneration planning concepts.

KEYWORDS: spiral translation; progressive regeneration; Actor-Network; historic conservation area; Hehuatang Historic Conservation Area in Nanjing

♦ NATURE AND FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT CONTROL SYSTEM IN THE ERA OF URBAN REGENERATION: RE-BALANCING REGULATORY CONTROL AND DISCRETIONARY CONTROL

Author：LI Jihuan

ABSTRACT: Chinese cities have moved from a phase of expansionary development to an era of stock land regeneration, posing new demands on China’s development control system. Taking Shanghai as an example, this paper re-examines the nature of development control under China’s current urban land tenure system from the perspective of land property rights - which administrative actions effectively regulate land use and constitute the development control system. The paper argues that China’s current development control system is a combination of plans and contracts, jointly regulated by both public and private laws. Since China has entered the era of urban regeneration, its development control system has shown new characteristics, with a re-balancing of regulatory control and discretionary control within the development control system, and with discretionary control elements gradually increasing in both proportion and importance. To promote high-quality urban regeneration, it suggests that development control should strike a balance between regulatory control and discretionary control, taking into account both credibility and flexibility. Specific suggestions include reducing prescriptive provisions in regulatory detailed plans to increase flexibility and enhance the credibility of the remaining prescriptive provisions, allowing developers to engage in planning modifications at earlier stages, and enhancing external supervision.

KEYWORDS: development control; land property rights; regulatory detailed plan; land conveyance contract; discretion; Shanghai

♦ URBAN REGENERATION MECHANISM AND CHANGE LOGIC FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF GENERAL REGENERATION GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE: A CASE STUDY OF GUANGZHOU

Author：WAN Chengwei; YE Yumin; JIANG Xiji; YE Dan; TANG Yike

ABSTRACT: Urban regeneration is a systematic project with complex contents, and it is also a way of urban planning and governance with general characteristics. In recent years, there has been a surge in both the theoretical research and practical model summaries concerning urban regeneration. Nevertheless, the absence of analogy analysis on a general analytical framework in related model studies has resulted in outcomes that are less comparable and harder to learn from. Therefore, this paper develops a 5W analytical framework for urban regeneration governance, drawing on the general analytical framework of urban governance, as well as the specific traits of urban planning and the five fundamental issues in scientific research. The framework is applied to systematically summarize and conduct a comparative analysis on Guangzhou’s urban regeneration mechanisms using a historical analysis method.The study reveals that Guangzhou’s urban regeneration paradigm has experienced a shift from regeneration management to regeneration governance’ which consists of five dimensions: regeneration targets, regeneration actors, regeneration spaces, regeneration contents, and regeneration modes. The empirical analysis not only validates the applicability of the proposed analytical framework, but also sheds lights on the general development law of urban regeneration. Given that China’s urbanization process has generally entered its middle to late stages, with most cities beginning to normalize their urban regeneration efforts, this paper suggests that the late-developing cities follow the evolutionary law of the regeneration governance structure, to plan ahead and seize new opportunities for iterative development in the new stage.

KEYWORDS: urban regeneration; governance mechanism; 5W analytical framework; spatial planning; Guangzhou

♦ HIERARCHY, RESPONSE, AND COLLABORATION: EVOLUTION OF AND REFLECTIONS ON DETAILED PLANNING UNITS GUIDED BY THE OPTIMIZATION OF MESOSCOPIC TOOLS

Author：WU Songtao; WANG Jingyuan; WEN Shipeng; SU Wanqing

ABSTRACT: As the focus of spatial planning reform gradually shifts to the mesoscopic level, detailed planning, traditionally serving as a tool at the intermediate level, requires adaptive reform. As a derivative of detailed planning, the detailed planning unit has increasingly become a crucial instrument for plan transmission. This paper reviews the development of detailed planning units in China over the past two decades, categorizing it into three distinct stages. During the new stage, where spatial planning evolves from a “control tool” to a “governance tool”, the paper proposes optimization methods for the delineation, formulation, and management of detailed planning units both within and beyond urban development boundaries, responding to governance needs among the government, market, and society. Furthermore, it offers reflections on aspects such as the comprehensive alignment of “planning, construction, and governance”, the diversification of application scenarios, the reform of detailed planning techniques, and collaborative mechanisms.

KEYWORDS: detailed planning unit; planning transmission; mesoscopic tool; spatial governance; collaborative innovation

♦ AN EXPLORATION OF FLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT AND MODERN GOVERNANCE PATHWAYS FOR URBAN ECOLOGICAL SPACES IN LARGE CITIES: BASED ON ECOLOGICAL GRADIENT THEORY

Author：LIN Xiaoru; XU Minghui; WEN Chaoxiang; WANG Shiyu; ZHAN Yujun

ABSTRACT：In the context of ecological civilization construction and urban modernization governance, the transformation of the ecological value of natural resources is a core issue in territorial planning. Ecological spaces not only act as security safeguards within the complex urban system but also serve as public goods that improve the quality of the living environment. Currently, it is widely accepted that the natural service functions of ecological spaces far outweigh their social service functions. However, the rigid protection of urban ecological resources may disrupt the organic connection between urban space and ecological space, degrade the overall ecological environment quality, and overlook the need for flexible support to accommodate dynamic urban development. This paper reconsiders the function and connotation of ecological spaces in the context of current territorial planning and proposes a modern governance framework for urban ecological spaces in large cities based on ecological gradient theory. This framework integrates flexible systems, adaptable boundaries, and dynamic adaptation. Using the ecological space in Haicang District, Xiamen, as a case study, an assessment model for the development potential of ecological spaces is constructed, classifying ecological spaces into three categories: strictly protected areas, strategic reserve areas, and potential development areas. Through constructing a comprehensive ecological framework, integrating functions across adaptable boundaries, and exploring a dynamic transformation management model, this study seeks to develop a refined control pathway that combines rigidity and flexibility, aiming to achieve the modern governance goal of maximizing the comprehensive benefits of ecological spaces in large cities.

KEYWORDS：ecological space; modern governance; flexibility; territorial planning; large cities