Chinese Urbanization Enters a New Phase

By PENG SHUYI

SINCE adopting its reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s， China has witnessed rapid economic development， as well as large-scale urban construction. Over the last decade in particular， the country has undergone one of the largest-scale and swiftest urbanization processes in the world， with average annual growth exceeding 1.3 percent. The urbanization rate has kept escalating， from less than 20 percent before reform and opening-up， to 52.6 percent in 2012， and further to 56.1 percent in 2015. Rapid urbanization has changed the face of this traditionally agricultural country.

However， the “rash advance” of urbanization has wrought such side effects as poor urban planning， with the effacement of local features and lagging public services. Over the last several years， the Chinese government has raised awareness of such problems， and proposed a new policy package on urban construction. The new plan puts people first， and aims to better protect the environment and develop a sustainable economy， which is of vital importance to the countrys economic restructuring.

Teething Problems

Looking back on Europes urbanization in its early stages， yearly growth rates remained merely 0.16 to 0.24 percent on average. The time span before the urbanization rate increased from 20 to 40 percent ranged from decades to 100 years， and it took further decades for the rate to rise from 40 to 80 percent. As a developing country， China made a late start in modernization and also lacked urbanization experience. Its relatively heady approach to urbanization in earlier years has resulted in multiple problems.

The first phase of urbanization in China appeared， to some extent， as an “enclosure movement.” Scenes of demolition and construction could be witnessed across the country. Cities， big and small， competed to become more cosmopolitan， regardless of geographic， historical and cultural differences. Timehonored neighborhoods and alleyways that embodied historical memory and tradition were ruthlessly knocked down and bulldozed， to be replaced with wide avenues， big squares， and high-rises. Big cities and small towns all rushed to build dashy “landmarks” – pastiche construction in different styles， some even constructing replicas of Tiananmen Gate， the Arc de Triomph， and the White House. Faceless cities cut off from their historical heritage emerged， lacking beauty or soul. Furthermore， these constructions usually consumed high levels of energy， and so squandered resources.

GDP growth rate was the key index in Chinas first round of urbanization， while supporting infrastructure was more or less neglected – including underground pipelines， sewage systems， hospitals， schools， green spaces， parks， and waste treatment plants. Many cities became less livable， especially emerging large or mega cities that face water and electricity shortages， constrained educational and healthcare services， severe pollution， and traffic congestion. On the other hand， small and mid-sized cities and towns suffer deficiencies in urban management and public services.

Another acute problem is that the social process of urbanization has lagged way behind spatial urbanization. Rapid industrialization has resulted in a surplus of rural workers who need new employment. Statistics show that Chinas general urbanization rate has surpassed 50 percent， but the urbanization of its population is below 40 percent. In other words， while the number of towns and cities keeps increasing， about two-thirds of rural residents have yet to become urban residents.

The high number of migrant work- ers or transients in cities are ineligible under the existing household registration system for the resources available to permanent city dwellers， such as healthcare and， in particular， education. Many migrant workers have no recourse but to leave their children behind in their rural homes. As of 2015， over 60 million children live in the countryside without their parents.

The problem is rooted in major cities being too crowded to accommodate more people， while small and middlesized cities， lacking industrial support， have failed to create sufficient job opportunities to attract migrant workers. Therefore， many urban districts and towns that have emerged in the recent wave of urbanization have become to a large extent dormitory towns or “emptyshell” cities.

Focus on People

After reflecting on the first round of urbanization， the Chinese government issued an overall plan in 2014 to encourage a new type of urbanization. The plan puts people first， and attaches greater importance to environmental protection and sustainable development. The aim is to build intensive， smart， green， and low-carbon cities and towns.

People and social issues have thus become a high priority of this new-type urbanization， instead of GDP growth or steel and concrete structures. This new concept accords with Chinas broader new economic and social patterns： the countrys economy had largely relied on exports since late 1970s， but the 2008 global financial crisis prompted the Chinese government to spur domestic demand， in efforts to steer the economy towards the home market.

Furthermore， the extensive economic development mode of the last several decades has exerted pressure on the environment. The Chinese government， therefore， will spare no effort in promoting resource conservation and a more environment-friendly society. This newtype urbanization focusing on developing small and medium-sized cities appropriately echoes the need to achieve a more sustainable economy and society.

The people are at the core of this new-type urbanization – to realize urbanization in terms of people rather than simply land use. In other words， urbanization should transform the surplus agricultural population into urban residents. To this end， cities， especially small and medium-sized cities， should develop supporting industries to expand the job market for people leaving the farming sector. They should facilitate the development of small and mediumsized businesses and such tertiary industries as found in the cultural and tourism sectors. This will not be an easy task， and demand constant exploration， innovation and practice.

One especially noteworthy issue is that new city residents should be guaranteed not only job opportunities but also equal access to urban social security， healthcare， and compulsory education systems. Only then can the surplus rural population become real urban residents， thereby also guaranteeing the cities sustainability and prosperity.

Respect History and Nature

New-type urbanization advocates due respect for history， culture， and nature. Certain past practices， such as land reclamation by filling in lakes， chopping down trees to lay lawns， or knocking down old buildings to make way for new ones， have destroyed the original fabric of cities， destroying their connections with the past. But all these actions have been halted – natural landscapes and historical physical features such as old neighborhoods and residential buildings are now being preserved.

Cities need green mountains and clear rivers， and also culture and history. In other words， history and culture should act as guard-stones against the more destructive tides of urbanization， as proven in other countries.

New-type urbanization favors green and conservation-conscious cities， or a good environmental habitat. Cities are encouraged to improve facilities that make life more convenient and comfortable， such as parks and ample green space between buildings， evenly distributed hospitals and schools， while also improving both underground and aboveground utility networks. There are reports that deficient urban planning has caused some cities to suffer flooding after rainfalls and others to be surrounded by mountains of garbage.

China is the most populous country in the world with limited resources. In light of resource shortages and low environmental capacity， cities should adhere to the path of green， low-carbon development. For example， new buildings need to adopt natural ventilation and lighting systems that reduce the use of air-conditioners to a minimum， so avoiding any further deterioration of an already fragile eco-system in urban areas.

New-type urbanization has accomplished a first round of pilot projects， and the second round was launched last December. Driven by the new concept， urbanization in China is expected to proceed along the right track.