From Opposition and Exclusion to Harmonious Coexistence: The Path of Socialism New Rural Construction in Guangzhou Science City

Author: Xiao Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The conversion of agricultural land into urban construction land, with villages surrounded by cities. If these villages are not actively guided and controlled in their development, their growth will become disconnected from urban development, leading to numerous problems and negative impacts on the city, thereby hindering the pace of urbanization. In the planning and construction of Guangzhou Science City, the traditional concept of urban-rural opposition and exclusion has been consciously abandoned, and a fresh perspective has been adopted to interpret the relationship between urban new area development and rural development. Gradually, a concept of harmonious coexistence between rural and urban areas has been formed, and new methods and approaches have been explored in practice. The three case studies in this book—Yushu Village, Huangpi Village, and Xiangang Village—present detailed and vivid records of the exploration undertaken by development zone managers and planners. Their arguments and analyses are broad in scope, integrating the findings of multiple disciplines, and offer fresh insights. The proposition of "From Opposition and Exclusion to Harmonious Coexistence" is proposed from the perspective of the characteristics of urban-rural planning, aligning with the general framework of building a harmonious society, and is worthy of serious study by the academic community. The changes in the fate of villages and farmers within the rapidly expanding urban new areas and their profound social impact have become a hot topic of concern for the government, as well as scholars in the social sciences, planning fields, and academia. Guangzhou Science City is an urban new area that expanded during the implementation of Guangzhou's "Eastward Development" strategy. The village planning in this new area, after years of exploration, has formed a distinctive planning approach and methodology, finding a path for mutual integration and coexistence between urban and rural spaces. This book reviews this exploration process and analyzes it against the backdrop of the historic turning point in China's urban-rural relationship and rapid urbanization, proposing the concept of harmonious coexistence between urban and rural areas. This is an innovative achievement resulting from the close collaboration between urban-rural construction decision-makers and urban-rural planners, the practice of scientific development concepts, and the creation of a Chinese characteristic theory of urban-rural planning.