Urban Development and Planning of Chinese Cities -- Proceedings of the Conference

Author: Editorial Committee of This Book
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Few things possess such a pronounced "double-edged sword" characteristic as urbanization: "Urbanization can be the unparalleled light of the future, or it can be a harbinger of unprecedented disaster." "Urbanization is the largest opportunity for creating public wealth; on the other hand, it is the fount of poverty, social division, pollution, and traffic congestion." "Urbanization may be the source of the main problems in the current human society, but it can also be the key to solving some of the most complex and urgent issues in the world."
What will the future of China and the world be like? To a large extent, it depends on what the contemporary Chinese do in the process of rapid urbanization. Unfortunately—or perhaps, incredibly—China's rapid urbanization is also accompanied by numerous social, economic, and technological changes such as marketization, globalization, legalization, informatization, and motorization. In other words, the complex contradictions during the transformation period will profoundly influence or even determine the trajectory of urbanization—the path of reforming the urban planning system.
In this era of information explosion, unprecedented rates of change, and confusion, facing the numerous problems, contradictions, and even crises of urbanization in China, it is undoubtedly a must to fully learn from and absorb the experiences and lessons of urbanization pioneers around the world, and to ensure the healthy development of urbanization through orderly reforms of the urban planning system. This is undoubtedly the way to avoid detours and pitfalls.
In summary, the success or failure of urban planning reform during China's transformation period is directly related to the health of urbanization in China, as well as the construction of a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society. It may even affect global sustainable development.