[1][2][3][4] It is a new concept and terminology introduced by Chinese landscape architect, Professor of Peking University YU Kongjian[citation needed].
[5][6] Yu argued that among other issues, the degrading environmental and ecological situations, low performance scrambled city form, and the loss of cultural identity in Beijing have proved that the conventional "population projection-urban infrastructure-land use" approach and the architectural urbanism approach to urban growth planning failed to meet the challenges of swift urbanisation and sustainability issues in China in general, and Beijing in particular[citation needed].
It distinguishes itself from other theories as it is practical way of solving urban and rural planning problems in quickly developing regions.
This approach argues that when it comes to dealing with issues brought up by rapid urban development, the conventional "population speculation–land use–infrastructure layout" approach "has been proven invalid" and responsible for the "chaotic situation and degrading ecological conditions" and "loss of cultural and spiritual landscape" in Chinese cities like Beijing and Shenzhen.
[16] Facing the challenges in today's Chinese urban planning, Yu discusses about the ethic of land use in China and referred the land as Chinese gods, he argues that we should "go back to earth" and let the "god of earth" come back to life in his book Negative Planning Method.