Urban planning in China
China's urban planning philosophies and practices have undergone multiple transitions due to governance and economic structure changes throughout the nation's extensive history.
[1] China provides one of many examples of how archaic philosophies and their resulting planning decisions have had a profound impact on not only the spatial organization, but the culture of cities and nations of the distant past and present.
[2][3] Further, the Rites of Zhou indicate that the origins of the most basic of urban planning philosophies in China are of a more archaic nature relating to concepts of geomancy, Feng Shui and I Ching.
[3] The planners of ancient China "imposed an orthogonal and cardinal regimen on the districts, temples, places and streets of its capital cities at least as early as the Zhou dynasty (1122-221 B.C.)"
[2][3] Santiago Ortuzar indicates that such basic rural and urban planning philosophies may have originated more than 7000 years ago in the Neolithic villages, for example, the Hemudu culture settlements in Zhejiang province.
provides an example of early urban activity centres as 45 dwellings still remain in what could be easily considered high density for the building materials of the time.
The construction of which was preceded by a regional survey to ensure the flow of water, resources and a strategic location for reasons of health, natural balance and safety; an exercise planners today practice on a daily basis.
[7] Human settlements in China are considerably older than those of the West, as neolithic villages in the lower plains of the Yangtze River are approximately 7,500-7,000 years old.
The village, while partially excavated presents considerable evidence of early planning efforts in China as its layout reveals "various land uses (zoning) were allocated and where several activities took place" and further represents "a clear indication of a conscious decision to separate the perilous outside world with a secure internal space" in fashion similar to present towns, cities and global city municipal zoning.
A second village near Beijing dating to 2,400BC further confirms that similar discoveries such as Banpo "are not isolated examples" of early and intentional urban planning in China.
[7] Chinese settlements, while later than those of the Nile Valley, Indus, Euphrates and Tigris river basins "are undoubtedly some of the worlds first in terms of human evolution and urban character".
This settlement pattern has existed in China for thousands of years for various purposes including defense from "attacks by bandits, local chieftains and other enemies came together in hamlets.
Rural Chinese live in small scale urban settlements of "about 500 to 700 persons each" with men traveling daily by horseback or bicycle to a nearby plot of land, while women either accompany their husbands to the fields or attend children or the household.
[9]: 203 Throughout the Mao Zedong era, Chinese state planners designed urban areas with an explicit purpose of developing a socialist citizenry, including through the construction of work units called danwei, which provided housing, jobs, food, health care, and other elements of the iron rice bowl on-site.
[9]: 68 These principles included maintaining the old city core as administrative areas while building industry on the periphery with green space and residences between the two.
[9]: 68 Planning for factories and workers' housing in this period included strong central axes, green belts, symmetrical building placement, parameter blocks, and monumental entrances.
[12] The economic boom ushered in by Deng Xiaoping increased funding to major city planning works, including urban revitalization and renewal projects.
[15] As understandings of pollution became more comprehensive, urban planning began to focus on creating more environmentally sustainable developments, while also preserving historic aesthetics.
[14]: 382 It includes the use of permeable materials in buildings, roads, and open public spaces as well as remediation of natural features such as wetlands or lakes which were blocked or filled during earlier stages of development.
[16]: 8 The Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (covering 2016-2020) highlighted nineteen city clusters to be developed and strengthened pursuant to a geographic layout referred to as two horizontals and three verticals (liang heng san zong).
