Urban planning in China

Urban planning in the People's Republic of China focuses on building cities with many people living close together. Over time, the way cities are planned has changed a lot.

In the past, cities like Xi'an and Beijing's Forbidden City were built to match natural directions and harmony, using ideas like Feng-shui. From 1950 to 1980, cities were designed to help workers with cheap homes and big public spaces. Today, cities mix Chinese and Western ideas, creating modern places like Shanghai and Tianjin. Big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are planned to connect China to the world, with busy centers and strong transportation systems.

History

Main article: Ancient Chinese urban planning

China shows how old ideas about planning can shape cities today. Planning in China started long ago, even before kings ruled. One important idea came from a book called the Artificers' Record during the Western Han dynasty. It used older thoughts from geomancy, Feng Shui, and the I Ching. Ancient planners made cities with straight lines and careful layouts. Some of the earliest village plans, like those from the Hemudu culture, show spaces for homes and work. The city of Xi'an, built in the 7th century AD, had walls, water paths, and space for many people.

China’s cities grew in different ways over time. In the 1940s, few people lived in cities. Early leaders built communities with homes, jobs, and services. Cities were designed with public spaces and industries. Later, China grew fast, and new laws helped organize growth. Today, China builds cities that balance people, nature, and the economy.

Planning system

The laws that guide how towns and countryside areas are planned in China include the Urban and Rural Planning Law and other rules.

Since 1979, different departments have overseen this planning. It started with the State Administration of Urban Construction. Then it changed to the Ministry of Urban-Rural Construction and Environmental Protection. After that, it was the Ministry of Construction, then the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and now the Ministry of Natural Resources.

There are different types of plans. The older system had national and provincial urban system planning, city master plans with detailed plans, town master plans with detailed plans, and rural planning for townships and villages. The newer system started in 2019. It brings together urban planning, land-use planning, and other specialized plans into one system called "territorial spatial planning." This system has five levels (national, provincial, municipal, county, and township) and three types of plans (master, detailed, and specialized). Master plans are the most important documents. They guide how places are built, including where people can live, work, and play.

In practice, planning in China involves checking and approving several important papers before building can start.

Criticism and reform

Some people think that copying old cities from other places means missing chances to try new ideas for planning cities as they grow very fast in China. One idea is to put all roads underground when building new cities.

A big idea in changing urban planning is to combine many different plans into one. This means putting plans for cities and nature into a single plan. This helps make sure plans are followed. These changes were first tried when building Pudong New Area.^: 200