 |
| The cost of new housing in
China rises - as urban land becomes more expensive.
Photo © Department of Urban and Rural Planning,
Ministry of Construction, China |
How to use land is the key to urban planning and
one of the most important elements of any urban development
programme. In China, owing to a large population and
a small available land area, proper land use is essential.
Land use planning in urban China faces two major challenges:
to answer a high demand for modern living conditions,
and to keep land use per capita at a relatively low
level.
With the transformation of the national economic system
and changing priorities in city development, land
use strategy in China has undergone fundamental change.
Before the liberalisation of the economy in 1978,
China operated a highly centralised system. Urban
land was owned by the government and could be used
without fees being charged. The main purpose of urban
development was to meet the demands of industry. City
land use was messy and the general state of settlements
poor.
After China established a market economy, land use
fees were introduced. Respect of the environment was
also promoted.
The situation has changed dramatically over 20 years
and the structure and overall arrangement of city
land use has been constantly readjusted and improved.
The financial and business sectors have been focused
on city centres while most industries have gradually
been moved to the outskirts of major cities or satellite
towns. Industries, which interfered with each other,
have been separated. Overall, the proportion of land
taken up by industry has also been reduced, while
the proportion of residential areas has been increased,
and the general state of settlements improved.
The urban land use programme has a standard scale
of land usage per capita. Principles for land use
in different areas have been stipulated and the overall
arrangement and proportion of land used for different
purposes has been confirmed. Standards for centres
at city or district level and major public service
facilities have also been set out.
According to the needs of urban industry, the reconstruction
of inner cities and regulations governing city land
use, and the main principles outlining environment
friendly policies have been drawn up. Some regions'
development has to be limited so that scenic spots,
ecologically important areas, and farmland protection
zones are protected.
This has been done by first collecting basic facts
in order to have a general idea of the current situation
of land use in urban planning. Then, an evaluation
is carried out to determine whether the land is suitable
for construction, or suitable only on certain conditions,
or not at all. On the basis of this evaluation, the
character of city land is classified and an index
and overall arrangement for different categories is
set.
The main content of urban land use planning includes
putting forward various kinds of demands suitable
for construction for land with different characters,
confirming the density of construction, controlling
the height, other dimensions and green land proportion.
The Chinese City Planning Law sets out definite
criteria governing the use of urban land. Any kind
of land use and construction in the city planning
area must be carried out according to this law. The
City Planning Method is the major instruction
for urban planning. It has clearly regulated the basic
content and demand for enacting overall city planning.
Nationally, a Classification of City Land Use
and Standard for Planning of Construction Land
has been drawn up setting down the basic technical
principles for city land use planning. For habitation,
urban land has been classified into various categories
such as public facilities, industry, storage, outside
exchanges, road and square, municipal services, green
land, land for special purposes, and water areas.
Ma Zhejun is from the Urban and Rural Planning
Department, Ministry of Construction.
|
