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[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Xi-Zhang Shan, School of Geographical Sciences, South China Normal University, No. 55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510631, PR China Paru dans : Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 211-217 Abstract Urban green spaces serve a variety of residents with various perceptions, preferences and demands. Their effective governance and precision provision increasingly require public input. Due to the unique political regime, public decision-making in China has long been controlled by governments with the public neglected. With increasing civic consciousness in recent years in urban China, this research investigated attitudes and willingness toward participation in planning, management and design of urban green spaces in Guangzhou. Face-to-face questionnaire surveys were conducted at the 24 green sites across the city with 595 respondents successfully interviewed. The results demonstrated the positive attitudes and strong willingness toward participation despite socioeconomic variations, fitting into a global trend of increasing civic consciousness and strengthening the theoretical base of public participation. Practically, the positive findings lay a sound social foundation for the participatory decision-making in urban China, and help to drive local governments more open and inclusive and develop effective governance strategies and mechanisms to promote public participation in decision-making of urban green spaces.

Source : Academic Search Premier Auteurs : Yong, Liu, Yue Wenze, and Fan Peilei DO I: 10.1068/b37009 Résumé: In this research we assessed the urban land conversion, and identified the factors responsible for the conversion, from 1995 to 2009 in Hangzhou, a large city located in the lower Yangtze River Delta of China. We mapped urban land from satellite images by using a hybrid approach of spectral mixture analysis, unsupervised classification, and expert rules. We employed binary logistic regression to model the probability of urban land conversion as a function of spatial independent variables. In recent years Hangzhou started its transformation from a compact, monocentric city to a polycentric city. We found that accessibility to the central business district, industrial centers, roads, Qiantang River, the amount of built-up area in the neighborhood, locations of markets, and spatial policies were the major determinants of Hangzhou's urban land conversion. Moreover, the availability of land in the neighborhood has become increasingly important in recent years. We identified several major institutional forces underlying Hangzhou's urban development: administrative annexation and development zones, the increasingly important role of the market, and the unique role of local government. The results from our research indicate the need for policies and plans that can better manage and reduce urban sprawl in Hangzhou. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Urban China Initiative aims to be the source of the best and most innovative solutions to urban development issues in China. To achieve this goal, UCI conducts a grant program to support research concerning China's urban development and sustainability. UCI accepts research applications on an annual basis for grants up to RMB 100,000. It also provides assistance and guidance during the research process and facilitates the publication of working papers and implementation through city pilots (Click here for more supports UCI GRANTS provide). The Initiative supports research on the effectiveness of programs and technologies related to urban development; emerging domestic and global best practices in project design, development, and execution; and paths to successful structural adjustment in China's cities. Grant-supported research focuses on sustainable urbanization (Click here for detailed requirements). Candidates are required to submit an application package which includes a detailed research proposal and CV (download application form and proposal template) to grant@urbanchinainitiative.org. The deadline for the upcoming round of funding is December 20, 2012. Research for the grants is expected to be completed within a year. For inquiry, please contact us via contact@urbanchinainitiative.org or +86(10)-8525-5245.

Xuefei Ren's work on the high-end of the building boom in China brings together the sociology of globalization with the study of architecture and the built environment. Building Globalization treats architectural production as crucial to the material and symbolic ways in which global cities are made. Based on Ren's doctoral research at the University of Chicago, the book draws on fieldwork conducted in Beijing and Shanghai between 2004 and 2008, covering the bull years leading up to the Beijing Olympics. China is now taken to exemplify the geo-demographic shift that has seen developing countries lead current processes of urbanisation. However the Chinese government's attitude towards quanqiuhua chengshi (global cities) and its support for rapid urban growth from the mid-late 1990s represented a striking reversal of official policy which had been to limit the growth of large cities and promote instead the development of small-medium centres (p.11). The re-scaling of state power to metropolitan level in the interests of enhancing urban competitiveness has been an international trend in recent decades. In China this has proved particularly effective in driving urban growth, given state ownership of land and government control over household registration, urban planning and development decisions. Metropolitan governments in China have the kind of ownership and discretionary powers of which the most boosterist western city mayors can only dream. Ren argues convincingly that the processes shaping these cities are increasingly transnational; in particular, the forces that make buildings 'operate beyond national boundaries, as seen in the circulation of investment capital, the movements of built-environment professionals, and the diffusion of new technologies' (p.6). However, while Chinese economic growth may have destabilized a global balance of power dominated by the triad of the USA, the European Union and Japan, Ren's analysis suggests that older core-peripher

Along with the rapid development of urbanization, the energy problem is increasingly prominent. Based on CES production function and growth function of urbanization, this paper put forward the model of Growth Drag of China's Urbanization Caused by energy, and empirical analysis with the data of China was done. The results showed that the growth drag of energy during urbanization process in China is 0.2692,in other words, because of the restriction of energy, urbanization process declines 0.2692.From the results, the Growth Drag of China's Urbanization Caused by energy is very high. Ensure that energy security supply has become one of the important tasks for our country at present.

Abstract The path of urbanization in the People's Republic of China is largely shaped by the nation's industrial development strategies. In the first three decades of socialist construction, and especially after the Sino-Soviet rift at the end of the 1950s, the adoption of strategies of self-reliance had led to urban biased patterns of development. The introduction of economic reforms and the open door policy in 1978 paved the way for and facilitated national economic development. Two issues, which feature significantly in the processes of development in China, are assessed. The first is the relationship between economic development and the protection of arable land. The second is the quest for a coordinated hyper-development in both urban and rural areas. This paper concludes by proposing a sustainable metropolitan development strategy that suits the case of China.

Authors: Cai, Jianming; Yang, Zhenshan; Webster, Douglas; Song, Tao; Gulbrandson, Andrew Source: Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Volume 53, Number 1, 1 April 2012 , pp. 38-55(18) Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Abstract: Abstract The spectacular growth of Chinese cities since the 1980s is often theorised as reflecting the advantages of latecomer development (ALD). ALD has been more effective in cosmopolitan, globally accessible coastal cities than outer cities. As leading cities, like Shanghai, close the development gap, the potential for `easy' ALD growth falls off rapidly. Because institution building is more difficult than firm-based growth, ALD strategies may generate rapid short-term economic growth but not sustainable development. Accordingly, Chongqing municipality, with a population of 33 million, in West China, is pursuing a beyond latecomer advantage model. This is characterised by: (i) reducing poverty and rural-urban disparity through accelerated urbanisation, rural-urban integration and emphasising human resource development; (ii) upgrading the value added of Chongqing's economy through targeting of FDI and incentives to local start-ups; (iii) endogenous development, reducing risks from external shocks; (iv) Hukou reform; (v) establishing a land use conversion certificate market to rationalise land use; (vi) emphasis on morality to address crime/corruption; (vii) recognition of the importance of amenity in attracting investment and talent; and (viii) establishing a longer developmental time perspective. This paper explores this Chongqing model in detail. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8373.2012.01474.x

Authors: Cai, Jianming; Yang, Zhenshan; Webster, Douglas; Song, Tao; Gulbrandson, Andrew Source: Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Volume 53, Number 1, 1 April 2012 , pp. 38-55(18) Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Abstract: The spectacular growth of Chinese cities since the 1980s is often theorised as reflecting the advantages of latecomer development (ALD). ALD has been more effective in cosmopolitan, globally accessible coastal cities than outer cities. As leading cities, like Shanghai, close the development gap, the potential for `easy' ALD growth falls off rapidly. Because institution building is more difficult than firm-based growth, ALD strategies may generate rapid short-term economic growth but not sustainable development. Accordingly, Chongqing municipality, with a population of 33 million, in West China, is pursuing a beyond latecomer advantage model. This is characterised by: (i) reducing poverty and rural-urban disparity through accelerated urbanisation, rural-urban integration and emphasising human resource development; (ii) upgrading the value added of Chongqing's economy through targeting of FDI and incentives to local start-ups; (iii) endogenous development, reducing risks from external shocks; (iv) Hukou reform; (v) establishing a land use conversion certificate market to rationalise land use; (vi) emphasis on morality to address crime/corruption; (vii) recognition of the importance of amenity in attracting investment and talent; and (viii) establishing a longer developmental time perspective. This paper explores this Chongqing model in detail.

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Nesru H. Koroso, Paul van der Molen, Arbind. M. Tuladhar, Jaap A. Zevenbergen Paru dans : Land Use Policy, Volume 30, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 417-426 Abstract This research investigates whether the process of transfers of urban land use rights in China, particularly where the state plays a major role in the transfer of urban land, complies with basic principles of good governance. In order to assess market, an assessment framework is developed. A critical analysis of secondary data from official and non-official sources is done. Major changes since late 1980s in the institutional environment and subsequent results have been assessed. The findings reveal that the transfer of urban land use rights in China is gradually responding to an improved governance system. Institutional reforms have led to a steady improvement in indicators such as transparency, efficiency, and access to information. Nonetheless, the market has significant weaknesses in addressing equity issues, engaging stakeholders, tackling corruption and dealing with expropriations. In general, the paper finds that the efficiency and effectiveness of the urban land market largely depends not on the type of tenure regime per sé, but rather on the system of governance in place. Highlights ► Based on existing data sources, this paper analyses the performance of the market for urban land use rights in China. ► The assessment framework is based on governance principles like equity, participation, access to information, efficiency, and transparency. ► The result is that the market needs improvements regarding governance principles. ► However, a positive impact of the efforts of the government to improve can be observed.

Thématique 4 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Alana Bolanda, Jiangang Zhu Paru dans : Geoforum, Volume 43, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 147-157 Abstract In recent years, there has been heightened interest in creating more environmentally sustainable forms of urban development in China. Central in these greening initiatives has been increased attention on promoting public participation in community-based environmental activities. Focusing on China's green community initiatives, we examine the production and effects of participation in a state-led development program. Our analysis considers how incentives for program organizers and participants are structured by broader political and economic imperatives facing Chinese cities. We also consider what influence China's history of neighborhood-based mobilization campaigns had on the meanings and methods of participation in green communities. To understand how urban development processes and memories of mobilization influence participation at the local level, we present two examples of the community greening process from the city of Guangzhou, comparing policy outcomes between a new and older neighborhood. This article seeks to demonstrate that the participatory processes associated with such an urban environmental initiative cannot be adequately understood without reference to earlier participatory practices and broader policy priorities guiding development in Chinese cities. Highlights ► Emergence of green communities in China is related to broader urban transformations. ► Participatory programming reflects aspects of China's earlier mobilization campaigns. ► Even in highly structured settings, participation can produce new social dynamics. ► Cautions against reading participation solely through binary of failure or success. ► Contributes to literatures on sustainable cities and participatory development.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org.gate3.inist.fr/10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.11.006 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Kai-ya Wu, Hao Zhang Paru dans : Applied Geography, Volume 34, May 2012, Pages 137-145 Abstract In this study, Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province in eastern China was selected as a case study. Based on time series Landsat MSS/TM/ETM + imagery and historical census data, analysis of the relationship between land use dynamics, built-up land expansion patterns, and underlying driving forces from 1978 to 2008 was performed, using an integrated approach of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques and statistical methods. The results showed that rapid expansion of built-up land in the Hangzhou Metropolitan Area (HMA) led to accelerated land use conversion. The built-up land increased from 319.3 km2 in 1978 to 862.5 km2 in 2008. Expansion patterns of built-up land in the HMA were essentially characterized by axial expansion centered on the former city proper before 1991. In 1996 and 2001, two significant administrative division adjustments for the former city proper and two neighboring municipalities occurred. This led to the success in implementing strategies of "frog-leaping development along the Qiantang River" and "crossing the Qiantang River and developing southward". Spatially, a closer linkage between the former city proper and two neighboring municipalities was established. Consequently, rapid development of infrastructures, facilities, intensive industrial parks, and urban and rural settlements along the Qiantang River resulted in the eastward and southward expansion of built-up land. Thus, from 1991 to 2008 the model of urban expansion resulted in a multi-nuclei pattern. Furthermore, as shown with detailed analysis, the growth pattern of built-up land of the HMA is highly correlated with socio-economic factors, including the gross domestic product (GDP), per capita disposable income, popul

Abstract This paper links urbanization strategies to changes in land use and associated impacts on rural communities and agro-ecosystems in a rural area of China. Energy, monetary and human time variables as well as information on environmental pressures, have been combined to compare different typologies of households and the metabolism of different patterns of land use from an integrated perspective. The results show that urbanization strategies, aimed at shifting the current land use and at displacing the local population, while increasing the economic efficiency is also associated with an increase in fossil energy consumption and environmental pressure, as well as a reduction of the multifunctional characteristic of the area under investigation. Based on these findings the paper also offers a critical discussion of the Chinese rural development policy arguing that the multifunctionality of rural areas should be taken into account by Chinese policy-makers and planners as a viable strategy to achieve rural development targets. Highlights ► Urbanization strategies in China drive the land use change of rural areas. ► Forced migration decreases rural food self-sufficiency and diversification of risk. ► HEPA patterns have higher economic efficiency and energy intensity than LEPA. ► Rural-urban migrations favor the creation of mono-functional agricultural systems.

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Giuseppina Siciliano, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain / University IUAV of Venice, Ca' Tron, Santa Croce 1957, 30135 Venezia, Italy Paru dans : Land Use Policy Volume 29, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 165-178 Abstract This paper links urbanization strategies to changes in land use and associated impacts on rural communities and agro-ecosystems in a rural area of China. Energy, monetary and human time variables as well as information on environmental pressures, have been combined to compare different typologies of households and the metabolism of different patterns of land use from an integrated perspective. The results show that urbanization strategies, aimed at shifting the current land use and at displacing the local population, while increasing the economic efficiency is also associated with an increase in fossil energy consumption and environmental pressure, as well as a reduction of the multifunctional characteristic of the area under investigation. Based on these findings the paper also offers a critical discussion of the Chinese rural development policy arguing that the multifunctionality of rural areas should be taken into account by Chinese policy-makers and planners as a viable strategy to achieve rural development targets. Highlights ► Urbanization strategies in China drive the land use change of rural areas. ► Forced migration decreases rural food self-sufficiency and diversification of risk. ► HEPA patterns have higher economic efficiency and energy intensity than LEPA. ► Rural-urban migrations favor the creation of mono-functional agricultural systems.

Thématique n° 2 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Guo Chen Paru dans : Cities, Volume 29, Issue 4, August 2012, Pages 252-263 Abstract This paper provides first-hand empirical evidence about the differentiation of housing conditions among China's urban poor families based on a case study of Nanjing. The main findings include: (1) the Hukou family registration system has strong differential effects on poor families' housing conditions; (2) housing conditions among the urban poor are tightly associated with privatization and home ownership, where non-owners face more severe housing difficulties than nominal owners; and (3) resettlement has played a positive role in improving the poor's housing conditions, but its positive effects are only present in cases where work units or the government has taken the responsibility of housing the resettled poor. These findings show that housing the urban poor in post-reform China is largely: (1) path-dependent, (2) privatization-oriented, and (3) development-driven, and a mechanism that can pro-actively ensure the poor's basic right to housing is still lacking. Highlights ► We investigate the housing differentiation among China's urban poor families. ► We examine the variation from three perspectives. ► We show housing variations by Hukou types. ► We show housing variations by housing tenure and distribution types. ► We show housing variations due to housing change and resettlement.

Abstract: Threatened by the huge pressure caused by climate change, low-carbon cities have become an inevitable part of urban evolution. It is essential to evaluate urban low-carbon development levels to smoothly promote the construction of low-carbon cities. This paper proposes an evaluation index system for urban low-carbon development from the points of view of economic development and social progress, energy structure and usage efficiency, living consumption, and development surroundings. A weighted sum model was also established. Selecting 12 typical Chinese cities as cases studies, an integrated evaluation was conducted based on the index system and the assessment model. The development speed and limiting factors of different cities were also analyzed. The 12 cities were ultimately classified into three groups in terms of their low-carbon development patterns by integrating all of the analysis results. Furthermore, suitable regulation and management for different patterns were suggested. This study both aids in assessing the executive effect of low-carbon city construction and helps to determine existing problems and suggest effective solutions.

Zacharias, John (2012) Resisting motorization in Guangzhou. Habitat International, 36 (1). pp. 93-100. Private motorization has accompanied unprecedented urbanization in China, as a matter of public policy. Planning at the provincial and city levels has supported the rapid build-up of the private car fleet in major cities through the development of regional and urban highway networks, higher capacity local streets and much higher standards for car parking in new developments. By contrast, urban planning until 1994 concentrated on the building of community and the support for a non-motorized lifestyle. Guangzhou experienced particularly rapid city-building during this period because it was at the centre of the market reforms launched in 1978. The communities that were built form a broad ring around the historic core of the city, constituting one of the most significant obstacles to government ambitions to maintain the recent growth rates in car ownership. Guangyuan and Jiangnanxi are examples of such middle-class, home-owning communities where daily life remains almost exclusively non-motorized. Self-organized groups in the community are increasingly vocal and active in their demands to enhance local environmental quality and restrict local motorization. Local municipal authorities, although increasingly active and autonomous, try to strike a balance between government objectives and local demands. The application of motorization illustrates the growing gap between high-level policy and grassroots urban planning in Guangzhou.

Ngeow, Chow Bing, "Democratic development in China's urban communities" (2010). Public and International Affairs Dissertations. Paper 7. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000145 ABSTRACT Since mid-1990s, the Chinese government has been promoting a policy of community construction (shequ) in urban areas. One of the main focuses of this policy is to build up the democratic infrastructure and institutions at the grassroots level in the cities. As a result, political and institutional reforms to make grassroots governance more democratic have been experimented and implemented in many cities. Members of the residents' committee, the "mass-organization" entrusted to governance the communities (shequ), are now to be democratically elected. The administration of the communities has to adhere to the principles of democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. The grassroots organs of the ruling Chinese Communist Party have to adapt to the democratic institutions, while non-governmental organizations, especially in the form of the homeowners' committee, also emerges as another channel for urban residents to participate in public affairs. The major aim of this study is to document and analyze these institutional designs and reforms. It also provides an interpretive perspective for these grassroots democratic reforms, arguing that these reforms embody a Chinese model of democratic development.

For more than three decades China has achieved remarkable success in economic development, but its rapid growth has resulted in considerable damage to the natural environment. In 1998, the World Health Organization reported that seven of the ten most polluted cities in the world were in China. Sulfur dioxide and soot produced by coal combustion fall as acid rain on approximately 30 percent of China's land area. Industrial boilers and furnaces consume almost half of China's coal and are the largest sources of urban air pollution. In many cities, the burning of coal for cooking and heating accounts for the rest. At the same time, since the beginning of economic reform in the late 1970s, the government has paid considerable attention to environmental problems, particularly in terms of regulatory responsibility and enforcement at the local government level. China passed the Environmental Protection Law for trial implementation in 1979, and in 1982 the constitution included important environmental protection provisions. Since then, various laws and policies have been put in place to address China's current and future urban environment. The 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai provided evidence that the Chinese government views its environmental problems as a priority. The green construction of the facilities for the Expo and particularly of the Chinese Pavilion reflected the emphasis the government has placed on protecting and improving the environment through new technologies. In addition, China's "eco cities" have also been recognized worldwide for advances in urban sustainability, such as Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Wuxi.

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Ying Tanga, Robert J. Masonb, Ping Sun Paru dans : Habitat International, Volume 36, Issue 3, July 2012, Pages 388-395 Abstract Since the onset of rapid economic development and urbanization, China's land resources-rather than capital, technology and human resources-have become the lead limiting factor in constraining economic growth. Coordination of urban and rural construction land (CURCL) can be a very effective means for reducing conflicts between economic development and land protection. This research examines the roles of stakeholders involved in the CURCL process. The reasons why the interests of legitimated stakeholders were encroached upon are analyzed and countermeasures to protect the interests of legitimated stakeholders are proposed. Ambiguously defined property rights for owners of rural construction land, unclear conceptions of the public interest, and overlap of power and interest among multiple levels of authority are the reasons why legitimated stakeholders' interests were encroached upon. Legitimizing construction land ownership clearly, better defining the multiple conceptions of public interest, opening up express channels for expression of the public interest, and clarifying governments' functions in land interest adjustment are the countermeasures to protect the interests of legitimated stakeholders. Highlights ► We examine roles of key stakeholders involved with urban and rural construction land in China. ► Agricultural protection measures notwithstanding, farmers' interests frequently are neglected. ► Local governments seek to maximize profits at the expense of public interests. ► Profit maximization is inherent to private enterprises. ► Government roles and express channel for farmers are important for fair interest distribution.

n recent years, the steady momentum on China-EU relations has sustained strong growth in practical cooperation across all sectors on both sides. For China-EU relations, the current international economic situation and our respective development strategy mean both opportunities and challenges. To leverage strength from the international environment and to better meet the challenges, China and Europe must explore new grounds to achieve growth. Based on this principle, at the beginning of this year, the two sides have reached an important agreement to prioritize urbanization and sustainable development in our cooperation and have moved further to establish urbanization partnership between China and the EU.

[ScienceDirect, via BiblioSHS] Auteurs : Cai Jianming, Yang Zhenshan, Webster Douglas, Song Tao, Gulbrandson Andrew Paru dans : ASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Special Issue: SI Pages: 38-55 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8373.2012.01474.x ABSTRACT: The spectacular growth of Chinese cities since the 1980s is often theorised as reflecting the advantages of latecomer development (ALD). ALD has been more effective in cosmopolitan, globally accessible coastal cities than outer cities. As leading cities, like Shanghai, close the development gap, the potential for easy ALD growth falls off rapidly. Because institution building is more difficult than firm-based growth, ALD strategies may generate rapid short-term economic growth but not sustainable development. Accordingly, Chongqing municipality, with a population of 33 million, in West China, is pursuing a beyond latecomer advantage model. This is characterised by: (i) reducing poverty and rural-urban disparity through accelerated urbanisation, rural-urban integration and emphasising human resource development; (ii) upgrading the value added of Chongqing's economy through targeting of FDI and incentives to local start-ups; (iii) endogenous development, reducing risks from external shocks; (iv) Hukou reform; (v) establishing a land use conversion certificate market to rationalise land use; (vi) emphasis on morality to address crime/corruption; (vii) recognition of the importance of amenity in attracting investment and talent; and (viii) establishing a longer developmental time perspective. This paper explores this Chongqing model in detail.