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Abstract Taking Beijing as a case study, this paper analyses new trends in peri-urbanisation and the city's planning responses after 2000 in China. The results of the analysis show that the percentage of temporary migrant residents continues to grow in the peri-urban region and the social inequalities in relation to quality of life between local people and migrants have increased there. In particular, there is a concentration of thousands of young and well-educated migrants in the peri-urban region, resulting in a new kind of urban slum. Sprawling development still dominates Beijing's fringe. New planning policies related to an urban-rural integration strategy have played a positive role in improving living conditions in rural areas and reducing the social and economic gaps between urban and rural areas in the peri-urban region. However, planning in the peri-urban region is still facing new challenges due to vertically and horizontally fragmented management, growing market forces, and social discrimination caused by the remnants of the hukou mechanism. This suggests that it will not be easy to achieve the planning goal of urban-rural integration and harmony society unless further actions are taken to enhance political capacity of planning system in Beijing. The capacity-building of planning should be facilitated if institutional innovations can be made in arrangements of power, rights, public resources, accountability, and legitimacy in the planning system. Highlights ► Many new trends in peri-urbanisation have appeared after 2000 in Beijing. ► Peri-urbanisation contributes to growth in social inequalities. ► It will not be easy to achieve the planning goal of urban-rural integration. ► New urban-rural integration policies are facing challenges. ► The institutional capacity of planning needs to be reinforced.

Sur le site "The Urban China Initiaitve" 4/05/2012 By Li Jing ( China Daily) Urban leaders do more to safeguard environment, conserve resources Small and medium-sized cities are more livable than big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai gauged by their air quality, waste treatment capacity and built environment, according to newly published research by Urban China Initiative. A woman rides a bicycle on a windy day in Beijing. According to recently published research by Urban China Initiative, Beijing and Shanghai were absent from a ranking of the top 10 Chinese cities gauged by their environmental sustainability. [Photo/China Daily] UCI, a think tank launched by Tsinghua University, McKinsey & Co and Columbia University, gauged the sustainability of 112 major Chinese cities using 17 indicators in four categories - society, economy, environment and resources. Beijing ranked first in sustainability thanks to its heavy investment in social welfare - including social security, education and healthcare - and its economic achievements. The top 10 cities in overall score - including Xiamen, Fujian province, Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, Dalian in Liaoning province, and Shanghai - are all medium and large-sized cities. However, small and medium-sized cities are taking the lead in environmental sustainability. Both Beijing and Shanghai were absent from the top 10 in this category. According to the research, Haikou has the best air quality, while Hefei, capital of Anhui province, took the lead in waste treatment facilities. And Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, boasts the best built environment - man-made surroundings that serve as the setting for human activity. "Such a result shows that small cities have a better quality of life, though people living in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai have better access to medical and educational resources," said Jonathan Woetzel, co-chair of UCI, as well as a senior global dir

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.

Gregory Bracken, Aspects of urbanization in China : Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Amsterdam university press, 2012, 212 p. Abstract : China's rise is one of the transformative events of our time. Aspects of urbanization in China: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou examines some of the aspects of China's massive wave of urbanization - the largest the world has ever seen. The various papers in the book, written by academics from different disciplines, represent ongoing research and exploration and give a useful snapshot in a rapidly developing discourse. Their point of departure is the city - Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou - where the downside of China's miraculous economic growth is most painfully apparent. And it is concern for the citizens of these cities that unifies the papers in a book whose authors seek to understand what life is like for the people who call them home. Disponible en ligne, intégralement, à l'adresse : http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=418533;keyword=bracken

Full Text available. As some of the most rapidly urbanizing places in the world, China's cities have a unique relationship with global climate change. The economies found in Chinese cities are extremely resource and energy intensive; as a result, they produce significant levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This article provides comprehensive and detailed emissions inventories for Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin, which were found to be responsible for 12.8, 10.7, and 11.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita (t CO2-eq/capita), respectively, in 2006. The majority of emissions were from electricity production, heating and industrial fuel use, and ground transportation. The prevalence of coal in the energy supply mix (including up to 98% in Tianjin) was a fundamental cause of high energy emissions. Non-energy emissions from industrial processes were also significant, including emissions from cement and steel production. The GHG inventories for Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin point to sectors requiring the most attention in terms of low-carbon growth. Compared to ten other global cities, Chinese cities are among the highest per capita emitters, alluding to the important challenge China faces of reducing emissions while improving the quality of life for urban residents. Accordingly, this article concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and issues concerning low-carbon growth in China, including the potential for renewable energy and the difficulties associated with emissions relocation and policy adoption.

Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China 27th to 28th October 2012 Ningbo, Zhejiang, China The building sector is one of the highest energy consuming sectors in China accounting for about 30% of total energy usage and also contributes to a significant proportion of pollutant emissions in China. Meanwhile, building construction activities are contributing significantly towards China's economic growth and infrastructure development under the current urbanisation programme. It is estimated that half of the world's buildings being constructed between now and 2020 are expected to be built in China and if nothing is done to control the upward energy trend, building-related energy consumption could double and have a devastating effect on the environment and the economy as a whole. The objective of this international symposium is therefore to provide a forum for academics, government officials, researchers and practitioners to present and discuss recent research and demonstration projects related to low carbon buildings in China. The event will feature well known international experts in this field as Keynote speakers. General topic areas * Sustainable Energy Technologies * Energy storage technologies * Energy and Environmental Policy * Modelling and simulation of buildings * Thermal Energy Management systems * Low carbon construction materials * Eco-building design * Integration of renewable energy technologies in refurbished buildings * Life cycle analysis of low carbon buildings * Waste and water management * Energy Management Contract systems * Post occupancy evaluation of low carbon buildings * Green Architecture * Design for low impact healthcare buildings * Improving sustainability (and resilience) of healthcare facility * Sustainable Urbanism * Urban form and Energy use or Low carbon cities * Green and liveable cities Website: http://www.nottingh

San Francisco, California The Fairmont Hotel April 3-6, 2013