Underperformance of Planning for Peri-Urban Rural Sustainable Development: The Case of Mentougou District in Beijing

Abstract

Abstract:As the basic cell of social structures and spatial units, rural settlement is now experiencing profound changes through the rapid urbanization process underway in China, particularly in peri-urban areas which serve as the main platform and battlefield for urban-rural integration in China's latest round of new urbanization. Therefore, how to achieve better planning for rural settlement in peri-urban areas is becoming a pressing and paramount research agenda. This paper attempts to explore the possible reasons for the underperformance of planning practice for rural settlement in peri-urban areas of China by taking the Mentougou district of Beijing as a case study. Following a quick and comprehensive review of planning in Mentougou district, a systematic and critical evaluation is then conducted accordingly. It shows that the plans generally play a positive role in development orientation and implementation. Yet, there is still a lot of room for improvement, particularly in the following aspects: (1) lack of initiative and innovation at the local level; (2) lack of long-term vision and consistent implementation; (3) lack of rationale-oriented approach; (4) lack of scientific and in-depth research; (5) lack of multi-stakeholder participation. As a way forward, this paper thus proposes a revised planning scheme for local practice, including classification of typologies and the customized planning design for each typology. At last, this paper calls for more in-depth scientific research on some key topics in the planning field, domestically and internationally.

Comparative Analysis of Urban Development Trends of Beijing and Karachi Metropolitan Areas

“…It was counted as the world's largest flow of population from rural to urban areas in history [22,26]. The urbanization proportion went up from 17.92% to 49.95% between 1978 and 2010, with about 1% average growth rate [22,25,78], and was noted to be more than 56% in 2015 [31,32,79]. Presently, 59.2% of the total population of China is living in urban areas [24].…”

“…The number of cities has also increased, from 193 to 657 between 1978 and 2011 [30]. Thus, China has attained the title as the largest transforming urban society in the world [30,79,82]. industries near large cities, particularly coastal and riverside areas.…”

“…The number of cities has also increased, from 193 to 657 between 1978 and 2011 [30]. Thus, China has attained the title as the largest transforming urban society in the world [30,79,82]. Apart from the urban settlement of China, according to the United Nations in 1990, there were 32 cities with one to five million people, 37 cities with 500,000 to one million inhabitants, 65 urban areas with 300,000 to 500,000 dwellers, and only two cities had five to 10 million residents.…”

Pursuing Development behind Heterogeneous Ideologies: Review of Six Evolving Themes and Narratives of Rural Planning in China

“…However, institutional obstacles between urban and rural areas are enormous in China, and the same holds for the gap in resource allocation. Rural planning underperformed [33] compared with urban planning. Rurality is presented as backward and less-developed in some research [34], and the way to achieve integrated/coordinated urban−rural development is simply to abruptly industrialize and modernize villages.…”

Sprinkling: An Approach to Describe Urbanization Dynamics in Italy

“…Great interest has also been manifested in rural areas, especially in countries such as China, which is in rapid expansion [7][8][9][10][11].…”