4. Four Decades of Urban and Regional Development and Planning in China

In the last 40 years, China has made significant achievements in economic development and in urbanization as well. During 1978–2013, China witnessed an average annual economic growth (9.8%) and grew into the second largest economy in the world. Along with the rapid economic growth, China experienced a fast urbanization process though it started with a very low urbanization level. Urban population increased from 170 million to 730 million, while the rate of urbanization increased from 17.9% to 53.7%. Through these dramatic transformations, the governments at all levels played an important role, altering their function from centralized planning and direct intervention to a market dominant infrastructure. China was a giant laboratory, where various economic, social, and cultural reforms and policies were implemented at many spatial scales (the nation, region, and city). At the city level, in addition to the national economic and social development planning, town and village planning, land-use planning, eco-environmental protection planning, and many other local planning policies coexisted. In general, urban and regional planning in China aimed at the growth expansion plans. However, during the past forty years, local governments often used planning as “a competition apparatus for growth”, and adjusted planning to target economic growth sought by governments. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review and analysis of urban and regional development in China over the past 40 years, assessing the impact and effectiveness of various urban and regional planning policies at three scales: the nation, region, and city. Based on the aforementioned analysis and assessment, we hope to shed light on how urban and regional planning in China can be restructured to suit changing needs, that is, stimulating sustainable economic growth rather than simple economic target, inspiring multifaceted social and cultural development instead of sole economic growth, transitioning to market oriented advisory planning from traditionally centralized planning, focusing on multiple-goal planning instead of single goal planning, and accelerating public participation and promoting shared consensus.