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Post-disaster reconstruction, affordable housing and urban greening of Baotou China

Categories: Urban and Regional Planning: - localizing Agenda 21 -urban renewal Environmental Management: - ecological sustainability -environmentally sound technologies -monitoring and control -pollution reduction -urban greening Housing: - access to housing finance -affordable housing -eco-logical design Level of Activity: Metropolitan Ecosystem: Arid/Semi-Arid

Summary

Baotou (Place of the deer) is the capital of Inner Mongolia, one of China's major industrial centers and the largest in China's autonomous minority regions. It is known as the Steel Capital of the Northwest and harbors the world's largest reserves of rare earth. It covers an area of 167 square kilometers with a population of 2.3 million, made up of several national minorities. The first settlements in Baotou date back to more than 5,000 years, but it first gained prominence in 1923 when a railway link was established with Beijing. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Baotou had a population of 116,000. As a major industrial center, it gained city status and its population grew to 1.36 million by 1996 with over 350,000 people living in the inner city core. Despite rapid industrial and economic growth, the living conditions in the inner city were very poor. Housing consisted for the majority of the urban population of one-story brick houses with a quasi-total lack of infrastructure and basic services. On 3 May 1996, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Baotou, leveling the vast majority of these single-story houses and leaving 500,000 people homeless in the metropolitan region. The magnitude of destruction led the Municipal Government to undertake comprehensive urban reconstruction and greening to ensure a more sustainable future for the inhabitants of Baotou and its future generations. This endeavor included major policy reform in housing for low and middle-income groups leading to the effective re-housing of half of the city's population, a rational land-use plan, major improvements to urban infrastructure and environmental management and the creation of 6,000 hectares of green space including the planting of 5 million trees. Efforts up to 1999 were recognized as a good practice in 2000 by UN-HABITAT. Since 1999, major efforts and investments have continued to change and improve the living environment in Baotou

Narrative

Situation Before the Initiative

Baotou lies in the western part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Baotou is homophonic to the Mongolian word "Baoketu" meaning a place with deer. In 1923, after the railway from Baotou to Beijing was open to traffic, Baotou became an important trading center for fur, wool, medicinal herbs and crops. With the founding and development of the Baotou Iron, Steel and Rare Earth Corporation in the late 1950s, it rapidly gained another name: The Steel City on the Grassland and its population grew tenfold from 116,000 in 1950 to 1.36 million in 1996. The http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=19749&key=Eppyfgjbkdfdag 28/02/2003 Best Practices Database: Post-disaster reconstruction, affordable housing and urban greening of Baot... Page 2 of 6

living conditions of the majority of the urban population were, however, very poor. Most housing consisted of one-story houses with no basic services and very sparse infrastructure. With no central heating and temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in winter, most of Baotou's inhabitants burned coal for both heating and cooking purposes, causing severe air pollution. Most of the houses had no sanitation and relied on public toilets. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Baotou in May 1996 levelled most of these houses, caused severe damage to the already poor infrastructure, leaving approximately 500,000 people either homeless or living in very precarious situations.

Priorities The priorities were simple: reconstruct the city as quickly as possible; find adequate and temporary housing solutions before the coming winter, and to undertake new construction in accordance with building codes and standards that would prevent such a disaster from recurring. Despite the urgency of the situation and ongoing humanitarian relief operations, meetings of the municipal council rapidly concluded that the disaster should be turned into an opportunity for the comprehensive upgrading and reconstruction of the city. The Municipal Government proposed and the Planning Commission representing all stakeholders and elected representatives approved a new set of housing and urban development policies, including a radical change in land-use, improved urban infrastructure and services and, for the first time, extensive green space including parks and gardens within the urban center.

Formulation of Objectives and Strategies In order to fulfill the task of re-housing its citizens in a relatively short period of time, the Municipal Government of Baotou, with the help of experts and lessons learned from other cities, including experiences in post-disaster reconstruction and planning, adopted a set of new housing and urban development policies and strategies. On the housing front, all new construction would be built to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 on the Richter scale. In terms of affordability for low and limited-income groups, all victims rendered homeless as well as those living in precarious housing were to benefit from a one-time subsidy to move to new housing estates.

In terms of urban infrastructure and services, the Municipality decided, together with expert planners, to allocate 35% of land-use to green space within the framework of a new land-use plan; to widen roads and provide all new housing estates and existing older neighborhoods with full services including gas, water and sewerage.

In terms of environmental improvements, the municipality decided to connect all new housing estates and most existing housing units located in the city center with district heating; to plant a total of over 5 million trees; to build two sewerage treatment plants and to improve garbage collection and treatment.

The whole initiative was led by a vision of a new garden city, replete with modern infrastructure and services, and a livable city based on people-centered policies and environmentally sustainable practices.

Mobilization of Resources Funding: Partnerships with all sectors and stakeholders was essential for the financing of this ambitious reconstruction and improvement plan. The Municipal Government provided incentives to real estate developers in the form of tax and construction fee exemptions amounting to 15% to 30% of construction costs. Developers provided approximately 50% of the investment capital in new housing estates, with 30% being provided by work units and 20% from the municipal government.

Technology: Major technological innovations were introduced in infrastructure, services and environmental management. These were acquired through open competitive tendering based on short lists of renowned contractors and engineering firms. New technologies were applied to district heating, new building materials and construction techniques, and technologies for saving water and energy.

Human Resources: Leading experts from some of China's most prestigious and renowned planning and engineering institutes and universities were recruited to help in the design, planning and management of the reconstruction plan. A total of 130,000 job were created in the construction sector, providing much needed employment opportunities. Of these, 18.6% benefited women directly. Post-construction employment has risen to 407,000 jobs in all sectors of which 41.2% are occupied by women, a 9.8% increase over 1996 and a relatively high percentage for a city with a vocation in heavy industry.

Process For the reconstruction to be implemented as quickly as possible, several new policies and measures were adopted. These included: (a) open competitive tendering and contracting, providing fair, accountable and transparent contracting thus gaining the confidence of citizens and attracting highly qualified construction firms; (b) public opinion polls and consultations to elicit the direct participation of inhabitants in planning and design decisions to ensure smooth re-housing and resettlement - a critical phase to provide shelter for the homeless as well as to speed up the implementation of the new land-use plan, urban greening and infrastructure; (c) a comprehensive strategy to ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing for low and middle income groups affected by the earthquake.

Specific policies to facilitate speedy access and construction of affordable housing included: a one-time subsidized price for affected families amounting to RMB 406 (US$45) per m2 for the purchase of up to 60 m2 of new housing; an optional 10 m2 at cost (RMB 605 per m2 or US$72); a cost ceiling of RMB 605 per m2 for real estate developers to avoid speculation while providing them with tax and fee exemptions equivalent to 25% to 30% of costs; and to provide a one- http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=19749&key=Eppyfgjbkdfdag 28/02/2003 Best Practices Database: Post-disaster reconstruction, affordable housing and urban greening of Baot... Page 3 of 6

stop shop to facilitate access to and the processing of housing loans, mortgages and access to insurance and providence funds. This one-stop-shop has since been institutionalized in the form of a real estate management bureau providing all the financial, legal and administrative services required to buy, sell or rent any form of commercial, residential and industrial property. This facility is based on an on-line comprehensive database of all properties, all transactions and their prices. Information is broadcast twice a day on radio and once a week in a gazette. Citizens' views and opinions are fed back to adjust and fine tune marketing, support services and housing policy. In addition, real estate developers, whom provided 50% of new construction, were encouraged to use cross-subsidies within larger housing estates to provide housing for limited-income groups with prices not exceeding RMB 865 (US$ 104) per m2. Finally, the municipal government financed the upgrading and rehabilitation of 85 existing low income housing estates, accounting for 20% of the housing stock, to bring them up to par with new housing estates in terms of infrastructure (roads and sewage) utilities, green space and district heating. Finally, small grants were used to encourage and speed up the contribution by work units in the rehabilitation of existing older housing estates, accounting for approximately 30% of the housing stock.

Other major contributions to the speedy construction included: the municipality's timely appropriation and allocation of land for construction by reducing or remitting various administrative fees and procedures; an overall land-use pattern favoring large self-contained housing estates of several hundred housing units each replete with commercial and recreational facilities, inner courtyards, gardens and social services such as community health and day care centers. This strategy allowed for the optimization of design, facilitated more rational land-use and the coordination of housing construction with major infrastructure improvements. Guidelines for architectural design favored simple but elegant low rise, medium density four to five story housing estates, obviating the need for more complicated construction techniques associated with high rise buildings and also to provide a skyline in harmony with the surrounding steppe landscape.

Last but not least, the municipal government established a multi-disciplinary management and supervision system to ensure quality control throughout the whole process, thus helping to avoid costly and time-consuming errors, mistakes and non- compliant construction. The system involved quality checks at each stage of the construction process from the supply of raw materials through to the final product. Contractors were held responsible for non-compliance with building codes and regulations. .

Results Achieved Under the guidance of the city's master plan, 1.15 million m2 of affordable houses were erected during the period from 1996 to 2001, accounting for nearly 50% of the total housing stock. 140 residential districts came into being, each covering an area of 20,000 m2 or more with complete sets of facilities, providing for 30,000 households who previously did not own their housing, as well as 130,000 households who were in need of better housing. The per capita floor space increased to 22 m2 in 2001 from 16 m2 in 1995 and the building of affordable housing has become one of the municipality's major policies to improve the living environment.

The inner city core has been completely transformed from a densely occupied and congested slum area to a green and clean mix of housing, commercial outlets, offices and large parks and gardens. Within the inner city core of 1.64 km2, 13,600 families were re-housed in adjacent housing estates, allowing for the re-use of 630,000 m2 for new urban development and green space.

New residential districts each have their own parks and gardens, recreational and parking spaces, schools, community health centers and other social facilities, providing for a high degree of accessibility and lowering the needs for transportation. 99% of all residences are connected to piped water supply; over 80% of all homes in the city are connected to district heating and 70% to piped gas, contributing to vastly improved air quality. 80% of residential areas are connected to sewers and 65% of the sewage is treated, with an additional sewage treatment plant under construction. 30 newly built parks and gardens now form an integral part of the cityscape, bringing the per capita green space to 8m2. Per capita road space has been increased to 6.14 m2 allowing for congestion free traffic, reducing the levels of air and noise pollution.

The rapid re-housing, reconstruction and greening of Baotou has completely changed the cityscape. The result has instilled a sense of pride among its inhabitants, but more importantly, the participatory processes used have brought about a sense of ownership of city management and governance. The inhabitants of Baotou feel that they are true citizens of the city and that there is a municipal government that is responsive to their needs and demands.

The transparency, accountability and the willingness of the municipal government to consult with people in the design and construction of a garden city has spawned a host of NGOs, private sector associations, women and youth organizations to actively engage in public affairs and help build an invaluable social capital for the continued social, economic and environmental management and development of the city.

As a result of the mobilization and participation of the entire population and of women in particular, women now occupy 25.4% of technical and supervisory posts in the public sector, a marked improvement over the past and an incentive to further improve this ratio in the future.

Sustainability

The new land-use pattern of Baotou allows for much more efficient transport, mobility and green space. Infrastructure improvements are sufficient to meet the needs of the city for several decades to come, providing an attractive incentive for further investment in real estate and commercial development. The implementation of large-scale district heating and http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=19749&key=Eppyfgjbkdfdag 28/02/2003 Best Practices Database: Post-disaster reconstruction, affordable housing and urban greening of Baot... Page 4 of 6

sewage treatment has improved air and water quality with direct benefits to health and safety. The large-scale construction effort has diversified the local economy and construction and related services have become new pillars of Baotou's economy, with local GDP growing at a consistent pace of 8% per annum. Combined with growth in the banking, insurance and other service sectors, new employment opportunities have been created in the tertiary sector with over 40% benefiting women. The creation of 6,000 hectares of parks and gardens and the planting of 5 million trees has not only beautified the city but also contributed to soil and water conservation, air quality and improvement to the urban micro-climate.

Lessons Learned

The people-centered approach to post-disaster reconstruction and urban greening has proven to be a highly effective approach and set of principles. The direct participation of inhabitants in key stages of design and planning allowed for timely and smooth re-construction and implementation. The simultaneous construction of new housing estates and the improvement of older residential neighborhoods allowed for all households to be included and to benefit from improvements to their living conditions and environment.

The environmentally sound approach to urban re-development has laid the foundations for a more sustainable future. Parks and gardens, abundant greenery, district heating and improved road and transportation infrastructure provide tangible and visible benefits to quality of life, greatly enhancing the livability of the city. This has heightened the awareness of citizens to the need and the benefits of environmental protection allowing for continued capital investments and major budget allocations for sewage and solid waste management, as well as individual efforts in water and energy conservation.

Partnerships with the private, banking and insurance sectors have mobilized considerable resources and improved overall service provision and delivery. Previous bottlenecks, procedural obstacles and lack of coordination between different service providers have been removed with the one-stop-shop approach to loans, mortgages, legal and administrative transactions which previously constituted hidden hurdles for the disadvantaged segments of the population, especially for ethnic minorities.

Finally, the adoption of open competitive tendering and procurement on a massive scale has improved urban governance. Transparency and accountability, quality control and coordination between municipal departments have become the norm rather the exception and constitute the guiding force for improved efficiency in day-to-day management and in the delivery of public services.

Transferability

The achievements made in the post-disaster reconstruction of Baotou have attracted the attention of many cities and officials with study tours having been conducted by more than 50 cities in and around China. Baotou has also been invited to share its experiences in many meetings and forums both inside and outside China, including the special session of the United Nations General Assembly for Istanbul+5.

The lessons learned from Baotou's experience, however, are not only in the visible realm of urban reconstruction and greening. They are also in the policy reforms and changes in approaches to affordable housing and environmental protection. The practice of simultaneously pursuing new housing construction with the rehabilitation of old housing estates and improvements to urban infrastructure and services is a strategy that guarantees social inclusion. Social inclusion, in turn, allows for effective but unmet demands to come to the fore. As in other developing country experiences, the improvement of housing for low and limited income groups revealed a pent-up demand for housing and related services which resulted in the mobilization and investment of substantial sources of finance and savings. Only 30% of people with limited incomes opted for housing loans and mortgages despite favorable interest rates.

The creation of a one-stop-shop of all services for real estate transactions and of an integrated on-line database has helped create a level playing field in the housing and property market and to provide the necessary information to and from the public for fine-tuning housing and property management strategies and policy.

For these reasons, Baotou does not emphasize the models or design of its achievements, rather it stresses the importance of policy reform and improved governance in its exchanges with other cities and organizations

References

1. "Transformation and Reconstruction of the Old Urban Areas to Provide Low Income Families with Affordable Houses" by Niu Junyan, Human Settlements Magazine vol.1 2001 2. "Viewing Baotou after 3 years of Earthquake" by Liu Liangming, People’s Daily, 23 June 1999 3. "A Hundred Year Old District Takes on Modern Demeanour", Li Shulan, Inner Mongolia Daily, 24 July, 2000 4. "Baotou Honored as Good Practices for 2000 Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment", Zhu Fu, Inner Mongolia Daily, 11 November 2000 5. "Reliable Promotion in Housing System Reform", Takung News, 7 June 1999 6. "Results Achieved in Upgrading Donghe District of Inner City", Takung News, 7 June 1999 7. "Building Nice Human Settlements and Beautiful City--Taking Human and Environment as Priority", Baotou Daily, 3

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May 1999 8. "To Realize Best Wishes for Improving Living Environment", Cheng He, Baotou Daily, 22 January 2000 9. "Deepening the Reform of Urban and Township Housing System, Accelerating Housing Development and Improving Living Conditions", Cheng Xuguang, Inner Mongolia Real Estate News, March 1999 10. "Probing into an Introductory Rule of Rebuilding Home and Planning and Construction of Residential Districts", Ba Yin, Baotou Real Estate News, April 20

Contact

Mr. Niu Junyan Dahua Residential District, No.8 Fuqiang Road, Qingshan District, Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China Postal code: 014030 Telephone: 86-472-5119133, 3311576 Fax: 86-472-3311576

Type of Organization: Local Authority

Nominating Organization

Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China Mr. Zheng Guangda, Mr. Yang Xue'an No. 9 Sanlihe Road, Beijing Postal code: 100835 Telephone: 86-10-68394750 Fax: 86-10-68394749 Email: [email protected] Type of Organization: Central Government

Partners

Baotou Municipal Real Estate Administration Bureau Mr. Wu Cheng Wulan Residential District, Neighbourhood No.6, Qingnian Road, Baotou, China Telephone: 86-472-5119169 Post code: 014010

Type of Organization: Local Authority Type of Partner Support: Administrative, Technical and Financial support

Baotou Municipal Housing Finance Administration Centre Mr. Cheng Xuguang, Mr. Su He Dahua Residential District, Neighbourhood No. 8, Fuqiang Road, Qingshan District, Baotou, China

Telephone: 86-472-3310259, 3310121 Post code: 014030

Type of Organization: Local Authority Type of Partner Support: Finance and Administrative support

Baotou Municipal Real Estate Managing Administration Office Mr. Bai Junkui Yingbin Residential District, Neighbourhood No. 2, Minzu Road, Qingshan District, Baotou, China Telephone: 86-472-5151176 Post code: 014030

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Type of Organization: Local Authority Type of Partner Support: Media Support

Financial Profile

Year Total Budget Baotou Municipal Baotou Municipal Finance Baotou Municipal Real Estate Developers and Social Administration Centre Managing Office Forces (in US $) Government

1996 173 million

1997 275 million 20% 15% 5% 60%

1998 179 million

1999 188million

2000 150 million 15% 15% 5% 65%

2001 115 million

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