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Tomorrow's Eco-City in China

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Tomorrow's Eco-City in China School of Environmental Science Department of Geography and Planning Tomorrow’s Eco-city in China Improving Eco-City Development though a Culture of Collaborative Communication Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Xinkai Wang May 2018 Abstract The delivery of Chinese eco-cities has met certain challenges in plan-making and the subsequent implementation of planning documents. Meanwhile, communicative and collaborative planning has been advocated as a method that can assist in decision-making and facilitating urban development in China. In the development of the ‘eco-city’, communicative and collaborative planning has met certain barriers to implementation, and has thus played a limited role in the planning system. This research aims at examining whether a communicative turn has occurred in the delivery of eco-cities with regard to sustainable development in China, discusses how communicative and collaborative planning could help to improve the development of Chinese eco-cities, and examines the methods that can achieve this. To provide an update on the difficulties of communication and collaboration in planning work, the development programmes of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and the Shanghai Dongtan Eco-city are reviewed and compared. The Tianjin Eco-city was approved by central government as one of several pilot areas for developing eco-cities; the Dongtan Eco-city was suspended and failed to achieve its original vision. Data and evidence was collected from the planning documents in both Tianjin and Dongtan, and combined with data collected from interviews with 12 key persons who directly engaged in the delivery of the eco-city programme in China. Along with emerging technologies, local authorities are facing new challenges and opportunities in adopting communicative and collaborative planning. The study concludes that an extensive implementation of communicative and collaborative planning, through both traditional and emerging technologies, is required to reconcile the diverse interests of stakeholders and address the multi-disciplinary issues in the sustainable development of the Chinese eco-city. The major outcome of this study, as the final part of the thesis demonstrates, is a series of recommendations to mitigate issues during the delivery of Chinese eco-cities. According to these recommendations, a practical framework is developed to adopt a communicative rationality in the current Chinese planning system to facilitate the planning process of an eco-city programme in the field of plan-making, implementation, and monitoring. The study also contributes to stakeholder engagement through advancing a modified and innovative approach to dealing with the barriers to communicative activities and consensus building in the development of the eco-city programme in China. I Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my primary supervisor, Dr Ian Mell, for his expert advice, constant patience, and encouragement throughout this project. His insightful comments on my research, life, and career have helped me to overcome difficult times during this PhD project. Therefore, personally, it has been my privilege to work and study with Dr Ian Mell. He will remain a memorial to mentorship and priceless treasure for my life. Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisory team at the University of Liverpool and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, especially Mrs Sue Kidd and Dr Bing Chen, who gave me many pieces of advice on the thesis. Additionally, I am grateful to Dr Olivier Sykes, who gave me suggestions on applying for a place on the PhD programme at the University of Liverpool. I would also like to thank the interviewees who spent their valuable time taking part in my research. I offer my most sincere thanks to the government officers in Tianjin and Mrs Hong Mei Lu, who facilitated connections with key interviewees in Tianjin Eco-city and Dongtan Eco-city. I owe some special words of gratitude to my parents. It would not have been possible for me to finish my PhD in the UK without their financial support. Most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, who has shown great patience in the long-distance relationship that was necessary to complete the thesis and who provides me with emotional support. This research would not have been achieved without your understanding and love. Lastly, to my unborn daughter or son, thank you; you have provided me with the dynamism to polish my thesis and to pursue better research. II Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. I Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... II Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... III List of Figures and Maps ................................................................................................................ VII List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ IX Table of acronyms and abbreviations .............................................................................................. X Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Research questions and aims .................................................................................. 2 1.2. Rationale for research ............................................................................................. 4 1.3. Scope of research project ........................................................................................ 5 1.4. Methodology and research strategy ....................................................................... 7 1.5. Outline of chapters .................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2 The communicative turn in China ......................................................................... 13 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Planning theory in China ....................................................................................... 13 2.3. The Communicative Turn in Chinese Planning Academia ..................................... 17 2.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 3 The rationale of considering the eco-city as a planning trend .............................. 22 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 22 3.2. The overview of the urbanisation process in China .............................................. 22 3.3. Criteria for eco-cities ............................................................................................. 25 3.4. The role and status of eco-cities in Chinese urbanisation ..................................... 28 3.5. Revisit the role of New town in China ................................................................... 31 3.5.1. The challenges and drivers of new town development in China................... 32 3.5.2. The relationship between new town and eco-city ........................................ 36 III 3.6. The key issues involved in developing Chinese eco-cities ..................................... 38 3.6.1. The Politics: Interests, Dominance, and Discretion ....................................... 38 3.6.2. The Economy: Patterns, Scale, and Sustainability ......................................... 43 3.6.3. Culture: Protection, exploration, and advocates ........................................... 45 3.6.4. The environment: Pollution, assessment, and infrastructure ....................... 47 3.6.5. The Collaboration and Communication in the Eco-city ................................. 52 3.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 4 Examining the Feasibility of Adopting CAT and CP in Chinese context ................. 57 4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 57 4.2. Revisiting Communicative Action Theory (CAT) .................................................... 58 4.3. Revisiting Collaborative Planning (CP) ................................................................... 58 4.4. Four themes of CAT and CP ................................................................................... 59 4.5. Exploration of the feasibility of adopting CAT and CP in Chinese context............. 62 4.5.1. Theoretical linkage between CAT and CP and Chinese planning system ....... 62 4.5.2. Political environment of adopting CAT and CP in China ................................ 65 4.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 5 Methodology: Evaluation of Communication during the Existing Planning Process69 5.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 69
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