URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN PLANNING IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA—A CASE STUDY OF CHENGDU by Yujian Wang A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Earth Sciences MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana May 2012 ©COPYRIGHT by Yujian Wang 2012 All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Yujian Wang This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citation, bibliographic style, and consistency and is ready for submission to The Graduate School. Dr. Jian-yi Liu Approved for the Department of Earth Sciences Dr. David W. Mogk Approved for The Graduate School Dr. Carl A. Fox iii STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. Yujian Wang May, 2012 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would love to thank my advisor, Dr. Jian-yi Liu for taking me on as a graduate student and as a friend, for his expertise, kindness, and most of all, for his patience. Many thanks and appreciations go to my committee members Dr. William Wyckoff and Prof. Stuart Challender, for their wisdom, understanding, and their helpful editorial comments on the thesis and also suggestions of the GIS aspect of this research. Much gratitude also extends to Tiffany Ranalli and Lauren Cerretti from the writing center, who freely dedicated their time to assist me to improve the thesis. In particular, I owe a great deal of appreciation to Matthew Fockler, who not only offered me thoughts and ideas, but also provided so much help during my research. I thank Ryan Scanlon to read through my thesis and gave me useful feedback. Finally, I’d like to thank my parents who always support my interests in Geography, so I have the opportunity to study in MSU. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 2. A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN PLANNING IN CHINA ...............................................................................................10 Urban Development in China Since 1949 .....................................................................10 Mao’s Period: (1949-1976) ....................................................................................11 The First Five-Year Plan: (1952-1957)......................................................11 Great Leap Forward: (1958-1960) .............................................................12 Third Front Construction: (1959- 1971) ....................................................12 The Cultural Revolution: (1966-1976) ......................................................13 Post Mao’s Period: (1978-1995) ............................................................................14 The Rapid Growth Period: (1995-present) ............................................................15 A Historical Review of Urban Planning Development in China ...................................18 Mao’s Period: (1949-1976) ....................................................................................18 1949-1953 ..................................................................................................18 1954-1965 ..................................................................................................18 1966-1976 ..................................................................................................19 Post Mao’s Period: (1978-1995) ............................................................................20 The Post Reform Period: (1995-present) ...............................................................22 The Changing Urban Planning System in China ...........................................................23 3. RESEARCH SITE: CHENGDU....................................................................................27 Geographic Locations and Physical Environment .........................................................27 Historical Background ...................................................................................................31 Political and Economic Background ..............................................................................32 4. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION IN CHENGDU ...................................................................................................................36 The Economic Development Process in Chengdu .........................................................36 The Influence of the Go West Program .........................................................................38 Globalization and Foreign Capital Investment ..............................................................39 Structure Changes in Chengdu: GDP and Labor ...........................................................42 The Economic Structure Changes in Three Layers ...............................................44 Employment Structure ...........................................................................................48 Demographic Patterns ....................................................................................................53 5. THE SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF CHENGDU’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT ..............62 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED Land Use Changes in Chengdu .....................................................................................64 Changing Land Use Policy in Chengdu .................................................................67 Urban Land Use Changes in the Central Area .......................................................68 Urban Expansion ...........................................................................................................73 Urban Expansion through Six Corridors................................................................79 ChengWenQiong Corridor .........................................................................80 ChengXin Corridor ....................................................................................80 Southern Corridor ......................................................................................82 ChengQing Corridor ..................................................................................82 ChengLongCorridor ...................................................................................83 ChengGuan Corridor ..................................................................................83 The Factors Behind the Land Use Changes and Urban Expansion in Chengdu .............84 The Physical Geographical Element ....................................................................85 The Driving Forces Behind the Economic Development ....................................85 The Motivation of the Population ........................................................................87 The Development of the Transportation System .................................................88 The Urban Development Patterns and Tendency in Chengdu .......................................91 6. THE CHANGING URBAN PLANNING IN CHENGDU ...........................................92 The Changing Policy of Urban Planning in Chengdu ..................................................92 Chengdu’s Urban Planning: Some Important Examples ..............................................97 Funan River Project: The Environmental Protection .................................97 Five Road and One Bridge Project: Improvement of Transportation Infrastructure ............................................................................................102 Old-City Renewal: Historical Reservation ..............................................103 Agritainment: The intergrations of Urban and Rural Areas, A Unique Tourism Planning .....................................................................................105 Urban Planning of Chengdu for the 21st Century .....................................................110 7. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: NEW CHALLENGES AND TRENDS ...........114 The Sustainable Development in China .....................................................................114 The Challenges of Sustainable Development in Chengdu .........................................116 Environmental Protection ..................................................................................117 Resource Management .......................................................................................120 Population Migration .........................................................................................125 Urban Poverty ..........................................................................................125 The Urban-Rural Income Gap .................................................................126 Township and Village Enterprises (TVE)................................................127 Urban Infrastructure .................................................................................128 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED 8. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................133