City Planning Review（2024.6）

♦REFLECTIONS ON THE PROTECTION OF URBAN AND RURAL HISTORIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Author: WANG Kai; WANG Jun; ZHOU Yajie

ABSTRACT: Since the reform and opening up, China’s urban and rural historic and cultural protection work has achieved remarkable results. But there are also problems such as the neglect of regional cultural characteristics in urban layout and construction, the lack of regional perspective and system concept in cultural heritage protection, which leads to the disappearance of regional cultural characteristics and the destruction of regional cultural system and context. As the only splendid civilization that lasts till today in human history, the Chinese civilization has the characteristics of outstanding continuity and unity. It is the requirement of the times and the inevitable choice for the promotion of the Chinese civilization to carry out the protection of urban and rural historic and cultural heritage from a regional perspective. This paper establishes the outlook of grand history, grand culture, and grand region for the protection of urban and rural historic and cultural heritage, and puts forward the theoretical approach of regional urban and rural historic and cultural heritage protection that is centered on “precise adaptation” and with “precise analysis, adaptive layout, and dynamic assessment” as the framework, after taking into account the characteristics of China’s natural geography and the diversity of regional cultures. This method is applied to the conservation of cultural corridors and typical cultural areas at different spatial dimensions, exploring the construction of an overall framework for the protection of China’s regional urban and rural cultural heritage.

KEYWORDS: precise adaptation; regional perspective; urban and rural historic and cultural heritage protection

♦INFORMATION TRANSMISSION AND DATA ELEMENT ALLOCATION FOR SUPER LARGE-SCALE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

Author: GUO Chen; WU Tinghai; ZHU Dongwen; DING Yi; LIU Hao

ABSTRACT: The emergence of written language and the aggregation of population on a large scale are the most important signs, marking human’s entry into an era of civilization. Faced with the constraints imposed by the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, the population aggregation based on territory in traditional urbanization is gradually approaching the scale threshold. At the same time, the diminution of information media’s weightiness and the standardization of information expression have unleashed an unparalleled mobility of information, capable of maintaining an economic and social community beyond territorial confines. As human settlements are evolving from territorial aggregation to relational aggregation, the sciences of human settlements should attach equal importance to both the physical space environment and the information space environment. In the engineering practice of creating the information space environment, city-level data element resource allocation is the most important basic work. The wealth of accumulated theory and technical methods in the sciences of human settlements can provide effective guidance and reference for the creation of a human settlement-oriented information space environment, and offer new perspectives and paths for super large-scale human settlements, propelling their modernization and enhancing their governance capacity.

KEYWORDS: human settlements; urban governance; information transmission; data element allocation

♦CAN SPONGE CITY CONSTRUCTION MITIGATE URBAN SPRAWL?

Author: LI Yue; YANG Jiulun; XIE Zihan; YU Chongyang

ABSTRACT: Sponge cities represent a systemic change in the idea of urban construction, targeting at addressing issues arising from urbanization. Since 2015, China has gradually launched pilot sponge city projects. Using a difference-in-differences model, this paper systematically assesses the impact of sponge city construction on urban sprawl, finding the following results. First, sponge city construction can effectively mitigate urban sprawl, as evidenced by robustness tests that indicate a significant mitigation effect. Second, mechanism tests reveal that compared to quantity, the construction method that combines green infrastructure with the existing block-based planning significantly mitigates urban sprawl through reverse crowding-out effects. Third, sponge city construction exhibits a law of diminishing marginal effects, with cities of lower administrative levels and urbanization levels obtaining more pronounced mitigation effects. Fourth, the mitigation effect of sponge city construction on urban sprawl is regionally selective, with cities in central China seeing a notable influence. Looking ahead, China’s sponge city endeavors ought to eschew a blind pursuit of quantitative growth. Instead, prioritizing the development of green infrastructure stands as an important path to effectively maximize the efficacy of sponge cities.

KEYWORDS: sponge city construction; urban sprawl; green infrastructure; reverse crowding-out effect; PSM-DID

♦CORRELATION ANALYSIS BETWEEN DYNAMIC-STATIC POPULATION AGGREGATION AND BLOCK MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN HIGH-DENSITY CITY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY BASED ON MANHATTAN

Author: WU Yihao; ZHUANG Yu

ABSTRACT: The population in high-density cities is highly mobile, and there is a correlation effect between the dynamic-static population aggregation and the urban spatial form to some extent. Taking Manhattan as an example, this paper traces back its urban construction and morphological evolution. Based on the static and dynamic population data within the current urban area, the spatial distribution characteristics of population density are identified by using spatial cluster analysis and Manhattan population explorer. Then four 1km×1km urban districts with high dynamic and static population density are selected, which are analyzed through the spatial matrix of the morphological characteristics of their typical blocks. It is found that the architectural density of the four sections shows a gradient pattern, which is correlated with the differentiation of the dynamic-static distribution of population. Then, the paper identifies and summarizes the formation types of high-density block, reveals the hidden order and related factors that affect the urban form. Finally, it puts forward some enlightenment of Manhattan urban form to the construction of high-density cities in China.

KEYWORDS: dynamic-static population; high-density; urban form; Manhattan

♦HOUSING TENURE DEMAND OF URBAN MIGRANT POPULATION IN CHINA BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY: DIFFERENCES AMONG 285 CITIES AND INTERACTION EFFECTS OF CITIES AND INDIVIDUALS

Author: CHAI Kangni; WANG Yufan; FENG Changchun

ABSTRACT: Based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey and city data, this paper specifies the diversified housing tenure demands of the migrant population by taking both their willingness and ability to purchase housing into account. The spatial patterns among 285 cities are explored, and the influencing factors at both city- and individual-levels as well as their interaction effects are investigated. The results show that the housing tenure demands of the migrant population show a significant spatial differentiation. Migrants in the southeastern coastal urban agglomerations have strong demands for housing leasing. Migrants in the Loess Plateau and southwestern regions have strong needs for homeownership but lack the ability to afford it. Both city- and individual-level factors have impacts on the housing tenure demands of the migrant population. The migrants in economically developed cities cities have higher demands for rental housing, while those in cities with better public services have higher demands for homeownership. The willingness to settle down, being married, family migration, and unstable employment contribute to the demand for homeownership. The role of individual-level actors such as the migration across provinces and that between urban and rural areas, age, and employment status, varies with the differentiation of city-level factors. The research results deepen and expand the understanding of migrant population’s housing demand and provide a basis for rationally solving the housing issues of the new citizens.

KEYWORDS: migrant population; housing demand; spatial differentiation; multilevel logistic model

♦EVALUATION ON SUPPORT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT NEIGHBORHOOD DESTINATIONS FOR THE DAILY ACTIVITIES OF OLDER ADULTS: A CASE STUDY OF DALIAN

Author: WEI Yue; YANG Dongfeng

ABSTRACT: Daily activities, as an important part of the life of older adults, are closely related to their health status and directly affected by the built environment at neighborhood destinations. In view of the complexity of these activities, focusing on the needs at different stages of behavior change, this paper selects three spatial elements, i.e., spatial proximity, functional diversity, and travel convenience, to quantify and evaluate how the built environment at neighborhood destinations supports the daily activities of older adults in Dalian by use of the entropy weight method and the coupling coordination degree model. The findings reveal that: the service coverage of hospitals, community activity centers, and sports venues is insufficient to meet the activity demands of older adults; different spatial elements have different supporting capacities, with that of spatial proximity being the lowest; the coordination at the stage of neighborhood destinations’ support for activities is mediocre, largely attributable to factors such as location and functional quality of these destinations, and layout of surrounding public transportation facilities. Focusing on neighborhood destinations and their impacts on the daily activities of older adults can facilitate the construction of age-friendly cities. This paper endeavors to objectively evaluate the built environment at neighborhood destinations by examining their support for older adults in completing their daily activities, with a view to providing a theoretical basis for the planning of age-adaptive community life cycles.

KEYWORDS: neighborhood destination; built environment; support evaluation; older adults; daily activity

♦IDENTIFICATION OF SPATIAL EQUITY OF ELDERLY CARE INSTITUTIONS IN RESPONSE TO AN AGING POPULATION

Author: ZHANG Dailuo; MA Shifa; CAI Yunnan

ABSTRACT: Accurately identifying the spatial equity of elderly care institutions is an important prerequisite for territorial planning to optimize the allocation of elderly resources and address the challenges of an aging society. This study improves the two-step floating catchment area method by incorporating factors such as business nature and scale level to analyze the spatial accessibility disparities of elderly care institutions across different sub-districts in Guangzhou. The evaluation is conducted from an equity perspective. The results indicate that: (1) the distribution of elderly care institutions across different sub-districts in Guangzhou is uneven, showing a concentric pattern with significant urban-rural disparities. (2) Private elderly care institutions have better accessibility and equity than public ones, and large-scale institutions perform better in terms of accessibility and equity compared to others. (3) In the future, priority should be given to improving the accessibility in high-demand and low-supply areas, thus optimizing the spatial allocation of elderly care institutions. Compared to the commonly used proportional model in planning, the improved two-step floating catchment area method can better measure spatial equity, providing reference and suggestions for the scientific planning of elderly care institutions.

KEYWORDS: elderly care facilities; equity; accessibility; two-step floating catchment area method (2SFCA); aging society

♦EVALUATION OF URBAN CONSTRUCTION LAND USE EFFICIENCY AND OPTIMIZATION STRATEGY OF LAND ALLOCATION: BASED ON THE EMPIRICAL STUDY ON 2,165 MUNICIPAL DISTRICTS, COUNTY-LEVEL CITIES, AND COUNTIES IN CHINA

Author: ZHANG Yanji; DENG Weitao; ZHAO Lizhen

ABSTRACT: To make up for the lack of nationwide evaluation, confusion of concept, and difficulties in guiding practice in the studies of land use efficiency, this paper takes 2,165 municipal districts, county-level cities, and counties in China as analysis units and uses SBM-undesirable model to calculate urban construction land use efficiency. In order to provide the basis for optimized allocation of land use quota, the paper measures the matching degree and matching type between land use efficiency and land supply rate. According to conservative estimates, the overall urban construction land use efficiency in China is relatively low. Nearly 70% of municipal districts, county-cities, and counties have redundant urban construction land. To reach the optimal efficiency, 24,500 square kilometers redundant land should be cut down nationwide. There is a U-shaped relationship between population size, administrative grade, and land use efficiency. Per capita GDP shows a marginally-decreasing positive impact on land use efficiency. As some Chinese cities are faced with spatial mismatch between land use efficiency and land supply rate, targeted measures should be taken according to the matching relationship between land use efficiency and land supply. For example, land quota should be reduced for the “inefficient but oversupplied” cities and increased for the “efficient but undersupplied” cities to stabilize the total quota, so as to improve land use efficiency, combine rigidity and elasticity of regulation, and realize dynamic adjustment.

KEYWORDS: urban construction land; land use efficiency; land use quota; data envelopment analysis

♦A STUDY ON SPATIOTEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BROWNFIELD TRANSFORMED IN CHINA AND CHANGE OF LAND USE PATTERNS: BASED ON THE META-ANALYSIS METHOD

Author: ZHANG Xinjia; SONG Yang; WANG Shijun

ABSTRACT: Brownfield has become a heated research topic in the field of urban regeneration and land reuse. However, the number of brownfields, location information, and redevelopment modes in China are still unclear, which has brought about many obstacles to obtaining the brownfield information, guiding urban spatial planning, and re-utilizing the brownfields across the country. Based on a meta-analysis, this paper extracts the information of transformed brownfields from the literature published in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science (WOS), and China Industrial Heritage List, and uses it as the typical representative and data source of China’s brownfields. Then, the paper analyzes the spatiotemporal characteristics of brownfields already transformed in China in terms of the overall performance, stage, and plot factors, and summarizes its reuse pattern and transformation characteristics. The study is conducive to enriching and deepening the research on brownfields in the context of lack of related data, and can provide a scientific basis and reference for the decision making for China’s brownfield redevelopment, land consolidation, and urban vitality improvement.

KEYWORDS: brownfield; spatiotemporal characteristics; change of land use pattern; meta-analysis

♦DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW OF URBAN PROTECTIVE SPACE CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA SINCE 1950

Author: ZHAO Ziwei; XIE Jinrong; YUAN Yuan; GUO Dongjun; ZHU Xingping

ABSTRACT: Urban protective space (UPS) refers to the space to resist and weaken the consequences of war air strikes. It is an integral part of national defense development and city construction, and an important guarantee of urban security and sustainable development. The UPS construction in China began with civil air defense in 1950. To date, we have formed a protective space system and construction mode with Chinese characteristics and made great achievements in improving national defense and urban safety. A review of its development process will help to understand the historical background, developing logic and lessons learned from the UPS construction in China at different stages. According to the process and policy change of UPS construction in China, it is divided into four development stages. This paper analyzes and summarizes the background of national defense, practical exploration and academic research of each stage, as well as characteristics of UPS construction at different stages. Finally, on the basis of summing up the development trajectory, it is suggested that the UPS construction in China should further explore the transformation in the protective space system and construction mechanism.

KEYWORDS: urban defense; civil air defense; urban space; historical review; civil air defense engineering

♦FROM A TEMPLE CLUSTER TO A MOUNTAIN TOWN: PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF YUNDING TOWN IN JINTANG, CHENGDU, DURING THE ANTI-MONGOL WAR IN THE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

Author: HUANG Wen; FENG Jiang

ABSTRACT: Taking Yunding Town, one of the Eight Pillar Towns in the anti-Mongol war during the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty, as the research subject, and from the perspectives of urban construction history and military history, this paper reviews the military defense thought of “protecting the people and maintaining the army at the same time” in Sichuan war zone, and explores the impact of the plain town-mountain town structure on the planning and construction of Yunding Town which was transformed from a temple cluster before the war to a defensive mountain town during the war. The paper analyzes the site selection and planning strategy of building a mountain town based on existing temples and local land form, and summarizes the planning and construction experience of Yunding Town in terms of masonry fortification, water supply and drainage system, and road system. This paper will provide a new insight into the planning and construction history and the heritage value of anti-Mongol mountain towns in Sichuan region in the Southern Song Dynasty.

KEYWORDS: the anti-Mongol mountain town; plain town-mountain town structure; Yunding Town; army in garrison; mountain temple; the fortification wall