City Planning Review（2024.8）

♦INNOVATIVE EXPLORATION OF WISDOM IN CONSTRUCTING ANCIENT CHINESE CAPITALS: PRACTICES AND REFLECTIONS ON THE INTEGRATED URBAN DESIGN OF BEIJING’S OLD CITY

Author：WANG Jianguo; WU Chen; YANG Junyan; CHEN Wei

ABSTRACT: Beijing’s old city is a typical ancient capital in China. Throughout history, Beijing has attached great importance to protecting its historical and cultural heritage. Nonetheless, in the process of modernization, the ancient capital’s historical and cultural protection is still facing pressures and challenges from various aspects, including society, economy, city’s positioning, and changes in transportation modes. With regard to Beijing’s old city, an oriental ancient capital, its urban design emphasizes the overall layout of “One Axis with Two Wings”, where the central axis plays a leading role, through exploring the wisdom in urban construction. Emphasizing equally on protection and development, the design summarizes the wisdom in old city construction ? natural harmony of the landscape, planning principles for the capital city, and street life in an ideal city ? and reveals the great value of the historical inheritance. On this basis, through the comprehensive application of traditional urban design and digital urban design technologies, the design further interprets the underlying principles and characteristics of the old city’s morphological composition. This leads to the formation of a spatial analysis and value system for the old city based on the Eight Construction Methods, guiding the design and creation of the old city’s spatial form and environment.

KEYWORDS: Beijing’ old city; history and culture; integrated urban design; digital urban design; urban vitality creation

♦SPATIAL RECONSTRUCTION AND PLANNING STRATEGIES OF URBAN AGGLOMERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF DUAL CIRCULATION: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW STATE SPACE THEORY

Author：LU Yanan; SHI Dehao; ZHANG Xianchun; XU Shuncai; LIU Bin; YUE Wenze

ABSTRACT: Based on the new state space theory, this paper develops an analytical framework encompassing “capital circulation, spatial construction, and planning strategy”, examines the spatial reconstruction needs of urban agglomerations during the transition from the “external circulation” pattern to the “dual circulation” pattern, and proposes corresponding planning formulation strategies. It finds that under the new development pattern of dual circulation, China’s urban agglomerations are facing challenges on global, national, and regional scales. Currently, 19 state-level urban agglomerations in China need to play different roles in economic circulation: mature ones participate in international circulation; developing ones drive domestic circulation; emerging ones organize micro-circulation. In order to realize the spatial reconstruction of urban agglomerations, different types of urban agglomerations need to have different construction logic of state spatial projects and planning transmission principles, as well as deployment approaches and planning priorities of state spatial strategy. The research results of this paper fill the theoretical gap of spatial planning serving the new development pattern of the country, providing important theoretical and planning support for the dual circulation pattern from the perspective of urban agglomerations.

KEYWORDS: dual circulation; urban agglomeration; spatial reconstruction; new state space; spatial planning

♦COMPATIBLE URBANIZATION AND NEW TERNARY STRUCTURE: A NEW PERSPECTIVE AND FRAMEWORK TO EXPLAIN AND ANALYZE CHINA’S URBANIZATION IN A NEW PERIOD

Author：HE Wang

ABSTRACT: As China’s economic and social development enters a new period, rural migrant population is undergoing a shift from long-distance migration to local flow, from meeting basic family needs to seeking higher-quality development, and from a lack of public services to compatible urban and rural public services. In line with the concept of people-centered urbanization, this paper proposes the concept of compatible urbanization. Specifically, it refers to a dynamic way of life between cities and countryside, with production and living modes characterized by dual residency in urban and rural areas and mixed employment in both industrial and agricultural sectors, while enjoying public services from both urban and rural areas. Compatible urbanization also features flexible employment, local non-agricultural transformation, and the spatial coupling of employment and residence. This phenomenon is influenced by a combination of mechanisms: the “push-pull equilibrium” mechanism under the urban-rural dual institutional framework, an urban-rural compatible family mechanism based on family division of labor and cooperation, and a mechanism of human modernization represented by the improvement of cultural quality and social transition. Case analyses indicate that compatible urbanization includes two models: the local compatible urbanization based on the functional spillover of mega-cities and the nearby compatible urbanization centered on county seats. Currently, both urban and rural areas exhibit a new ternary structure characterized by compatible urbanization. Guiding and promoting the healthy and orderly development of this “third element” is conducive to advancing both new urbanization and rural revitalization, promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas, and ultimately achieving urban-rural integration.

KEYWORDS: compatible urbanization; urban-rural dual residence；industry-agriculture combined occupation；new ternary structure

♦CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES OF COMMUNITY PLANNING TRANSFORMATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: A CASE STUDY OF H COMMUNITY IN GUANGZHOU

Author：ZHAO Nannan; LIU Yuting; WANG Shifu

ABSTRACT: With the advancement of urban governance and the development of new media technology, social networks in large urban communities have been restructured, and social capital elements such as local knowledge, neighborhood attachment, social norms, and common behaviors, have been constantly accumulating. However, community planning is characterized by institutional deficiencies and lack of conditions, and faces the pressure of “pushback” from community governance. Taking the proactive public participation in the “regulatory planning adjustment” of H community in Guangzhou as an example, this paper examines the role of social capital and planning demands in the process of community planning through interviews and questionnaire surveys. The empirical evidence shows that the role of social capital in large urban communities has been gradually highlighted under the role of planning catalysts, which is manifested in the initiative of public participation and the significant increase in the community’s ability to cope with planning interventions, revealing the real problems such as the “mismatch” of the public participation mechanism and the “threshold” of the grassroots governance system. Therefore, to further promote the transformation of the community planning mechanism, it is necessary to innovate the public participation mechanism to adapt to community demands, improve the local knowledge crowdfunding platform to cultivate social capital, and deepen the community planner system to fill the gap of grassroots governance, so as to ultimately form a new model of community planning under the rational collaboration of multiple actors.

KEYWORDS: community planning; social capital; public participation; regulatory planning adjustment; local knowledge; community governance

♦TYPES AND DIFFERENCES OF LARGE-SCALE GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: BASED ON THE REAL-TIME DATA OF POPULATION DENSITY AND POI DENSITY

Author：ZHANG Lingling; WANG Jiali; XU Junli

ABSTRACT: This paper obtains the population density and point of interest (POI) density of large-scale government-subsidized communities in five cities through urban multi-source data. It explores the types, characteristics and differences of current community development and seeks a feasible way to monitor the development of large-scale government-subsidized communities by using big data methods. The results show that the population growth and change in the demographic structure follow certain patterns. The population growth is slowing down and increasingly more communities are seeing negative growth. Currently, community development can be categorized into three types, which are related to urban attribution and are different from each other in the built environment.

KEYWORDS: large-scale government-subsidized community; community development; population density; POI density

♦RESEARCH ON ROAD CONGESTION MECHANISM AND STRATEGIES FROM A SPATIOTEMPORAL BEHAVIOR PERSPECTIVE: A CASE STUDY OF XIANGYIN TUNNEL IN SHANGHAI

Author：HU Yang; WANG De; REN Xiyuan; CHEN Zihao; ZHANG Yangfan

ABSTRACT: Road congestion is a complex issue intertwined with time and space. Within established urban spatial patterns, addressing the often-overlooked time dimension could enhance urban operational efficiency and promote sustainable development. Using Shanghai’s Xiangyin Tunnel as a case study, this research utilizes mobile signaling data to analyze the formation mechanism of road congestion from the spatiotemporal behavior perspective and proposes targeted congestion mitigation strategies. The study reveals that traffic flows generated by human activities exhibit complex spatiotemporal superposition and conversion relationships in local road sections. Multiple traffic flows with different origins and destinations overlap after equivalent temporal and spatial conversions. When the overlapped total flow exceeds the road’s capacity, congestion peaks are formed. To address this issue, differentiated strategies such as rigid peak shifting and flexible guidance are proposed based on the spatiotemporal characteristics of different population groups’ travel patterns. The potential for optimizing these strategies is assessed in different assumed scenarios, providing multi-scenario references for congestion policy formulation. The analytical approach and strategic thinking based on spatiotemporal behavioral characteristics offer insights for road congestion management. Moreover, they can be applied to understand and solve other complex urban issues, providing new ideas for refined urban management and sustainable development.

KEYWORDS: spatiotemporal behavior; traffic congestion; spatiotemporal overlap; spatiotemporal conversion

♦RESEARCH ON THE CONSTRUCTION APPROACH OF URBAN TACTILE PAVING SYSTEM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FACILITY DEMAND: TAKING VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE AS AN EXAMPLE

Author：ZHANG Sen; SU Yan; LIU Xiaoyang; PAN Haixiao

ABSTRACT: With the promulgation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Accessible Environment Construction, conducting detailed research on barrier-free design has become an important starting point for improving the quality of urban barrier-free environment. This study breaks through the traditional idea of barrier-free design as an auxiliary design, takes public service facilities and urban tactile paving as the objects, and explores the construction approach and design method of urban tactile paving system based on the activity patterns and facility demand characteristics of the visually impaired people. Through the random forest model and gravity model, the facility demand analysis and activity area prediction of the visually impaired people are carried out, and the system in the central urban area of Tianjin is identified and evaluated from three aspects: facility composition, activity type, and tactile paving layout. Combined with the gravitational path between the residence and the highly correlated facilities, the optimal layout plan and construction strategy of the tactile paving are proposed, aiming to guide the optimization of the urban barrier-free facility pattern and provide theoretical reference and technical support for the city to carry out barrier-free planning and design at the spatial level.

KEYWORDS: visually impaired people; public service facilities; activity characteristics; gravitational path; tactile paving system

♦URBAN CYCLE TRAVEL STRATEGY AND RELATED PLANNING AND DESIGN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CARBON NEUTRALITY: A CASE STUDY OF FOUR INTERNATIONAL METROPOLISES

Author：SUN Ting; LIU Pujia; LU. . Fei

ABSTRACT: Given that travel by bicycles consumes minimal non-renewable energy and produces zero carbon emissions, cities all over the world have increasingly adopted bicycles as a main mode for transport in daily travel, and successively formulated cycle travel strategies and plans as well as design guidelines or standards. A variety of measures, such as optimizing the street environment and fostering travellers’ habits, enable bicycles to play an important role in short-, medium-, and even long-distance travels. With Copenhagen, Paris, New York, and London as exemplars in the field of cycle transport development and planning, this paper analyzes the practice of these metropolises in terms of the strategies and objectives, core content, and implementation monitoring and evaluation of cycle travel. Meanwhile, the paper examines the cycle travel design guidelines or standards in relation to cycle paths and intersections, as well as parking facilities and signs. Furthermore, the paper puts forward corresponding suggestions from four aspects: clarifying the development goals of urban cycle travel with a view to achieving carbon neutrality, establishing frameworks and related guidelines for the development of cycle travel, promoting the use of bicycles for regional commuting, and fostering travellers’ preference for the use of bicycles.

KEYWORDS: cycle travel; transport strategy; planning and design; carbon neutrality; international metropolis

♦RESILIENCE OF URBAN MEDIAL FACILITIES SYSTEM NETWORK AND PLANNING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE MAIN URBAN AREA OF ZHENGZHOU

Author：WANG Jiwu; SHEN Yuyan; MAO Danyi; WANG Chenhao; LU Jingyuan

ABSTRACT: Given that the development of Chinese cities has entered a stage characterized by high risks, the resilience of the medical facilities system plays an important role in ensuring urban safety under the disturbance of uncertain pressure. Taking Zhengzhou as an example, this paper explores the planning methods for building a resilient urban medical facilities system. Firstly, based on the cascading and directional characteristics of the synergy between facilities, the paper identifies the resilience synergy mechanism between urban medical facilities, and establishes a spatial directed network for the medical facilities system. Secondly, based on the characteristics of spatial disturbance caused by uncertain pressure, the paper employs the “carrying capacity-load distribution” model to simulate the change of network resilience under the influence of “single pressure” and “multi-source concurrent pressure” respectively. It is found that within the sub-networks featuring a complex structure, the facilities that have a significant impact on network resilience are mostly distributed in areas with scattered facilities, while the sub-networks with a simple structure exhibit greater instability. Subsequently, the paper categorizes medical facilities influencing network resilience into three types: facilities requiring enhanced connectivity, those needing structural optimization, and those focusing on upgrading. Then the distribution patterns, key resilience synergy mechanisms, and existing problems of these facilities are analyzed, based on which targeted planning strategies are proposed. This research methodology and its outcomes are of great significance for enhancing the resilience of the urban public service facilities system and promoting the related planning practice in China.

♦VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF URBAN DISASTER-AFFECTED BODIES BASED ON SOCIAL MEDIA DATA: TAKING EXTREME WEATHER IN SHENZHEN AS AN EXAMPLE

Author：FAN Yating; LI Yuefan; TU Wei; LI Yun

ABSTRACT: The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have significantly increased worldwide, posing severe threats to the public and infrastructure in high-density cities. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the vulnerability of urban disaster-affected bodies, as it plays an essential role in enhancing urban resilience. Different from the traditional data, which is often limited in evaluating sudden-onset disasters, social media data offers real-time and rich spatio-temporal information, making it a valuable source. This paper focuses on the spatial distribution of 76 sub-districts in Shenzhen during the three time periods of the 2018 typhoon Mangkhut. After preprocessing the relevant Weibo data during the disaster period, the paper identifies and classifies public perception vulnerability and public sentiment vulnerability using the LDA model and the SnowNLP model. Furthermore, the infrastructure vulnerability is subdivided into six categories based on corpus construction. The analysis reveals that three types of vulnerabilities exhibit concentrated peaks with successive lags, demonstrating distinct spatial patterns between the northern and southern regions and a “dumbbell-shaped” distribution. Based on these findings, the paper proposes relevant planning suggestions to improve the spatio-temporal coordination of the vulnerability of urban disaster-affected bodies, in order to enhance urban disaster resilience.

KEYWORDS: vulnerability of disaster-affected bodies; social media; public perception; public sentiment; infrastructure vulnerability to disaster

♦AN EXPLORATION ON THE SPATIAL-SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF PUTIAN PLAIN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF WATER MANAGEMENT

Author：LI Lanbin; SUN Jinlu; GUO Wei; WEI Hongye

ABSTRACT: The Putian Plain is a typical human settlement geographic unit shaped by water management. It encompasses both polder and irrigation areas, but there is limited research in the field of planning that delves into the relationship between its hydraulic features and traditional human settlements. This paper firstly examines the historical development of the Putian Plain in various periods from a hydrological point of view. Then it analyzes the spatial layout of the Putian Plain before rapid urbanization in terms of natural base, water conservancy system, and settlement system to summarize its morphological characteristics. Furthermore, the paper focuses on analyzing the water management model derived from the water distribution in irrigation areas and the flood control in polder areas, which largely facilitates the formation of the social structure centered on ritual alliances and increases community cohesion through ritual events. This clear interplay between water space and social structure provides an important reference for understanding the traditional human settlement structure and its contemporary transformation in similar areas.

KEYWORDS: traditional human settlements; irrigation and polder areas; water management; social structure; Putian Plain

♦RESOURCE SHARING AND GOVERNANCE MODE IN TRADITIONAL SETTLEMENTS AND ITS REDEVELOPMENT IN MODERN TIMES: A CASE OF YUTOU DONG VILLAGES

Author：HE Jing; ZHOU Kai; TU Hua; TANG Shuangshuang

ABSTRACT: To trace the origin of the activity of “sharing” in traditional human settlements, this paper takes Yutou Dong villages in western Hunan Province as a typical case to analyze the governance mode of resource sharing in traditional settlements. The findings are as follows: first, from the perspectives of “economic reciprocity”, “community cooperation”, and “space building”, it is pointed out in the relevant literature that the activity of sharing is an important part of traditional cultural genes; second, the case of Yutou Dong villages reveals the motivation mechanism, resource type, and the establishment and maintenance of relevant institutions of sharing behavior in traditional settlements; third, the “sharing culture” of traditional communities can only be built and maintained by relying on the design and supply of an effective “sharing system” and the formation of a clear “positive/negative incentive mechanism”. Finally, the native sharing culture can be redeveloped in modern times by means of embedding, overlapping, and inheritance, which can be used to explore the local governance and inheritance wisdom of traditional settlements, and build a rural governance pattern of “co-construction, co-governance, and sharing”.

KEYWORDS: concept of sharing-based development; resource sharing; rural governance; community culture; Dong villages