Urban development in China



Urban development in China

The structure of cities in the LDCs

Urban development in China


China's inland cities have served and controlled particular rural areas over thousands of years.
North: walled cities had social districts
South: with commercial centres, lots of small streets and craftsmen's houses
- 19th century: European intrusion created CBDs of shanghai and Guangzhou -> serve commercial interest, financed railways: ind. Cities could develop on the coalfields and iron ore deposits
Today: urban-industrial growth is carefully planned
population increase threatened to swamp crowded cities -- > migration into cities restricted and young people from urban families -- > employment outside the city
today still employment and housing controlled
one-child family to control population

positive urban planning aims to prevent overcrowding
-- Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin are part of a planned municipality (-- urban area with local self-government)
-- include much open countryside with rural areas - supply with vegetables
new towns there: make people move there from the city
reservoirs there control water supplies

- recently created SEZ (Special Economic Zone), based on urban centres with private industrial investment and joint ventures with foreign firms
- Shenzen: developed modern city with high-tech industry
1997 linked with industrial towns and Hong Kong's CDB

- China's booming economy: in the east and inland areas - create wealth and spread it into low developed areas
- Village suburbs: industry alternates farming, but much of the old character remains there
- also, cities vary according to history and function
the structure of cities is not uniform and conditions vary from district to
district
- but poverty zones are not predictable, but they appear in so many cities
- controls are strict and authorities are anxious to avoid the urban problems