Green Urbanization and Environmental Improvement

China’s green urbanization

The balance of international evidence indicates a mixed pattern of growth and shrinkage of cities in the age of the Internet. The strong growth in central cities dominates this pattern, disproving the 1990s hypothesis that we would soon see ‘the death of distance’. Current developments in urban form are strongly linked to long-term changes in fundamental drivers, such as demography, production structure, climate change and technology. At the same time, they are unique to each situation. Processes of urban renewal are long-term, typically taking decades, involving long-lived spatial patterns and requiring strategic foresight. Specifically for China, six key imbalances were identified, including an oversupply of urban development and serious negative externalities of transport. This PBL report, containing insights (including references) gained during the round table, is made available to CCICED by courtesy of the international co-chair of the task force.

The Round Table convened under the aegis of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), at the invitation of and with material support by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of The Netherlands. Substance of the programme and reporting was coordinated by PBL Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency, in collaboration with the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD).