Day 2: Tianjin-Shijiazhuang: A look at Canberra's successful urban planning

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02:28

The urban planning of many international cities has received much attention. Those places include Singapore, Zurich and Seoul. But arguably one of the most successful can be found in Australia. Some experts believe that Canberra has become what its creators were hoping to achieve more than a century ago. Greg Navarro explains.

Within Australia, Canberra is known for being home to the country's federal government. And a relatively quiet rural city, often shunned over some of the nation's more celebrated metropolitan areas.

For Australian National University Honorary Professor Ken Taylor, Canberra is not only home but a successful example of a planned city.

KEN TAYLOR, HONORARY PROFESSOR AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY "It is a multi-purpose open space system, it has ecological values, it has visual values, it has aesthetic values and it forms a remarkable setting for the city."

ANTHONY POWELLRETIRED PLANNER AND CIVIL ENGINEER "Canberra is the most successful new town, or planned national capital in the world."

Canberra was designed by American architect Walter Burley Griffin who won an international competition to design Australia's capital city in the early 1900s. Griffin's goal was simple - to incorporate the landscape.

BEN PONTON, CHIEF PLANNER AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY"Where ever you stand around Canberra you can see beautiful hills all around the city, there is fantastic tree canopy cover throughout the city so what we see is a real city in the landscape."

GREG NAVARRO CANBERRA "What sets Canberra apart from most planned cities around the world is that at the time when this site was agreed upon, there was no town, no municipality, there was nothing and that was the point."

Australia's constitution required that its capital be built at least 100 miles from Sydney - a political compromise between Sydney and Melbourne.

For Griffin, the untouched landscape was integral to his design.

KEN TAYLOR, HONORARY PROFESSOR AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY "As Griffen said, I have designed a city not like any other."

The city was originally designed for a population of about 50,000 people.

Today, Canberra is home to around 400,000. And there is an increasing concern about the impact of that growth.

KEN TAYLOR, HONORARY PROFESSOR AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY "In a lot of these developments the open space that is essential to the character of the city is missing."

Taylor and other experts say one of the biggest challenges for Canberra moving forward is to find ways to accommodate its growth, without losing site of the landscape.

Greg Navarro, CGTN, Canberra.