The Communist Party of China Central Committee and State Council approved the Beijing Urban Master Plan for the following 20 years on Friday. The new plan has now become an official blueprint that will guide and constrain the arrangements for Beijing's layout up to 2035. It is to kick-start the city's re-distribution of functions, and put an end to the current urban sprawl. Tang Bo has more.

 

Three years of compiling and seven rounds of major amendments. The newly approved Beijing Urban Master Plan aims to make Beijing a first-class harmonious and livable capital by 2035, by dispersing non-capital functions, and solving urban problems such as an overcrowded downtown and air pollution. To ease the big city malaise, the blueprint, for example, restructures the layout of the city into a central city area, a sub-center, two axes, and 10 suburban areas.

 

YAO DONGMEI, DIRECTOR OFFICE FOR METROPOLITAN ARCHITECTURE "The new plan is in line with the world trend in urban development. It's similar to the urban development of metropolises such as Paris and Tokyo, highlighted by the development of sub-city centers that can ease the burden caused by increasing population."

 

The blueprint also looks to continue to curb the city's growing population by keeping the city's long-term residents under 23 million by 2020, compared with the current 21 million-plus residents.

 

The city plans to reduce the amount of rural and urban land available for construction while expanding its ecological control area.

 

With the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province joint development strategy in mind, the new blueprint also requires a much bigger vision to accommodate regional interconnection.

 

The expert says approving the new blueprint is only the first step. What awaits is to make detailed plans, which would look ahead as far out as 2050.

 

YAO DONGMEI, DIRECTOR OFFICE FOR METROPOLITAN ARCHITECTURE "A master plan is more like a bird's eye view of the overall city layout, which is far from enough for sustainable urban development. What's more important are the detailed plans and careful management that can reach every single street. We are happy to see that the blueprint has been approved, but what's challenging is to ensure that local residents will actually benefit from it."

 

TANG BO BEIJING "From the first urban blueprint released in 1983 which focused on population control to the current one which aim to improve the city's layout and functions, Beijing's urban development is changing from expanding to enhancing its overall structure. It is the first time that the capital city is promoting the concept less is more. Tang Bo, CGTN, Beijing."