By CGTN's Dong Xin
The development of the Xiongan New Area south of Beijing may draw lessons in city planning learned in the aftermath of World War II, when many major capitals needed to rebuild after mass devastation.
Plans to turn three counties south of the Chinese capital into a brand new metropolis were announced last week. The government plans to use Xiongan’s development as a showcase of innovative development.
Yi Min, chief advisor of Mass Transit Railway, made reference to the transit-oriented development (TOD) model for city planning.
Speaking to CGTN’s Yang Rui, Yi said Xiongan would be the centerpiece of the government’s ambitious integration plans for the Biejing-Tianjin-Hebei area.
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“TOD comes from World War II in developed countries. They used to plan the transportation first and then based on the city planning, they built their railway system, public transportation and other transportation,” Yi said.
“However, if we look at Xiongan, we need to have it well-planned first and then we should use the TOD philosophy. It means we have a well-planned transportation system first and later we have ecological,” he said. “It’s not just repeated from Shenzhen or Pudong,” he added.
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Many of Beijing’s so-called non-capital functions will be transferred to Xiongan.
Discussing London’s experience, Mark Harrison, director of the China Property Division at Atkins, said the British capital tried to develop satellite cities in the aftermath of World War II.
The process was difficult and many mistakes were made, he said.
For instance, he said policies aimed at encouraging offices to move to new areas took longer than expected to bear fruit.
“But over time, London has gone from a capital city into a much larger region, basically a metropolitan region. So I suppose if you take a longer-term view, you could say that has actually been successful," Harrison said.
"What the UK is doing now is looking at it in a broader area, with the northern part of England’s investment in high speed rail, looking at how some functions can be stimulated to economic development," he added.
The announcement of Xiongan’s development was met with heated debate on social media. But wheels are now in motion and many hope the area leaves a positive impact on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
