The level of urbanization in China is approx. How is urbanization progressing in China?
Over the past 70 years, China has undergone incredible changes in culture, political system and economic development. But the main and most striking of them is urbanization: a sharp transition from a rural way of life to an urban one, in the largest and most dynamically developing megacities in the world.
These changes took place very abruptly. Back in 1958, almost all of China was one large village, in which almost everyone suffered from hunger and lived far below the poverty line. Today, China is the world's largest economy, and the standard of living there is rising every day. Not only the economy, but also the appearance of China has changed almost beyond recognition in 70 years. Here is a brief history of the changes that have occurred in China over the short half-century.
From 1958 to 1961 - "Great Leap Forward"
In the middle of the twentieth century, China was more than 90% an agricultural country, which, in addition, was forced to sign many international treaties that were very unfavorable for its economy. In 1949, the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, came to power in China. The party conceived a grandiose transformation of the country from an agricultural to an industrial one.
Mao believed that China's considerable human resources would easily ensure a smooth and painless transition from a poor and economically unprofitable model of an agrarian state to a more profitable industrial economy capable of competing with other world powers.
In 1958, the Communists launched a campaign called the Great Leap Forward, creating some 23,000 industrialized communes. However, the results of this project were more than unjustified. Former farmers had no idea how to operate factory equipment. As a result of the failure of the Great Leap Forward, China suffered from widespread famine for several years, killing tens of millions of people.
From 1960 to 1976 - The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
The current dynamic growth of the Chinese economy is difficult to believe, partly because during the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century, almost any attempt to economically support small businesses and attract outside investment was punishable by repression and execution.
The Cultural Revolution, led by Mao Zedong, was aimed at the absolute eradication of dissent and the establishment of communist ideals in all provinces of China. Millions of people suffered from repression, especially the intelligentsia and representatives of political groups. When Mao faced opposition within the Communist ranks, he overhauled the party and got rid of trade unions and youth organizations. The Cultural Revolution ended with the death of Mao. Despite the fact that loyal followers of his ideas remained in the party, most representatives of the political elite were ready to change both political and economic courses.
From 1978 to 1990 - policy of reform and opening up
In December 1978, China's new leader Deng Xiaoping allowed foreign investment into his country and allowed foreign companies to open representative offices and branches.
In addition to the influx of foreign investment, mainly from the United States, Xiaoping abolished communes, which allowed farmers to sell their products on favorable terms. China's GDP grew by 10% annually. During the same period, the state carried out reforms to control population growth.
1997 - Hong Kong
In 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the control of the PRC. There were fears in the region that China's communist model of development would be forcibly installed in capitalist Hong Kong. However, since 1997, the capitalist model of development of the region has remained intact, in addition, Hong Kong has limited political and legal autonomy. The region's legal and legislative systems distinguish it from other Chinese provinces. However, protests have recently erupted in Hong Kong over China's future plans to limit the region's electoral autonomy.
From 2003 to 2008 - going abroad
In the period after China's accession to the WTO, the PRC became increasingly international. In 2006, the Rolling Stones' grand concert in Shanghai was broadcast on national television, and in 2008 Beijing became host to the Olympic Games. At the same time, China's architectural and technological achievements began to attract the attention of the world community.
From 2010 to 2014 - construction of megacities
It is estimated that an additional 350 million Chinese will live in big cities by 2025.
The scale and speed of China's urbanization seem absolutely incredible. One need only look at the before and after photos to understand that in less than 50 years, the main Chinese cities have turned into world-class metropolises with unique modern architecture.
However, despite the achievements of urbanization, there is an opinion in China that modern economic growth and development are leading to the fact that the country is losing its cultural heritage.
2015 - no longer a village
Just 10 years ago, a place called “White Horse” was a tiny village with a population of three thousand people, but today a large modern city is being built there. And such radical changes are far from uncommon in China.
If in 1950 1/3 of the world's city dwellers were concentrated in Asia, then in 2010 about 1/2. The Southeast Asian vector of global urbanization is noticeably increasing, with the “urban mass” of China and India and the adjacent countries of East and South Asia growing especially rapidly.
Table 5. Number of regions of the world and share of the urban population of regions of the world for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2050.
The current stage of urbanization in the PRC is characterized by many scientists as an “urban revolution”, which is associated with the unprecedented scale of the phenomenon. China is a traditionally rural country with a long history of low levels of urbanization.
Fig.8
By the time of the formation of the People's Republic of China (1949), only 10.6% of the population lived in cities. Socialist China was characterized by an increase in the level of urbanization. Already since the 1960s, when the share of the urban population became 19.7%, an acute food issue arose in the cities, and the PRC began to take measures to reduce the urban population. The campaign to send youth to rural and mountainous areas has intensified.
Thus, from 1962 to 1976, over 17 million literate youth were sent to state farms and people's communes. Particularly large were the flows from densely populated provinces and cities of central subordination to poorly developed areas. By 1975, the urbanization rate had dropped to 17.3%.
Table 6. Total population, urban and rural population of China for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025 (thousands of people)
Table 7. Proportion of China's urban population, 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025 (%)
But then the size of the urban population and its share in the total population of the country began to grow steadily. The proportion of city residents increased especially quickly after the start of economic reform: in 1978, 17.9% of the total population were city residents. According to the 3rd All-China Census of 1982, 210 million people already lived in cities. or 20.6% of the population. Unlike past population censuses, all urban residents were divided into two categories: those living in large and medium-sized cities ("shi") and those living in small cities and towns ("zhen"). At the same time, most of the townspeople lived in large cities - 70%. In the 1980s, special attention was paid to the creation of small cities and urban-type settlements.
According to Chinese scientists, “accelerating the construction of small cities and towns is a great economic and social task. It is necessary to seriously experiment with registration reform in small cities and towns, develop investment and land policies in favor of the latter, as well as a political rationale for real estate. The construction of small towns and villages must be carried out on the basis of scientific planning and rational placement. Here it is necessary to monitor the saving of land area and environmental protection and not take on the matter en masse."
In the Yangtze River and Pearl River Delta, almost all central cities regulate administrative divisions based on urban planning plans. From 1999 to 2002, 2.88 million peasants in Zhejiang Province became urban residents. The province's urbanization rate rose from 36% to 42%
Throughout the history of urbanization in the PRC, the state has played a significant role. Along with the direct impact on the process (the hukou system, which prevented free migration, the relocation of large contingents of peasants to cities and townspeople to the countryside, etc.), the state regulated and continues to regulate urbanization processes indirectly (through land and real estate prices, labor market, etc.). Among the factors of urbanization in China, economic, social, migration and demographic, administrative and external factors stand out. The state and the CPC formulated the task of transforming traditionally rural China into an “urban country” with an urbanization level of about 60% by 2020. One of the main mechanisms for solving this task is the formation of three largest megalopolises: the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Beijing metropolitan region. Bohaiwan. The formation of megalopolises in China has become the main content of the urbanization policy of the Chinese leadership at the present stage. The Chinese leadership is taking targeted actions to form megalopolises, including the adoption of policy documents at the highest government level; holding coordination meetings of the leadership of subjects included in megalopolises; budget support, primarily through state participation in the construction of infrastructure facilities; creation of a single information center, etc. A special role is given to external factors in the formation of megalopolises. The transition to a market economy has had a significant impact on the appearance of Chinese cities, which has undergone significant transformation in recent years. From “producer cities” developing according to a strict plan, there is a gradual transition to a “consumer city.” The urban environment is becoming spatially heterogeneous and seeks to satisfy the diverse interests of the population. In transforming the urban environment, the central government works closely with regional authorities, encouraging and supporting their initiatives. The PRC has developed a complex, multi-level urban planning system, which is constantly being improved. Currently, a new “Law on Town and Country Planning” is being approved, which allows for an integrated approach to the process, taking into account the interests of both urban and rural areas. The urban planning system of the PRC is hierarchically structured, and local city authorities are given fairly large powers. City authorities are taking various measures to form an “optimal” structure of city residents: attracting an educated workforce, rural migrants, and foreign businessmen. The creation of urban areas with characteristics that meet the needs of certain population groups is one of the important areas of activity of city authorities.
It can be said that the Chinese authorities are actively regulating both the process of urbanization and demographic development in the country. The authorities worked intermittently, either attracting residents to the city, or resettling urban residents in rural areas. When characterizing the process of urbanization in India, you must first study the following graph and table.
Fig.9
Table 8. Population, urban and rural population of India, share of urban population of India (%), for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025.
There is a global trend that is developing towards increasing urbanization, according to which more than half of the world's population lives in cities. It is worth noting that the urban sector's contribution to India's gross domestic product (GDP) is currently expected to be between 50-60%.
In this regard, increasing productivity in urban areas is now central to the policy statements of the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities have enormous potential as engines of economic and social development and job creation.
They must be sustainable and will be supplemented by urban farming, which in turn will be positive for the economic development of the country. A large number of homes require constant care, this requires a certain staff, and these are free jobs for Indian women.
After 1950, the Government of India adopted 1005 different schemes aimed at promoting housing and urban development, which led to the launch of a mechanism to combat urban poverty and destitution. The Nehru Rojgar Yojana (NRY) emphasized institution building and housing for government employees and weaker sections. Perhaps such plans will go a long way in improving the lives of millions of Indians. Indian government policy is aimed at increasing the degree of urbanization in the country; it is aimed at the growth of cities, the construction of housing for visiting residents, and the creation of additional jobs. Thus, the Indian government, through the urban population, is trying to increase the pace of economic development, since the urban population is the labor core in production.
Chinese chronology system
The Chinese chronology system originated more than 3,000 years ago. Already at that time, astronomical observatories arose here and observations of planets and stars began, and the largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, aroused particular interest among astronomers. It was found that Jupiter completes its revolution in 12 years, and Saturn in 30 years. When compiling the calendar, the time of two revolutions of Saturn, equal to 60 years, was taken as a basis. This period, in turn, was divided into five 12-year parts - according to the number of revolutions of Jupiter around the Sun. This is how the traditional 60-year and 12-year cycles of the Chinese calendar, which is usually called the Solar-Jovian calendar, arose. It is also called the lunisolar-Jovian calendar, since the alternation of individual months in it is based not on the phases of the Sun, but on the phases of the Moon.
Each year of the 12-year cycle has its own complex symbolism, including “earthly roots”, “elements of nature” (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), “elements” (spring, summer, autumn, winter), etc. In addition, this cycle is combined with a 12-year cycle, widespread in the East since ancient times, in which each year has the name of one of the 12 animals.
According to legend, Buddha once invited many animals to celebrate the New Year. But only 12 came - a rat (mouse), a bull (cow), a tiger, a hare, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a sheep (ram), a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a pig (boar). As a reward, Buddha gave each of them one year: 12 moons, 12 years, 12 animals. Since ancient times, it has been believed that these animals have the ability to impart their inherent traits to everyone born under their sign. Thus, a snake is a symbol of wisdom, a bull is a symbol of endurance and balance, a tiger is a symbol of courage, a rooster is a symbol of sincerity, etc.
Since the same animal appears five times in each 60-year cycle, albeit at intervals of 12 years, the Chinese use colors to indicate the year within a large cycle. For example, the year of the monkey in the large cycle has serial numbers 9, 21, 33, 45 and 57. But the first of them is designated as the year of the black monkey, the second - blue, the third - red, the fourth - yellow and the fifth - white monkey.
The chronology system in China, as well as in some other countries of East and Southeast Asia, was also greatly influenced by the tradition of starting the counting of a new era from the time of the accession of the next emperor. The last emperor of China, who reigned from 1909 to 1911, was Pu-yi. Currently, in China, especially in urban environments, along with the traditional one, the European (Gregorian) calendar is also used.
Throughout its history, China has remained a typical rural country. Despite the fact that in the Middle Ages Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuchang, Guangzhou and some others became major cities, and at the end of the 19th century. Shanghai became one of the first three millionaire cities in Asia; the vast majority of the country's population was rural. And in 1949, when the PRC was formed, only 10% of the population lived in its cities. This means that the level of urbanization in China was very low.
During the years of people's power, with the beginning of the country's industrialization, the process of urbanization accelerated. In general, it reflected all the main features of the global urbanization process, but nevertheless, each of them acquired purely Chinese specifics.
First of all, this applies to rates and levels of urbanization. As in many other developing countries, the rate of urbanization in China has been rapid, and it has reached what is commonly called an “urban explosion.” As a result, during the first 40 years of the existence of the PRC (1949–1989), this level increased significantly (Table 36).
Table 36 shows that over four decades, the country's urbanization rate has increased fivefold, exceeding 50%. In terms of the total number of urban residents, China has taken first place in the world, far surpassing India, the USA and other countries. Then, in the 1990s, urbanization made further strides.
Table 36
DYNAMICS OF THE URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF CHINA FROM 1949 TO 1989
However, such major conclusions require at least three comments reflecting the mentioned Chinese specifics.
Firstly, it concerns reasons for the city's growth. It is known that, in principle, there can be three such reasons: a) natural population growth in the cities themselves; b) population migration from rural areas to cities; c) administrative expansion of the territory of cities and an increase in their number. All three of these reasons contributed to the growth of the urban population in China, but the proportion between them was quite unusual: 25% of the growth was provided by natural growth, 20% by internal migration of the population and 55% by administrative changes.
The fact is that in the second half of the 20th century. The very concept of “city” in China has changed several times. At first, the city “quota” here was perhaps the highest in the world, since a city was considered a settlement with a population of more than 100 thousand people (!) and only in some cases with a smaller population. However, the administrative reform undertaken in 1984 radically changed the previous approach. By decision of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, a city was considered a center of industry, trade or craft with a population of more than 3,000 people, under the direct control of the county administration, in which 85% of the residents are employed outside agriculture. It is clear that such a measure could not but lead to a sudden increase in the number of city residents.
But that's not all. At the same time, an administrative expansion of the territory of cities was carried out, the population of which included residents not only of near and far suburbs, but also of vast rural areas. According to the reformers, the creation of such “rural cities” was supposed to help smooth out the differences between city and countryside, spread the urban lifestyle to the countryside, reduce the outflow of residents from the village to the city, and also better provide cities with food. As a result of the expansion of the territories of large cities, hundreds of thousands and even millions of people were employed in agriculture within their boundaries (for example, in Beijing and Tianjin - 1.2 million each, in Chengdu - 1 million, in Guangzhou - 700 thousand). We can agree with S.N. Rakovsky, who called this situation “semi-urbanization.”
Particularly striking in this regard is the example of Chongqing, which in 1997 became the country's fourth centrally-administered city. At the same time, he was allocated an area of 82 thousand km 2 from the territory of the huge number of inhabitants of the Sichuan province, which is approximately equal to the territory of Austria or the Czech Republic! And the number of inhabitants within its new borders amounted to 31 million people, i.e., 3.6 and 3 times more, respectively, than in these countries! Interestingly, out of 30 million, 7.5 million people live in Chongqing itself (with its suburbs), while the rest is in other cities and rural areas. So it turns out that the administrative city of Chongqing now produces more agricultural products than many European countries. This is one of the Chinese paradoxes.
All of the above explains why the Chinese urbanization rates shown in Table 36 are very different from the official UN data. According to the latter, the proportion of urban residents in China in 2005 amounted to 43% of the total population, which is below the world average and approximately equal to the level for the group of developing countries. According to the same data, the total number of urban residents in China increased as follows: in 1985 - 251 million, in 1990 - 302 million and in 2000 - more than 400 million and in 2005 - 560 million people. It is also not surprising that the UN does not consider Chongqing, with its population of 30 million, to be the largest city in the world.
Secondly, the specificity of China is reflected in unevenness of the Urbanization process itself. A clear idea of it is given by the same table 36. From its data it follows that in 1949–1960, i.e., in the initial period of industrialization, there was a progressive development of urbanization processes associated primarily with large-scale industrial construction in cities and the movement to them labor force from rural areas. Then, in 1961–1963, there was not only a relative, but even an absolute decrease in the urban population, explained by the collapse of the economy during the previous period of the “Great Leap Forward”, when, as already noted, the total population of the country also decreased. Further, during the second half of the 1960s and 1970s, the level of urbanization did not change, and the absolute growth of the urban population was relatively small (from 1 million to 4 million per year). This is exactly the period when administrative measures were taken to prohibit resettlement to cities and, moreover, 16 million people were evicted “for re-education” to the countryside. In the early 1980s. This stabilization gave way to a slight rise.
But the second half of the 1980s is especially noteworthy, when a real “urban explosion” began in China. In fact, in just a few years, the share of the urban population doubled, and the absolute number of city dwellers increased 2.5 times, with an average annual increase of 50–60 million, and in 1984 it even reached 90 million people! It is not difficult to guess that such a jump is explained by the administrative reform carried out this year. And only in the 1990s. and at the beginning of the 21st century, when the Chinese economy was experiencing a great boom, the dynamics of the urbanization process also became stable and sustainable. The total number of cities increased to 600.
Rice. 94. China's millionaire agglomerations
Thirdly, the specifics of China include extremely uneven distribution of the urban population throughout the country. At the same time, the main “watershed” runs between the eastern and western regions of China. In order to somehow reduce this imbalance, the government from the very beginning gave priority to the development of old and the formation of new cities in the interior and border regions of the country. Mostly small and medium-sized cities arose here, but the main new buildings often had large and even millionaire cities (Baotou, Lanzhou, etc.). But nevertheless, even today the vast majority of all cities (9/10) are located in the eastern part of the country. The most urbanized provinces include the provinces of the Northeast, North, East and South of China, while throughout the Chinese West the level of urbanization is much lower.
In full accordance with the global urbanization process, China is experiencing not just urban growth, but growth of big cities, more precisely, urban agglomerations. This can be seen especially clearly in the example of millionaire agglomerations. In 1980 there were 20, in 1990 – 34, and in 2000 – 46 (excluding Taiwan) (Fig. 94). Already in the mid-1990s. they concentrated half of all urban residents of the country.
Recently, geographers have been paying attention to the rapid growth in China of not just millionaire cities, but of super-large cities with a population of more than 5 million and even 10 million people. In 2005, already 17 urban agglomerations of the PRC had more than 6 million inhabitants. Three of them had populations exceeding 10 million: Shanghai (17.4), Beijing (14.9) and Chengdu (10.4). Harbin, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang had from 9 to 10 million inhabitants, from 7 to 8 million - Chongqing, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Changchun, Xi'an, from 6 to 7 million - Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Changsha.
Urbanization and megacities of China.
1. Definition.
Megapolis
Greek Μέγας "big", πόλις "city".
A term that arose in the argot of journalists and became a linguistic norm to designate a developed territory of a large area with a large population.
During the development of civilization, the term was processed, coming to mean an organized space for the life of more than 1 million people.
Urbanization
lat. urbanus "urban".
The process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society. Increasing urban population.
2. Urbanization of China 2010-2015.
1950-2015: increase in the urban population of China approximately 5 times.
The trend of active development of large cities in China.
Population of China: approximately 1.4 billion people.
2005-2015: China's urbanization process, more powerful in terms of investment and shorter in time than any analogues in human history.
Annual population influx to cities: more than 15 million rural residents.
Urban population (2014): about 607 million people.
China's urban growth background: low economic efficiency hampered by impact
disorderly urban development and insufficiently developed infrastructure.
Number of new cities per year: 10-20.
Number of unoccupied houses: about 64 million (according to preliminary data for the period 2014-2015).
Economic background:
Declining rate of industrialization;
Slowdown in GDP growth;
Excessive construction of buildings and structures;
Uninhabited cities;
Lack of operating enterprises in new cities proposed for settlement;
- high prices for residential, commercial and industrial real estate;
Lack of well-maintained, well-established urban infrastructure;
High prices for essential goods;
Ecological background:
Environmental degradation caused by industrial enterprises in cities and towns of China;
Resource background:
Demand for stone building materials (crushed stone, sand) and stone processing equipment;
Fresh water requirement;
Requirement for additional electricity.
Financial background:
Investment demand for new residential real estate among wealthy segments of the population.
Demographic background:
The outflow of the population from villages and towns to cities in order to find work.
Sanitary background:
The high population density of megacities creates sanitary and hygienic problems;
Approximately 6 square meters of living space for each resident of a large city in China;
2/3 of urban families have a common kitchen with their neighbors;
Approximately 10 apartments share 1 bathroom.
Low quality of many food products, often falsified by entrepreneurs;
Transport background:
Lack of public transport units. On average, there are 10,000 people per 4 buses. Cases of loss of consciousness of passengers are common due to the lack of sufficient fresh air and the high density of passengers in public transport.
2010-2015- the disappearance of approximately 1 trillion investments in China. US dollars (over 6 trillion yuan), corresponding to approximately 5% of the country’s annual GDP. (According to financial analytical bureaus).
Background of the investment disappearance process:
Lack of control over the expenditure of funds;
Extensive opportunities for abuse among government officials and businessmen of the PRC.
3. China urbanization forecast 2020-2050.
2020 - the relocation of most of the country's population to cities.
Cities with a population of 50-100 million people.
"Small" cities with a population of 10-25 million people
2025 - the population of China's megacities reaches 900 million people.
2030 - the population of China will be 1.5 billion people.
2039 - about 1 billion Chinese residents live in cities.
2050 - 80% of Chinese citizens live in cities.
Forecasted problems:
Agriculture in China does not meet the food needs of the country's population;
Projected food shortages in megacities;
Forecasted problems with food supplies due to low levels of coordination of traffic flows and highways;
Unsuitability of more than 300 sq. km. agricultural lands due to improper use of soils or due to natural disasters;
Farmers shortage;
Shortage of qualified employees in industrial and commercial enterprises;
Unsuitability for a comfortable life in established megacities for economic and environmental reasons (air pollution, water pollution).
China's false urbanization:
An increase in the urban population, not accompanied by sufficient growth in the number of jobs;
The share of the urban population significantly exceeds the share of the economically active urban population employed in production and non-production sectors;
- “pushing” the rural population into cities, as a result of which residents of villages and towns arriving in cities become unemployed;
Lack of housing and cash income opportunities creates poor urban areas with unsanitary conditions incompatible with life.
4. Air pollution in cities and metropolitan areas of China.
Reasons:
Increasing the number of industrial and energy enterprises;
Increasing the number of road transport;
High density of traffic flows on transport routes of large cities;
Result: difficult environmental conditions or unsuitability for a comfortable life in the cities and metropolises of China.
Environmental realities of Chinese megacities:
The entry of the substance “toxic smog” into the atmospheric paradigm of megacities ( "Beijing smog");
Reduced visibility in the city and closure of major highways between megacities and satellite cities;
Protective masks for respiratory organs;
Respiratory and heart diseases;
Mortality in megacities due to poisoning by toxic substances;
Significant source of pollution:
Industrial coal combustion;
Industrial waste emissions;
Air Pollution Index(ISA) :
Beijing: 176-442.
Some places in Beijing have registered an air pollution level of 728.
5 point rating scale:
The air pollution index is calculated based on five main pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone, formaldehyde.
satisfactory situation (ISA 5)
relatively tense (IZA from 6 to 15)
significantly tense (IZA from 16 to 50)
critical (IZA from 51 to 100)
catastrophic (IZA over 100)
4. Water pollution in Chinese cities.
Acid rain: 1/6 of the country's water resources are not even suitable for agricultural purposes.
Heavy metal compounds: Cases of lead poisoning have been recorded among the population of Chinese cities.
Analysis of the composition of water resources: 16.4% of the water in China's largest rivers does not meet the standard required for agricultural irrigation.
Composition of urban water resources: Water in many Chinese cities is polluted according to official data from expert commissions. At present, water resources around the resort island of Hainan and part of the northern coast remain relatively clean.
5. Lack of drinking water in Chinese cities.
Official details: 2/3 of Chinese cities lack drinking water.
Significant water shortage: more than 400 cities in China.
Water shortage per year: 40 billion cubic meters.
Fresh water per year per person: about 2220 cubic meters.
Causes of fresh water shortage: drought in several provinces of China during the period 2014-2015.
Population with fresh water deficit: more than 2.2 million people in China.
6. Structural and communication problems of Chinese megacities.
High population density of Chinese megacities;
A sharp increase in electricity demand as a result of an increase in China's urban population by almost 5 times over the period 1950-2015;
High density of traffic flows on transport routes of large cities;
Lack of public transport units.
7. The need for building materials in the construction of Chinese cities.
Consumables: crushed stone, sand, cement, steel, glass.
Consumption of stone building materials per year: more than 300 million tons.
Background: construction waste about 500 million tons remaining after construction work.
Shanghai
Millions of cubic meters of crushed stone and sand are used.
Shanghai Tower is a building with a height of 632 meters, an area of 433,954 square meters, 118 floors, an underground garage for 2000 cars.
Guangzhou
The government's project to create a business center for the region is "Rujian Zengcheng", with the construction of more than 90% of new buildings.
Chongqing
A giant construction site.
Three Gorges Dam and other structures.
Telin New City
Telin urban district. Northeastern part of China.
Project: creation of a city, landscaping.
Project cost: “billions of US dollars.”
Trend:
Exodus of commercial enterprises from the city
An exodus of homeowners from a deserted city without a communications network.
Jingqin
Location: 1 hour by road from Beijing.
Project: a small city for living and business.
Composition: five-star hotel, golf course, two colleges.
Extended construction site.
Trend:
Unpopulated city;
Projects to build an additional 4,000 apartments and a new business district.
Kangbashi
Location: Northern part of China. Inner Mongolia Province.
Start of construction of the city: 2003.
Measuring stage of construction: 2011.
Current population: about 30,000 people.
Project cost: about 161 billion US dollars.
Volume of erected buildings: 1/3 of planned.
Current population: about 100,000 people.
Bayan-Nur
Project: city of luxury.
Composition: luxury city hall building, water treatment plant, built with the assistance of the World Bank.
Problems:
Lack of residents;
Lack of workers and specialists.
Thames Town
Location: Songjiang County near Shanghai.
Project: British-style imitation Thames River. Most of the streets have English names. According to the plans, 9 small towns were added to the metropolis, 4 of which were built from the beginning.
Start of the project: 2001 as part of the Shanghai expansion program.
Completion of the project: 2006.
Project Architect: Tony Mackay.
Problem: lack of residents.
Many shops in the city did not open;
Demand for tourist real estate.
Composition of the city: small houses designed for one family.
Financial background:
Investment property or purchasing a second home;
Significant increase in house prices in Thames Town;
Stopping the influx of new potential residents into the city.
Zhengzhou
Project: new area of Zhengzhou metropolis.
Project cost: 19 billion US dollars.
Composition: luxury residential buildings, modern administrative buildings.
Problem:
Lack of residents.
The location of the city in the desert.
Ordos
Planned population: 1 million people.
Composition: residential buildings, sports facilities, museums, theaters.
The main composition of residents at the moment: government employees.
Lanzhou
Project: New area in Lanzhou city district.
Stage: construction process.
Geological background: The Chinese government has decided to raze 700 mountains in Gansu province to build a city.
Social background: farmers looking for the opportunity to place a few square meters of handicraft housing on the outskirts of the city as a result of the demolition of their houses during the construction of new buildings.
Tianducheng
Location: eastern Zhejiang province near Hangzhou.
Project: “Little Paris”,
Completion of construction: 2007.
Projected population: 10,000 people.
City fill: 1/5
Caofeidian
Location: 225 km. southwest of Beijing.
Project: a large eco-friendly city.
Projected population: 1.5 million people.
Providing electricity: renewable energy.
The basis of the city's demographics and economy: the relocation of the Shougang Group's large steel mill to the city.
Project cost: 91 billion US dollars.
Chenggong
Project: expansion of Kunming, the capital of the southern province of Yunnan, using the territory of Chenggong County.
Start of the project: 2003.
Completion of construction: 2010.
Composition: urban area with infrastructure, residential buildings with 100,000 apartments, a school, campuses of two universities and government buildings.
Financial background: investment real estate.
Result: no residents.
New Hebi
Location: Henan Province.
Project: “New Hebi”
The basis of the city's demography and economy: coal mining.
Yingkou
Restructuring the region's economy to reduce its dependence on steel production and mining.
Development of new industries,
Construction of houses for new workers.
Construction on numerous projects has been suspended.
The erected buildings are not occupied.
8. Experimental solutions to the problems of Chinese megacities.
Air pollution problem.
Experimental “garden city” model.
Options for moving plants and factories outside the city.
Mass gardening.
Increased control over the increase in the number of private vehicles.
The problem of food shortages.
The “garden city” concept (vertical agriculture): growing agricultural products on the upper tiers, terraces, roofs of buildings and structures.
Multi-storey food factories.
The problem of farmers' acclimatization.
The experimental “garden city” model is seen as a way to ensure the acclimatization of rural residents and farmers to living conditions in megacities and provide jobs for farmers.
Vertical development of megacities.
The concept of development of large cities in China in a vertical direction.
Tokyo, with a population of about 37 million people, is considered as an example of the layout.
Underwater metropolis project.
Project name: Floating City.
Proposed location: Ocean.
Metropolis connection points: Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai.
Project participants: Great Britain, China.
Architects: design bureau AT Design Office (Great Britain, China).
Area of artificial living space: more than 1,000 hectares.
Composition of the metropolis: apartment buildings, villas, administrative buildings, offices, hotels, shops, restaurants, above-water and underwater parks, pedestrian and highways and other elements.
Design principle:"Iceberg". Semi-submerged reinforced concrete structures organized into an urban surface-underwater space.
Planned vehicle: yachts and submarines.
Air access system: centralized ventilation to the underwater floors through a pipe located in the middle of the complex.
The largest metropolis in China.
Location: southern part of China in the Pearl River Delta.
Compound: 9 cities united into the largest urban agglomeration on the planet.
Cities included: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing.
Population: 42 million people.
Formation of demography and economy: placement of most of the country's industrial enterprises producing 1/10 of the profit of the PRC economy.
Construction cost: approximately 2 trillion. yuan (304 billion US dollars).
Metropolis area: 41.5 thousand sq. km.
Number of large objects: 150
Number of railway lines: 29
Total length of railway lines: 5,000 km.
Ecology: water pollution in the Pearl River Delta due to industrialization.
Metropolis "Bohai".
Location: northern part of China near the cities of Beijing and Tianjin.
Project: ultra-modern urban area.
Projected population: about 260 million people.
9. Examples of megacities in China.
Shenzhen
Population: approximately 10,680,000 people
Composition: high-rise architecture, parks, exhibitions. One of the largest centers of the electronics industry in China.
Tianjin
Population: approximately 10,860,000 people
It ranks third in mainland China in terms of city area.
The largest center of heavy and light industry.
Guangzhou
Population: approximately 11,843,000 people
The largest metropolis in the country. Political, economic, scientific, technical, educational, cultural, transport center of southern China.
The third most populous city in China.
Guangzhou government project: the business center of the Rujian Zengcheng region, with the construction of more than 90% of new buildings.
According to experts, the result of construction growth in Guangzhou will be an increase in the volume of office space in the city to 20% by 2015 and an excess of office space regardless of the level of demand for it. The district development plan was approved in 2005.
Estimated cost of the project: 200 billion yuan (32 billion US dollars).
Chongqing
Population: not exactly determined.
According to official data, the population of Chongqing is about 8 million people.
With undocumented workers, the population could reach 30 million.
2014: the city's population increased by 4,000 people per week amid construction activation.
The largest industrial and commercial center of China with the most powerful automobile factories in the country, on a par with the cities of Shanghai, Changchun, Shiyan.
The trend of mass migration of rural residents from western and central China to Chongqing.
Types of industry:
Metallurgical,
Mechanical engineering,
Construction,
Chemical,
Textile,
Food.
The city exclusively constructs high-rise buildings to accommodate the city's growing population.
Beijing
Population: approximately 19,520,000 people
One of the cities in China with the highest population density.
According to a study by the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing ranks 74th in the list of cities for comfortable living.
Shanghai
Population: over 24,000,000 people
According to analysts, Shanghai's population is growing at a rate of 2% per year.
The largest metropolis in China.
The commercial center of the country with hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, international exhibitions, entertainment industry, tourist attractions.
Two international airports and the largest railway station in China.
According to experts, Shanghai of the 21st century has the grounds to receive the title of a world-class city and the center of East Asia.
One of the largest cities in the world. The third world financial center after New York and London.
The Chinese authorities are rapidly promoting the process of urbanization, but the majority of villagers who have lost their land and houses are left with the status of peasants. Moreover, in many areas under the banner of urbanization. Experts are sounding the alarm, saying that this cannot continue.
According to official data from Beijing, in 2012 the urbanization rate in China reached 52.6%, over the past 34 years it has increased by 34.7 percent.
According to the City and Town Development Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, 12 provincial-level cities need to build an average of 4.6 districts, and 144 prefecture-level cities need to build 1.5 districts each.
Urbanization and ghost towns
Conducting research in 12 provinces, the center also found that in some areas, under the banner of urbanization, large areas are simply being built up with new buildings, which turns these areas into ghost towns.
A specialist from the British Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, economist Wu Junyi believes that currently in China there are already about 50 ghost towns in which 50% of the houses are empty. And in some areas there is not a single person for a hundred miles around, the level of empty housing space there reaches 80% - 90%.
According to Cheng Yao, head of the department of research in the field of industry and regional economics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in all these new areas, industry should first be developed, and then construction should be carried out. He believes that if you only build up areas with houses and do not create jobs in them, this will not attract people there.
However, this is exactly what happens in China.
On October 24, the Chinese financial newspaper Caixin published an article by Professor Zhao Xiao from the Institute of Economics and Management at Beijing University of Technology.
In the article, the professor cites statistics according to which currently in China the total area of empty housing is about 6 billion square meters, and the number of empty apartments has reached 68 million. One can only imagine the quality of life in one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
We can't keep building houses
On October 26, one of the richest people in China, the head of the Hangzhou Wahaha Group, billionaire Zong Qinghou, at the World Entrepreneurs Conference held in Zhejiang province, bluntly stated: “We cannot build more houses!”
Zong explained that he has factories all over the country and knows the situation well. According to him, currently there are empty houses not only in cities, but also in villages.
“There is already a bubble in the real estate market, if we continue to build, it will end very badly!” - noted the billionaire.
Back in 2009, the famous economist Robert Shiller, after visiting China several times, said that in large cities of the country, real estate prices are several times higher than the average annual income of local residents. For example, in Shanghai, he said, an ordinary apartment costs 100 times the annual income of Shanghai residents.
According to reports in official Chinese media, in September, prices for new real estate in the country's four largest cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen increased by an average of another 20%.
Wang Shi, chairman of the board of one of China's largest real estate developers China Vanke, is very concerned about the situation in the real estate market.
He believes that the bubble in the Chinese real estate market is inflating, repeating the situation in Japan in the 80s of the last century. However, according to Wang, in Japan then the majority of society was middle class, and in China there is a significant gap between the poor and the rich, so if the bubble burst, the consequences would be much worse than in the land of the rising sun.
Urbanized peasants remain peasants
In addition to building up the country with empty houses, the resettlement of peasants to cities is carried out by force, while the status of many of them does not change.
According to information published on October 27 by the China Economic Data Center at Tsinghua University, only 27.6% of the population currently have urban resident status in the country; over 20 years, this number has increased by only 7.7%.
It is worth explaining that in the PRC there is a “hukou” registration system, according to which citizens’ documents indicate their affiliation with peasants or townspeople. The former have significantly fewer rights and opportunities than the latter; peasants are also deprived of many types of social protection that city dwellers have.
According to the Center, 64.3 million Chinese households, or 16% of all households, or more than 300 million people, have experienced land acquisition or home demolition as a result of urbanization. At the same time, the level of provision of these people with work and social protection is very low.
It turns out that the level of urbanization has reached 52.6%, and the number of citizens with city dweller status is only 27.6%. Experts point out that the unfair registration system, which the authorities do not want to abolish, deprives most people of many rights and types of social protection, and also increases social stratification in society.
