Car use in the historical city centre of Beijing

Abstract

Historical city centres play a crucial role in reducing car use, especially when many residents, jobs and economic activities remain concentrated there. Historical city centres also have a higher complexity than suburbs, with respect to the factors influencing car use and related policy responses. Therefore, the reduction of car use in historical city centres may require a more tailor-made retrofit through an approach that integrates spatial planning with transport and heritage conservation. This study examines the factors influencing car use in the historical city centre of Beijing. The results suggest that planning could play a more efficient role in reducing car use by promoting public transport networks and services, while increasing density in a dense historic city centre could have little influence. Instruments designed to intervene in car use should also take into account increasing household incomes and the ageing society as factors relevant to the old city centre. The paper also proposes a spatial planning framework that integrates transport and heritage conservation for the reduction of car use in the historical city centre of Beijing.