Transformation and Healthy Development of Urbanization in China’s 13th Five-Year National Development Period (2016–2020)

Abstract

China has experienced rapid urbanization for more than three decades and has pulled more than 500 million people out of poverty. However, as the social and economic situation changes, traditional modes of urbanization will no longer be appropriate to the needs of further development. A series of problems have emerged, such as incomplete migration (or semi-urbanization), inefficient use of land, shortage of capital and labor, increasing use of resources, pollution, and so on. New directions and transformations in urbanization are required. First, urban development should shift from a land-centered trajectory to a people-oriented one in order to overcome problems such as disparities between urban and rural residential registrations or hukou systems. Second, urban development should shift from inefficient development methods to efficient ones, making the best use of capital, labor, land, and other production factors. Third, urban development should shift from resources-consuming to green-orientation, getting rid of such issues as big-city diseases, urban sprawl, ghost towns, and so on. Fourth, China can take full advantage of the radiation and leading role of core cities, move away from urbanization based on an unreasonable scale and structure, and go towards the efficient integration of urban agglomerations and coordinated development. Fifth, urban development should shift from a state-led trajectory to a market-driven one. The market should play the critical role in allocating resources while the government plays a role in planning, system designing, public service, environmental protection, regulation, and social management. Sixth, urban development should shift from an extensive and scattered trajectory to smart and intensive urban clusters.