Urban Transportation Planning Statute Change in China

Abstract

As Chinese cities' social and economic development continue to advance in the 21st century, Urbanization and Motorization form the main facet of the Urban Transportation development. Transportation, resource, environment, besides economic problems, are becoming the dominant urban development factors. On the one hand, the construction of urban transport infrastructure is subject to intensive use of land; it is not practical to build more to meet the transport demand. On the other hand, when the traffic congestion is turning into a normal type, the economic leading role of the transport is less effective, while its ability to ensure urban social and economical security increases. Traditionally, urban transportation planning belongs to the urban comprehensive plan legal system, and it focuses on the contents of a simple layout and size of the facilities. So when land resources and environmental resources become the bottleneck of urban and transport development, urban planners and managers, especially the decision-makers, need to pay more attention to transport organization planning, network building, and system operation as a whole. This leads to a corresponding adjustment of the basis of the Statute for urban transport planning. This article looks to the metropolitan areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as some other big cities like Hangzhou, Tianjin, and Shenzhen, to find out the planning implementation and planning process, besides some mature cases in the United States, Europe and Japan to widen its case studies and theoretical research, through both qualitative and quantitative ways to explore the urban transport planning Statute innovation. The major findings and lessons from this application are discussed, together with conclusions and observations regarding further potentials and refinements.