Future Housing Goals:
The future goals of housing in Beijing seek to improve pricing, living environment, and to promote mixed income residential areas. Residents hope to strive for “comfortable, healthy, and technologically sound” [1] living conditions that will requires cooperation between the community, developers, and the government to be realized. As seen in surveys and data reports from residents, pricing of houses is the largest concern. Urban planners and scholars have suggested ideas including possible reduction of land prices and reducing bank interest, which are controlled by China’s government. Suggestions have also been made to promote mixed income residential areas to help address the socio-economic gap issue faced in the cities.
The future goals of housing in Beijing seek to improve pricing, living environment, and to promote mixed income residential areas. Residents hope to strive for “comfortable, healthy, and technologically sound” [1] living conditions that will requires cooperation between the community, developers, and the government to be realized. As seen in surveys and data reports from residents, pricing of houses is the largest concern. Urban planners and scholars have suggested ideas including possible reduction of land prices and reducing bank interest, which are controlled by China’s government. Suggestions have also been made to promote mixed income residential areas to help address the socio-economic gap issue faced in the cities.
Policies can be implemented to require developers to build a percentage of lower-cost housing similar to affordable housing policies found elsewhere around the world. Furthermore, planners and scholars encourage the government to incentivize people to live in suburban areas. There is a traditional belief in Chinese cities that living near the urban city center will bring wealth and opportunities, however this results in population density problems. With Beijing’s efficient public transportation and more open spaces, the encouragement of people to move to the suburbs would greatly help the dense city center issue. [1].
Green Space City Design:
Beijing has also begun to incorporate more green space in its city designs attempting to mitigate urban sprawl as well as address environmental impact and living quality concerns. Beginning in 2002, the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design has revised the Beijing Master Plan towards an ecological and sustainable approach with the help of research and scientific institutes. The plan included ideas of maintaining space-relations, green spaces and corridors, as well as provides a framework for a future eco-urban city. The main problems Beijing faces in city planning are the loss of green space to the ever-expanding settlement growth, the unevenly distributed green areas within the urban city, and the mentality of viewing greenery as only having aesthetic value. In 2005, proposals were made to create 'green wedges' and corridors to connect green spaces and bring different parts of the city together as seen in Figure 2 [2].
Beijing has also begun to incorporate more green space in its city designs attempting to mitigate urban sprawl as well as address environmental impact and living quality concerns. Beginning in 2002, the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design has revised the Beijing Master Plan towards an ecological and sustainable approach with the help of research and scientific institutes. The plan included ideas of maintaining space-relations, green spaces and corridors, as well as provides a framework for a future eco-urban city. The main problems Beijing faces in city planning are the loss of green space to the ever-expanding settlement growth, the unevenly distributed green areas within the urban city, and the mentality of viewing greenery as only having aesthetic value. In 2005, proposals were made to create 'green wedges' and corridors to connect green spaces and bring different parts of the city together as seen in Figure 2 [2].
In the past decade the Beijing Municipal Institute and the local government have made small steps toward ecological planning as they have increased their green spaces to 61,695 heca-acres in 2011 and commissioned their scientific community to inquire more researches and experiments on green planning [3]. Many Beijing urban planners have encouraged the government to include the public through surveys and planning inclusion to really push for further sustainable developments [2]. For Beijing the ideas of reaching an eco-city is still in the distant future. Yet, like many other city’s, green space and planning will permanently be on their to-do list as they slowly strive for a more sustainable Beijing.
Sources:
[1] Liu Wen Tao, Living Conditions-The Key
Issue of Housing Development in Fengtai District, 2014, http://ees.elsevier.com/hbrcj
[2] Feng Li et al, Comprehensive Planning of Urban Greening Based on Ecological Principles: a Case Study in Beijing China, Landscape and Urban Planning, 2004
[3] Biao Zhang et al, The Economic Benefits of Rainwater-runoff Reduction by Urban Green Space: A Case Study in Beijing, China, Journal of Environmental Management , Vol 100, 2012
Media:
Figure [1]: http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/files/2013/09/mdf1797944600.jpg 2013
Figure [2]: Feng Li et al, Comprehensive Planning of Urban Greening Based on Ecological Principles: a Case Study in Beijing China, Landscape and Urban Planning, 2004, Pg 333
Figure [3]: http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ks6mg2LCkt1qzt7kko1_500.jpg 2009