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The formal/informal in Chinese urbanization The planning and design of Chinese cities is one of the greatest planning challenges of modern times. The scale and scope of its urban change are essentially unprecedented, with cities, average incomes, and middle class each growing annually by sizable percentages amidst an even more rapid transition to a market-based economy. The country reportedly has more than 100 cities of over 1 million population and a rising number in the 5 to 10 to 20 million range. These dramatic transformations naturally pose many challenges for Chinese planners, who are increasingly eager to consider alternatives to their traditional top-down, deterministic, physical planning styles in an increasingly mixed formal/informal economy. But the prospect of more market-oriented planning China raises several questions. Much as Deng Xiaoping famously modified the practice of Marxist theory to accommodate "socialism with Chinese characteristics," how should urban planning be adapted to the distinct circumstances of Chinese urbanization and culture? This presentation will raise and address several key questions regarding the way in which China has adapted to a mixed formal/informal urban economy, and what these suggest for its prospects of growth and development over the long term. Randall Crane, 3X3 II FORMAL | INFORMAL, New York, May 16, 2006 |
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