Polycentric development practice in master planning: the case of China



Cheng, Hui and Shaw, David ORCID: 0000-0001-9054-6952
(2018) Polycentric development practice in master planning: the case of China. INTERNATIONAL PLANNING STUDIES, 23 (2). pp. 163-179.

This is the latest version of this item.

[img] Text
CIPS-2015-0037.R2 Clean File.docx - Author Accepted Manuscript

Download (1MB)

Abstract

Towards the end of the twentieth century, polycentricity was introduced into China as a planning concept. Subsequently a number of super/mega city regions began to adopt polycentric development spatial planning strategies, which are designed to facilitate more sustainable and balanced development. This paper seeks to identify the main differences in application of polycentricity between China and the West, and explore the major emerging thematic strands of polycentric development practice, as illustrated through an evaluation of master planning in eight super/mega city regions across China. In particular, the paper highlights the divergent interpretations of polycentricity in master plan-making practice and shows how plans have been adjusted to help deliver the idea of polycentric development. Although the concept of polycentricity is relatively new in China, it has already become a normative approach used to determine future spatial structures. While there is an absence of an articulated rationality to ‘decide’ whether this is (or should be) an ‘ideal’ model, already it has gone beyond Western approaches of initially using polycentricity as an interpretative tool to describe urban realities.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Polycentricity, urban planning, master planning, super/mega city regions, sustainable development
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 09 Aug 2017 09:31
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 06:58
DOI: 10.1080/13563475.2017.1361318
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3008866

Available Versions of this Item