Conclusion

The present stage of China’s urban development presents tremendous opportunities but only if a series of challenges are recognised and tackled. Urban policy has a well-defined and comprehensive perspective but this must also take account of the varied levels of development within the country, and also the specific historical and environmental evolution of each city.

In order to offer a well-rounded narrative of urban transformation, attention must be given to the spatial form of the city, its economic structure and the impact it has on its people’s lives – its liveability. How people experience the city must now be the priority in considering the infrastructure and economy of place. For the city to be liveable citizens must experience the city as an environment in which material needs, cultural life, social and community relations, and ecological concerns are developed in balance and harmony.

This is a process of mobilising, organising, upgrading, and transforming each city according to its regional conditions and resource environment. At the same time, the day-to-day task of implementing, and operationalising, policy is set within a holistic vision for development with the following principles:

• ■ To be people-centred and ecologically protective to make a habitable city.
• ■ To co-develop industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, and informatisation for a well-balanced regional economy and environment.

At an early stage of our work we examined both domestic and international literature from which we constructed an evaluation model for upgrading capability and urban transformation. The model recognises that what is possible for each city depends first, but not only, on its endogenous qualities such as natural, historical, spatial, and economic features and also on a forward-looking and dynamic strategy provided by a national plan. Each city has its own place in the overall context for urban change.

The valuation model takes account of both elements and can continuously monitor the evolutionary trend of urban transformation and upgrading capability in Chinese mainland cities. The evaluation model highlights:

• ■ ‘People-centred’ – well-being is the fundamental goal of development and people-centred development should be embodied in all aspects of urban transformation.
• ■ ‘Innovation-driven’ – China’s economy is in transition from a phase of rapid extensive growth to a stage of high-quality and more intensive development. Innovation is the primary driving force behind this crucial shift.
• ■ ‘Green ecology’ – humanity and nature form a community. Sustainable development features increased productivity, higher living standards, and healthy ecosystems.
• ■ ‘Entrepreneur-friendly and habitable’ – we should create good working and living environments for our people, so they will always have a strong sense of fulfilment, happiness, and security.

Due to the disequilibrium in China’s economic and social development, there exist disparities in the urbanisation level between the cities in different regions. There are, therefore, different development models for urban upgrading and transformation. We selected six cities – Shanghai, Nanchang, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Hefei – as case studies to exemplify the key priorities.

These cities are located in different regions of China and have different resource endowments.

Although there is diversity in the content and direction of the transformation in the various cities, all aim to deliver environmental protection, economic efficiency, and social justice as the interwoven and fundamental goals of Chinese urbanisation, as follows:

• ■ People-centred development is the starting point of urban transformation. People-centred transformation requires not only economic growth, but also social development, cultural progress, and environmental improvement.
• ■ Urban change must be an integrated process, in which short- and long-term development sits within an overall perspective for space, infrastructure, industry, and social provision. This is the case whether it be single cities or city clusters.
• ■ Urban transformation should match urban scale with the carrying capacity of resources and environment, match population concentration with industrial concentration, and adapt material production to cultural life.
• ■ Urban transformation should pay attention to the optimisation of the whole urban system structure. Talent and resources are still too concentrated in the major urban cities, but with attention smaller cities can become attractive and convivial.
• ■ A liveable, humanistic city is a fusion of its history, its lived present, and its future possibilities.