Chinese cities need real work, not "face-lifts," experts say

Experts at the on-going First International Habitat Festival in Weihai, a coastal city in east China's Shandong province, see their most crucial role not in bragging about the grandiosity of modern Chinese cities, but in acting as whistle-blowers, exposing deeper vulnerabilities.

Chinese cities should not just be given 'face-lifts'-- more due attention should be given to the in-depth problems," said Zou Deci, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Zhao Bingshi, a noted professor of architecture at prestigious Qinghua (Tsinghua) University, said: "Following the tragedy of September 11 in 2001, urban safety ranks as the number one issue for modern cities. China is no exception."

"Unfortunately, I see a lot of problems in Chinese cities: flawed road networks, unreliable drainage system, inefficient public transportation network. China's obsession with the 'super-city' has spawned a host of problems. The paralyzed transportation system in Beijing, caused by a storm in mid-July, is an example," Zhao acknowledged.

Lu Bin, a professor from the Urban and Regional Planning Department at Beijing University, acknowledged, "More emphasis should paid to details such as training residents for worst-case scenarios and setting up community groups to rescue handicapped persons in accidents."

Many feel China is witnessing a widening gap between the affluent and those in need, when some squandering money for several luxury suites while many others are still huddled in shabby slums.

"Inequity in the real estate market has made the social gap even wider, causing social stability and unrest," said Dr. Zhang Tingwei at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois.

China's policy-makers need to put a skid on "pancake" style sprawling development, and usher in a more rational and reasonable concept, said Sam Casella, former president of the American Urban

Planning Society. Casella advocates the "Smart Growth" concept, which encourages mixed-income populations in the same neighborhood, "As in the U.S., this can be accomplished when there are

financial and regulatory incentives for developers to provide cheaper and more affordable housing along with more expensive housing," said Casella.

Zou pointed to a further complicating factor. "Since 1998," he noted, "the annual growth of the urbanization rate has risen to an annual average of 1.4 percentage points, the highest in China's history and a level rarely observed in the world." By 2020, more than 16 million rural residents will be turned into urban dwellers per year, he said.

What Chinese cities need, these experts agree, is not good-looking faces. They need healthy bodies.