Constructing the Chinese Planning Theory in Transitional China

1. Constructing the Chinese Planning Theoryin Transitional China Tingwei Zhang, PhD Director, Asia and China Research Program Great Cities Institute University of Illinois at Chicago

2. Outline Introduction Components of the Chinese Planning Theory Sources of the Chinese Planning Theory Planning Reform in China’s Transitional Period Conclusion

3. Introduction • China is experiencing rapid economic growth and urbanization. There is an urgent need for a planning theory to guide planning practice in Chinese cities. • Due to the unprecedented scale and speed of urban development in Chinese cities, no existing planning theory could provide guidance to Chinese planners and solutions to planning problems. • West planning theory could be employed as a reference, but planning theory is context-based since planning is an applied science by nature. The trajectory of evolution of the west planning theory is non-linear, it shows more of multi-directions rather than a single solution. • Chinese planners should make contributions to the planning profession not just as a knowledge disseminator of the west planning theory but as a knowledge producer of the Chinese planning theory.

4. Components of Planning Theory • Faludi,1973: theory of planning (normative and procedural) and theory in planning (substantive) • Taylor,1980: sociological theory (empirically based) and philosophical theory (ideological and normative based) • Friedmann,1987: four planning schools-- policy analysis, social learning, social reform, and social mobilization • Yiftachel,1989: the analytical component (what is urban planning?), the urban form component (what is a good urban plan?), and the procedural component (what is a good planning process?) • Mazza,1996: knowledge and power (planning’s function in a democratic society), and knowledge and action (planning’s function in guiding urban development practice) • Allmendinger, 2002: postmodern planning theory- socially embedded and contingent foundations, context-sensitive with normative orientation • Campbell and Fainstein, 2003: the procedural theory and the substantive theory

5. Components of the Chinese Planning Theory • Three components of the Chinese planning theory - Normative theory (values): “Good City Form” (Lynch) + equity and efficiency - Procedural theory (the process of plan making and plan implementation): the role of the public/ civil society in the planning process - Institutional theory (distribution of responsibility among government agencies, and between the public sector, the marketplace, and the society in urban development) • The Chinese context: • Economic development stage- defining government’s attitude towards efficiency and equity • Historical, cultural, institutional and political legacies • Unequal development due to large territory

6. Economic development status and the function of planningRedistribution- adjustment- stimulating growth

7. Economic development status and government’s attitudeA- DevelopedB- Middle-incomeC- Developing

8. Sources of the Chinese Planning Theory • Three sources of the Chinese planning theory - Traditional Chinese philosophy (Confucianism, Taoism, and the Regulation School) - Practice of the socialist theory since the 1950s (the Soviet central planning model-:central planning committee; industrialization and nationalization movement 1950-1960; Culture Revolution- against planning 1966-1976; Reform before 2003- pre-growth policy; Reform after 2003- balanced development) - West planning theory introduced after the 1980s (influences of the American and British planning practice and theory) • A matrix

10. Sources of the Chinese Planning Theory • The normative components of the three sources are similar, indicating “world-wide shared values” or “values of all human being” • Approaches and institutional arrangements to the goals vary significantly: • The traditional Chinese top-down pattern: “Emperor ruling” • The socialist central planning model: “Big government” • The bottom-up democratic governance practice in the West • In China’s transitional period: top-down and quasi-participatory decision making process (expert consulting, POAs, BOAs, etc.) • The legitimacy of the pro-growth policy in the transitional period and its limitations (social and environmental costs) • Needs for further reform

11. Planning Reform in China’s Transitional PeriodGovernment’s function and administrative ability

12. Planning Reform in China’s Transitional PeriodGovernment’s function and the administrative ability (based on F. Fukuyama,2004)

13. Conclusion • Planning theory is context-based so there is a need for the Chinese planning theory. • The Chinese planning theory may consist of three components: the normative, the procedural, and the institutional component. It could be developed based on three influential sources: the traditional Chinese philosophy, the practice of the socialist theory in China, and the west planning theory and practice introduced since the reform. • Planning theory should be adjustable following variations of planning practice in different locations (e.g. east coast vs. the west) and different economic development status (e.g. established vs. under-developed). • The Chinese planning theory in the transitional period has its unique feature (planning as a means for growth) and limitations (over-emphasizing efficiency over equity). The planning theory needs revisions with China’s economic, social and political developments.

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