Brief Introduction to China Urban Development Report

China’s cities have now entered into a new stage after more than thirty years’ rapid development since China's reform and opening up. Currently, the pressing issue is how to find a right road for urban and rural development and build a harmonious society under the guidance of the scientific outlook on development. In order to systematically summarize China’s experience of urbanization for providing a reference for people concerning themselves with China’s cities, China Association of Mayors began to organize relevant people and compile the annual China Urban Development Report (hereinafter referred to as the Report) since the year 2001 by adhering to the aim of “Serving Urban Development and Mayors' Work” and has already successively published nine volumes so far.

The Report sponsored by CAM is the result of joint research and compilation carried out by experts and scholars from such research institutions as the China Science Center of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, School of Architecture Tsinghua University, China Academy of Planning & Design, Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Institute, with Jiang Zhenghua, the former Vice Chairman of National People's Congress, as Chairman of the Council; Tao Siliang, Standing Deputy Chairman of China Association of Mayors, as Vice Chairman of the Association, and Wu Liangyong, a famous architect and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, as Director of the Academic Council.

The Report is a comprehensive annual report which systematically studies and explores issues concerning China’s urban development such as urban construction, urban management, urbanization strategies and urban sustainable development ability. It provides thorough coverage of great achievements and valuable experience obtained by China during the process of rapid development of urbanization in the current year and scientifically summarizes and yields valuable insights into China’s urbanization progress and timely reflects China's current urbanization and puts forward relevant solutions, decisions and suggestions. The Report systematically and deeply explores and discusses various factors such as urban economy, urban construction, urban management, urban comprehensive strength, urban development strategies and urban development ability, and proposes the overall ideas of implementing urban development strategies. Besides, with rich expert resources, diversified background and typical cases, it analyzes provides relevant solutions to such hot issues as social stratification, public safety crisis, transformation of resource-dependent cities, post-disaster reconstruction.

China Urban Development Report always compiled by adhering to the following policy “Theoretical Research, Policy-implementing Analysis, Experience Introduction, International Comparison, Information Service, Policy Suggestions”, is one of the important measures taken by CAM in implementing the tenet “Serving for Urban Development and Mayors’ Work” so as to improve the service level. In the last decade, the Report has provided an authoritative, scientific, forward-looking perspective for government policy-making, academic researching, and grasping urban development tendency in business investment, especially provided a frame of reference for scientific policy of urban development, achieved favorable social effect, attracted widespread attention and won great praise from the industry, government and academia worldwide.

China Urban Development Report also discusses the earmarked themes of hot issues occurred in the current year on the basis of comprehensively introducing the urbanization process of China. Annual Report for 2001-2002 provided countermeasures and advices for three misunderstands in the guidelines for urbanization development of China since the founding of China; annual Report for 2002-2003 put forward strategic principles for China’s urbanization, centering on the idea that “Group urban agglomerations are the strategic platform for a new round of wealth accumulation”; annual Report for 2003-2004 highlighted the resolution of dualistic urban-rural economy structure problem by centering on overall planning coordinated development of urban and rural areas; annual Report for 2005 attached importance to resolution of “Three Rural Issues”, making industry nurture agriculture and cities support the countryside, sticking to the road of urbanization with Chinese characteristics; annual Report for 2006 was themed on “Harmonious City, Innovative Development”, objectively recording the great achievements and valuable experience obtained by our country during the process of rapid development of urbanization in 2006; annual Report for 2007 was given under the theme of “Harmonious City: the Scientific Outlook on Development, Legal Construction, Harmonious City”; annual Report for 2008 was themed “Harmonious City: Environment, Livelihood, Security”; annual Report for 2009 was themed on “Constructing Harmonious City, Facing Financial Crisis, Increasing Social Security”; annual Report for 2010 was themed on “Better City, Better Life”.

As an annual professional literature, the Report mainly consists of six chapters (columns): Forum, Review, Observation, Special Topics, Cases and Appendices, trying to comprehensively reflect the tendency, progress and sequence of China’s urban development in current year.

Forum mainly includes the papers written by academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering as well as government officials for the Report in the current year.

Review summarizes and reviews China’s urban development in the current year and is also the core of China Urban Development Report. It includes urban development review, overview of urban development events, urban transportation development, urban public facilities development, status quo of urban informatization development, review of real estate macro-control year, review and prospect of process of protecting historical and cultural heritage, village habitation environment governance, construction and development of small towns. Aiming at the practice of China’s urban construction development, the authors systematically outline achievements obtained and problems existed in their own professional research fields in current year. The contents are conducive to the readers understanding the overall thread of our country’s urban development.

Observation puts forward some hot issues arising from Chinese urban development. The Report analyzes and studies some hot and focal issues concerned with by people during the process of rapid urbanization development of our country, such as urban public finance, urban villages, migrant workers, social stratification, administrative division adjustment, coordination of city regions etc. An outstanding feature of these researches is that these researches state issues from the objective perspective of the third party, and proposes that opinions and suggestions should be put forward from a higher social perspective in the light of development, aiming at interpreting some problems arising from the rapid urbanization process of our country which are, however, worthy of our high attention, and should be studied and overcome continuously during the process of constructing harmonious cities and innovative development.

Special Topics contains the special reports concerning the society, economy, urban construction and urban informatization compiled by combining the urban development in our country in the current year.

Cases mainly studies and summarizes the urban development models of various regions and types during the process of our country’s urbanization development by combining the characteristics with development experience of the cities themselves in the hope of using such typical cases as the guide and reference for other cities’ development.

Appendices includes major political and economic events related to urban development in the current year; list of China’s urban planning and development events in the current year; directory of documents concerning urban policies and regulations promulgated in the current year; list of national intangible cultural heritages; basic chart for China’s urban development which shows the development orbit of urban society, economy and construction since the founding of China.