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Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

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Habitat International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint

Planning for sustainable cities? A comparative content analysis of the


master plans of eco, low-carbon and conventional new towns in China
Yang Fu, Xiaoling Zhang*
Urban Research Group, Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Of all sustainable city concepts, eco-cities and low-carbon cities have received a national endorsement in
Received 10 December 2016 China, with such pilot towns under construction nationwide. However, the performance of eco and low-
Received in revised form carbon cities in China has long been heatedly debated, with many negative arguments delineating them
8 March 2017
as profit-seeking and image-building projects simply capped with impressive names. In reality, while
Accepted 13 March 2017
some projects have not fulfilled expectations, most are still at the first stage of construction, so it is too
Available online 26 March 2017
early to regard eco and low-carbon cities as a failure. In this paper, the question of how eco and low-
carbon new towns differ from conventional ones in their social, environmental and economic charac-
Keywords:
Eco-cities
teristics is posed. Compared to conventional new town plans, the eco and low-carbon city plans incor-
Low-carbon cities porate more of a focus on sustainability principles. We examine such perceptions by comparing the
Master plan master plans of eco, low-carbon and conventional new towns in various aspects ranging from general
Content analysis principles to specific design. The analysis indicates the master plans of the three groups of new towns
Nvivo vary in different ways. The eco-cities and low-carbon cities reflect two trends to promote urban sus-
Sustainability tainability. The eco new towns are more concerned with the promotion of a sustainable way of life, with
New town development its planning focus evenly distributed among all aspects. They particularly stress the creation of an
aesthetically pleasing livable environment. In contrast, low-carbon new towns are concerned with the
promotion of a sustainable way of production, with an uneven emphasis on the economic sectors such as
industrial integration and transformation. However, the master plans only reveal how eco/low-carbon
cities are originally intended to differ from non-eco/low-carbon-cities when they start and more
comprehensive studies are needed for it to be possible to predict where they will go in the future.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction ecological quality (Dolowitz & Marsh, 1996; Rose, 1993). In fact,
most flagship projects are jointly developed by the Chinese local/
Since their early days, eco and low-carbon cities in China have central governments and foreign governments/business partners.
been burdened with expectations of solving the environmental However, although it is certainly laudable to present the sustain-
problems (Chang & Sheppard, 2013). Some cases, particularly the able cities emerging from these projects as a panacea for environ-
flagship projects, have been intensively studied by academia and mental degradation, the realization is less so. The performance of
highlighted in policy discourse (Chang, Leitner, & Sheppard, 2016). eco and low-carbon new towns has long been heatedly debated,
Eco and low-carbon cities are much the results of “policy mobility” with many negative arguments delineating them as profit-seeking
(or “policy transfer”), a learning and borrowing process in which and image-building new town developments simply capped with
policy tools are dissembled in exporting countries and reassembled impressive names (Miao & Lang, 2015; Pow & Neo, 2015). It is too
in importing countries. This has been considered by the central early to regard them as a failure, however, as many projects are still
government of China as a shortcut to improving environmental and in the construction stage.
Since it is too early to judge the outcomes and performance of
these eco and low-carbon cities, their master plans provide useful
information, revealing how they differ from ordinary development
* Corresponding author. City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Research
projects in the early stages. As the master plan prescribes and un-
Institute, Shenzhen, PR China.
E-mail addresses: yangfu6-c@my.cityu.edu.hk (Y. Fu), xiaoling.zhang@cityu.edu. derpins all subsequent developments, a summary of the charac-
hk (X. Zhang). teristics of their master plans will shed light on the differences

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.03.008
0197-3975/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
56 Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

between eco-cities, low-carbon cities and conventional cases in factors may influence the performance of the new town develop-
their subsequent stages, indicating the extent to which these pro- ment projects. This is the gap between the master plans and reality.
jects are image-building and profit-making projects. In effect, it These issues have been extensively studied by researchers.
would be premature to argue that the projects provide a capitalist Although the purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences
“spatial fix” or “sustainability fix” at the current stage (Harvey, between the master plans of conventional and “sustainable” new
2001, 2007).1 However, it might be argued that sustainable prin- towns, it should be made clear that the differences in planning do
ciples are integrated into the plans, whereas their effects remain to not necessarily prescribe an environmentally friendlier future for
be seen in the future. Prior to the discourse analysis, it needs to be the new towns. The criticisms on these projects are far from
highlighted that the conventional perspective assumes that eco- groundless (de Jong, Wang, & Yu, 2013; de Jong, Yu, Chen, Wang, &
cities and low-carbon cities incorporate more sustainable plan- Weijnen, 2013). The planning of eco-cities and low carbon cities is
ning principles. That is, they particularly promote green economic one thing but its realization is another, requiring precise and subtle
sectors, spotlight the design of green landscapes and emphasis on coordinating mechanisms between various participants in the
greener transportation. This assumption is tested in the study by construction and operation stages. Fig. 1 is a conceptual framework
providing an answer to the question: How do eco-cities and low- of the relationship between the master plans and the actual reality
carbon cities differ from non-eco/low-carbon cities in their very of the new towns.
early stages of development? The implementation of the master plans, as shown in Fig. 1, is a
The following section discusses the current literature on eco-city very complicated process involving various stakeholders (Flynn, Yu,
and low-carbon city development in China. Also, literature on con- Feindt, & Chen, 2016). Even if the master plans of eco and low-
tent analysis and its application to the master plans is introduced in carbon cities aim to provide a more sustainable future, much
this section. A framework is also proposed, showing the factors that work is still needed for this to be realized. The suggested frame-
may influence the future realization of the master plans. Twelve work is a typical model for the eco and low-carbon city projects in
master plans (four of eco-cities, four of low-carbon cities and four of China, although not applicable to each individual case. Most cases,
conventional new towns) are selected for content analysis in section especially joint projects involving foreign investors, adopt a similar
three along with a summary of the data processing methods. In development model (de Jong, 2013). The master plan plays a pivotal
section four, the results of the discourse analysis is illustrated in role in the overall operation of the project and lays the foundation
figures, tables and charts to reveal the differences between eco/low- for the regulations and rules in the operation stage.
carbon and conventional new towns at the planning stage. In general, the implementation of the master plans is divided
Concluding remarks are provided in section five. into three distinctive stages. The making of the master plan is
usually the result of a governmental initiative for new town
development (Liu, Zhou, Wennersten, & Frostell, 2014). This might
2. Theoretical framing: eco/low-carbon cities and content either be a model project set up by the central government or direct
analysis cooperation between local governments and foreign partners. The
master plans made at this stage prescribe the subsequent devel-
The eco-city and low-carbon cities have been gradually growing opment details and operating models (Li & Qiu, 2015). In order to
in salience in academic and policy discourse since the 1990s (Fu & realize the plans, professional evaluation and local government
Zhang, 2017; de Jong, Joss, Schraven, Zhan, & Weijnen, 2015). departments serve as the basic regulating and monitoring body.
Research into eco-cities was initiated by the 1985 report: Our Actually, (green) building institutes and policies have been well-
Common Future. However, eco-city and low-carbon city practice in integrated in the development of these “sustainable” new towns
China did not gain momentum until the turn of the new century, (Zuo & Zhao, 2014; Zuo et al., 2015, 2017). Development companies,
with the massive construction of eco and low-carbon cities in the often invested by the government and foreign partners, is respon-
country. Meanwhile, research into eco/low-carbon cities reached a sible for the overall development. The professional evaluation in-
peak in the first decade of the new millennium. As a result, several stitutes, the various departments of local governments and
case studies in China have been made, with the Tianjin Sino- development corporations all play significant roles in the operation
Singapore Eco-city, Dongtan eco-city in Shanghai and Caofeidian of eco-cities and the realization of the master plans (Yu, 2014).
in Tangshan attracting the most attention. These studies provide The operation stage is the most complex, as many different
insightful criticisms on their construction and operation (Hult, parties are involved at this level and many efficient mechanisms are
2013; Joss & Molella, 2013; Qiang, 2009; de Jong et al., 2016). The required for their interactions with the higher level regulating and
majority of the case studies conclude that the projects have failed, monitoring bodies. In some cases, good interaction mechanisms
at least partially, to fulfill a more sustainable urban future. Never- between the various parties might presage a real sustainable future
theless, as mentioned already, their construction was carried out for these projects, but the outcome is still to be evaluated in the
less than a decade ago and it is too early to judge their performance. coming years and more practical studies are needed (de Jong, 2013).
Therefore, studying the master plans of these projects is more Operation and performance are also closely related to the outside
germane in assessing their likely social and economic outcomes. environment. In China, political support from a higher level is
As a result, we need to select the cases that fare well in their crucial in attracting resources for the development of the “sus-
implementation as the target of our content analysis since it is tainable” new towns. Personnel changes at a higher level some-
meaningless to analyze the plans of those that have been aban- times have a severe influence on the operation of the projects. In
doned. But first we need to know what is the relationship between addition, many projects are faced with ferocious competition from
the master plans and the operation of these projects and what surrounding regions, which causes great difficulties in attracting
sufficient investment to promote the industries. In short, the real-
ization of the master plans depends heavily on the cooperative
1
David Harvey uses the word “spatial fix” to define urban space, meaning that mechanisms between the various parties involved as well a sup-
this space is created as a “fix” for surplus capitalist production. He uses the met- portive outside environment (Caprotti, 2014a, 2014b; Chang et al.,
aphor “a drug addict needs to get a fix” to explain what the “spatial fix” means here.
In a world addicted to capitalist production, new urban space, eco-cities for
2016).
instance, need to be created so that surplus capital can find a vent to be released for Intensive studies of various factors influencing these new town
a new round of capitalist production. developing projects help fill the gap between the original master
Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66 57

The ini a on may start Influences


Government at different levels of
ini a on from the
the government outside
Economic
Planning Local Investment/develo environemn
Making of ins tute government pment companies
the master t
plan
Master plans
Na onal
policies
Planning Landscape Economy and Transportat
principles designing industries ion and etc.

Personnel
stability

Implemeta Professional Specific


Development
on of the evalua on governmental
companies
plan ins tutes departments Compe on
s from
surrounding
regions

Building
Opera on U li es Enterprises
companies
of Eco and
Con nuous
low-carbon
poli cal
new towns Public service Other
Residents support
ins tu ons organiza ons

Fig. 1. Framework for the implementation of the master plan.

plans and the final outcome. It further indicates that, at the pre- 2006) investigate ten dimensions of the transport and planning
liminary stage, the study of their master plans is of special impor- of these sustainable new towns.
tance to the research on eco and low-carbon cities in China. As an However, the proliferation of studies following Berke and Con-
efficient and useful tool to analyze documents and graphs, content roy, involving more detailed principles used in the evaluation of
analysis contributes significantly to qualitative studies as it easily plans, has yet to include a systematic treatment of such new towns
organizes the materials in a systematic manner, spotlighting the in China. Sporadic analysis of master plans has been taken in a case
differences, similarities and connections among a large amount of by case manner, with Yang and Dong (Yang & Dong, 2008), for
materials (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; instance, probing into the master plan of Tianjin Sino-Singapore
Stemler, 2001). Therefore, the method of content analysis is adop- Eco-city; Cheng and Hu (Cheng & Hu, 2010) taking Dongtan in
ted in this study to illuminate the differences and similarities of the Shanghai as their case study focus; and Qiang's (Qiang, 2009) sys-
master plans of the eco/low-carbon new towns and the conven- tematic analysis of the master plan of Caofeidian in Tangshan.
tional ones. However, no systematic and comparative studies on the master
To distinguish sustainable development plans from conven- plans of eco/low-carbon cities in China have yet been made.
tional ones, the basic principles of sustainability need to be defined In short, therefore, there have already been many attempts by the
at the outset. Sustainable principles before 2000 were unclear and academics to analyze the master plans of sustainable cities to
amorphous, with scholars (Campbell, 1996; Jo € rgens, J€
anicke, & ascertain how “sustainable principles” have influenced their overall
Weidner, 2012), for instance, defining such principles as laudable planning and how these plans contribute to sustainable or ecolog-
but vague. Other scholars argue that such concepts are in need of ical friendly development. That is, to what extent do they really
definition and elaboration. (Beatley & Manning, 1997). Berke and make a difference? In response to the lack of such work in China, this
Conroy's (Berke & Conroy, 2000) response was the development of paper provides a comprehensive and comparative content analysis
six principles of sustainability used in their content analysis of the of the master plans of the country's eco/low-carbon and conven-
development plans of 30 local U.S. communities to show that tional new towns. Many themes (63 nodes) are created as the
“sustainable plans” are not necessarily different from conventional standards for evaluation, providing a clearer qualitative as well as
plans. quantitative understanding of the master plans of these projects.
More recently, with the emergence of eco-cities and low-carbon
cities as new branches of the traditional “sustainable city” 3. Methods
discourse, various specific dimensions in the planning of eco/low-
carbon cities have been explored to identify the principles under- Of all the sustainable city concepts promoted, eco-cities and
lying eco-friendliness. It makes the principles of sustainability low-carbon cities are the two major types that have been adopted
more specific and concrete in the context of eco/low-carbon cities. into new town development practice in China. Various national
Conroy and Berke (Conroy & Berke, 2004), for example, carry out an government departments, for example, the National Development
in-depth investigation into the factors that might influence the and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Housing and
principles of sustainable development, examining “three di- Urban-Rural Development (MHURD) and the Ministry of Environ-
mensions of the planning process”, the organization of the plans mental Protection, list many cities as pilot cities for low-carbon and
and underpinning state mandates; while Kenworthy (Kenworthy, eco-city development. However, it should be noted that, for most of
58 Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

the listed cities, the eco/low-carbon strategy is aimed at a broader/ All the materials related to the themes and sub-themes is coded
whole city level, or even regional level. Large scale eco or low- into corresponding nodes. The texts and number of texts coded are
carbon new towns are much fewer in number. To enhance the used for qualitative analysis and quantitative visualization. The sum
representativeness and generalizability of this study, the content of the data from four E, L and N cases maps out the general dif-
analysis pivots on the eco/low-carbon new towns, rather than all ferences between the characteristics of eco-cities, low-carbon cities
eco/low-carbon cities in China. One additional credit is that the and conventional new towns. The node structure and definitions
master plans of new towns have a much more profound influence are based on the overall review of all 12 master plans, interviews
on the subsequent city developments, since the whole project with 4 professional planners (two from Tsinghua University, one
starts from scratch. Nonetheless, the eco/low-carbon development from Shenzhen Planning institute and one from City University of
plans/guidelines at the whole city level exert much less influence Hong Kong) from leading urban planning institutes in China, as well
compared with new town cases. There are also other sustainable as a review of the current literature (Conroy & Berke, 2004). To
city concepts, such as smart cities, sponge cities and resilient cities, facilitate readers' understanding, some of the important nodes (and
but they are almost all at the broader whole city level and so far, their definitions are summarized in Table 2. They reflect all the
there are no such master plans for new towns. As a result, we take 4 essential aspects of the master plans, and at the same time, reveal
master plans from eco, low-carbon and conventional new towns the characteristics of the new town projects in China.
respectively, collecting 4*3 ¼ 12 samples for the content analysis. To The Nvivo software has the capacity to analyze massive amounts
further increase the reliability and representativeness of the anal- of data. With the average length of each master plan being around
ysis, we develop the following principles to choose our cases. 100 pages, the software is adopted in this study. To structure the
First, we select the most representative cases as the target for data in a consistent and clear manner, the master plans are divided
the content analysis so as to reflect the differences in eco-cities, into three groups: the eco-cities group with the initial letter (E), the
low-carbon cities and conventional new towns (non-eco/low-car- low-carbon cities group with the initial letter L and the conven-
bon ones) as accurately as possible. Of all the new town initiatives, tional group with the letter (N). Twelve nodes (themes) are created
firm endorsements from national/local governments are crucial for at the top level, with multiple “child nodes” (the term used in
the development of these projects, as most cases without enough Nvivo) developed at a lower level. These nodes are developed after
support do not fare well in the following stages. As a result, it is less reviewing the master plans to ensure that all the materials are
meaningful to analyze the master plans of the less successful cases, covered in the 12 aspects. One more sub-layer is created out of
which to a great extent fail to reflect the real situation. Thus, we necessity due to the complexity and number of concepts involved.
choose the master plans of the projects that are endorsed by the The full table (with 63 themes/nodes) is listed in Table 3 in the
governments and are operating smoothly in the current stage. To Annexes. A more detailed matrix of the 63 nodes and 8 master
make the comparison reliable, all the cases chosen from the E plans is shown in Table 4 in the annexes. For instance, to identify
groups (eco-cities), L groups (low-carbon cities) and N groups the planning principles that are particularly promoted in the plans,
(conventional new towns) are the key projects that receive firm every specific principle mentioned is classified into five child nodes
endorsement from the central/local government. as listed in Table 2. A comparative analysis of these selected cases
Moreover, economic, social and institutional conditions are very will reveal whether the master plans of eco/low-carbon cities
different throughout the vast territory of China, and therefore we incorporate more sustainable elements and how it is achieved.
choose typical cases of each new town group in every typical Moreover, this may also shed light on the future development and
economic/geographical region in China (from north to south and sustainability performance of these cases.
from east to west) to better reflect the overall conditions. In like
vein, we try to seek cases of eco/low-carbon and conventional new 4. Analysis
towns in similar economic regions in pairs so as to increase the
reliability of the analysis. In addition, all the master plans are The coding of the master plans reveals that, of the 12 major
initiated from around the year 2010, so they are developed in a themes (top-level nodes), economy and industry, planning princi-
similar period, which is also important for comparative analysis. All ples, landscape, safe and livable environment, social and cultural
the cases chosen are also large development projects (construction targets as well as transportation are the most important themes.
of a whole new city area that accommodates at least 100 thousand Fig. 2 shows the percentage of each theme in the master plans of
population) to ensure that they are comparable in scale. The twelve the E, L and N groups. Surprisingly, of all the 12 top-level themes,
master plans with their own features are illustrated in Table 1. the percentages for the three groups differ dramatically in the

Table 1
Materials for discourse and content analysis.

Name and number of the master plans locations endorsement stages

(E1) The conceptual master plan of Singapore-Nanjing eco hi-tech island East China (Yangtze River Delta region) Both from In progression
central/local gov.
(E2) Master Plan (2007e2020) of Guanming Eco New Town (Shenzhen) South China (Pearl River Delta region) Both In progression
(E3) The master plan of Caofeidian eco-city North China Both In progression
(E4) The master plan of Sino-Singapore eco-city (Tianjin) North China (Jing-Jin-Ji region) Both In progression

(L1) Master Plan (2010e2020) of Jiangmen Low-carbon City South China (Pearl River Delta region) Both In progression
(L2) Master Plan (2011e2015) of Hanan (Haerbin) Northeast China Both In progression
low-carbon Industrial New Town
(L3) Master Plan of Huabin (Hubei Province) Low-carbon city Middle China (the Middle reach Both In progression
of the Yangtze River)
(L4) Master plan of international low carbon city (Shenzhen) South China (Pearl River Delta region) Both In progression

(N1) Master plan (2005e2020) of Binhai new district (Tianjin) North China (Jing-Jin-Ji region) Both In progression
(N2) Master plan (2010e2030) of Tianfu new district (Chengdu) West China Both In progression
(N3) Master plan of Nansha new district (Guangzhou) South China (Pearl River Delta region) Both In progression
(N4) Master plan of Suzhou Industrial park East China (Yangtze River Delta region) Both In progression
Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66 59

Table 2
Definition of some important nodes.

Major nodes Definition

Buildings and infrastructure The promotion of green buildings, green and modern infrastructure, basic facilities that are required for modern cities
Economy and industries The blueprint for industry development; strategies, locations and orientation of important economic sectors in the new town
Education and research Primary, secondary, tertiary education and other research institutes
Landscape The overall design of views and urban landscape, including natural views of parks, green land, rivers,
lakes and other built environment
Planning models Methods and approaches adopted in the planning methods
Planning principles The fundamental planning guidelines for the project: 5 aspects
Balanced development Coordinated development of the rural and urban areas, balanced development of different economic sectors
and functioning zones
Eco- friendliness Reducing environmental impact; ecologically friendly design, preservation of the natural ecological system;
greener industrial strategy, etc.
Human-oriented Creation of livable environment, convenient services for residents, sustainable development of communities and way of life
Land & resources saving Compact design, new technologies to save land and resources use, including water, electricity, energy etc.;
efficient use of space
Technological innovating New technologies in the industries to reduce environmental impact; new technologies in public services and
governance; updating the industries
Safe and livable environment Environmental protection measures including garbage collection, waste water treatment, red lines for development
and other measures
Transportation All kinds of transportation including both public and private ones

aspects of economy, industry and landscape. There are also differ- almost 17% of the coded materials classified into this category. In
ences in other aspects, such as transportation and social & cultural comparison, less space is given to planning principles in the master
targets, although not substantially. These aspects are highly plans of the N group (16.4%). Although that of L group is around 18%,
correlated with conventional assumptions. Quantitatively, the it does not rank first of all the L nodes. Five distinctive planning
planning principles of the three types of cities receive a similar level principles are found in the 12 master plans, namely, “balanced
of attention and therefore a more precise qualitative investigation development”, “eco-friendliness”, “human-oriented development”,
is needed to examine the extent to which the descriptions in their “land and resources-saving development” and “technological
sub-themes differ. In like vein, the conventional assumptions con- innovation”. As listed in Fig. 3, each of the eight projects covers
cerning eco/low-carbon cities also need more in-depth investiga- some or all of the five principles. In their master plans, each prin-
tion into the specific contexts involved, although they have already ciple is allocated with different levels of attention. For instance,
shown some quantitative differences in Fig. 2. It should be high- Caofeidian, a typical eco-city, particularly highlights the principle of
lighted that the E group stresses planning principles most, with a land and resource saving, which accounts for almost 80% of the
more evenly distributed share on the other aspects. The L group is description of planning principles. In five separate places in the
the most imbalanced, with over 35% of all the coded materials master plan, it is reiterated that
devoted to the development of the economy and industries. The
Land should be used in a collective and highly efficient manner
conventional new towns, although with a similar priority in the
… energy conservation, carbon emission reduction, together
planning of economy and industry, pays more attention to other
with water conservation should be the fundamental principle to
aspects compared with the low-carbon new towns.
adhere to … It is the priority to develop renewable energy and
make it a complementary section to the regular energy supplies
4.1. Planning principles (“The Master Plan of Caofeidian Eco-city,” 2009)

Despite the proportion of planning principles being second to


It is clear that the four cases in group E all make more efforts to
the economy in the master plans, this aspect is discussed first as it is
promote the principle of “land and resources-saving development”
the guideline for the overall planning. In the E group, “planning
(represented by the dark blue color in Fig. 3).
principles” is the most deliberated theme of all the nodes, with

12 : Transporta on
11 : Social and cultral tragets
10 : Smart city (IT)
9 : Safe and livable environment
8 : Planning principles
7 : Planning models
6 : Na onal and interna onal role models
5 : Landscape
4 : Innova ons in governance
3 : Educa on and research
2 : Economy and industries
1 : Buildings and infrastructure

0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 40.00%

N ci es L ci es E ci es

Fig. 2. Percentage that each top level theme covers in the eco and non-eco-cities master plans.
60 Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
E1 E2 E3 E4 L1 L2 L3 L4 N1 N2 N3 N4

1 : Balanced development 2 : Eco- friendliness


3 : Human-oriented development 4 : Land and resources saving
5 : Technological innova on

Fig. 3. Planning principles in the master plan of each project.

In contrast, all L new towns stress the principle of “technological the technological response to the national initiative for promoting
innovation”. It ranks first in three of the four L cases. Taking into urban sustainability, upgrading the pollution-intensive industries
consideration that the economy takes 35% of all the planning ma- and neutralizing their serious environmental impact (de Jong, Yu,
terials, it can be concluded that the focus of the L master plans is on et al., 2013; Hu, Wu, & Shih, 2015). The E group, on the other
upgrading the industries with innovative technologies. Of the four hand, adopts a different socio-technical approach with more
master plans of group N, materials advocating a balanced devel- emphasis on efficient and compact development, creating a
opment account for 20%e40% of all the references concerning convenient environment not only for the economy, but also for the
planning principles. As most of the traditional plans cover a wide residents (Caprotti, 2014a).
region, encompassing both rural and urban areas, the balanced
development of regions, industries and different social sectors are 4.2. Economy and industries
of special significance to the planners. “Cooperation must be pro-
moted to realize a balanced development in the greater Bohai [a sea Superficially, it is easy to conclude that low-carbon and con-
in north China] region as the economies of the nearby regions are ventional new towns are more devoted to the development of the
highly complementary” states the master plan of N1 (“The master economy, with almost 35% and 25% of the coded statements dedi-
plan (2005e2020) of Binhai New District (Tianjin),” 2004), and cated to the promotion of multiple industries (Fig. 2), while this
“the development of the rural and urban areas should be taken into comprises only 15% in the eco-city master plans. Does this mean
consideration as a whole and a balanced rural-urban spatial that eco-cities comparatively understate the priority of economic
structure should be maintained”. The other plans in group N development? Of all the 12 top-level themes, the node of “economy
contain similar statements. and industries” ranks second only to the planning principles in
Fig. 4 provides a general picture of the overall difference in group E. However, although the E cities are still orientated, to some
planning principles of the three groups obtained by summing the extent, toward the economy development, it is reasonable to argue
data. Generally speaking, the N group has over three times more that their focus on the economy is slightly shifted to other aspects
statements promoting balanced development than the E group. In of the master plans. Fig. 5 dissembles the economic and industrial
contrast, the E group advocates more principles relating to land and composition of the eco/low-carbon and conventional new towns,
resource saving, while the L group is keener on technological showing how the master plans of the three groups promote
innovation. Therefore, both the numbers and detailed examination different sectors of the economy.
of the contexts of the master plans validate the conventional There are 10 child nodes under the theme of economy and in-
assumption, that is, eco-cities and low carbon cities differ clearly dustries, in which “3: circulating and eco-friendly economy” and
from conventional new towns in terms of planning principles. The “8: industrial integration and transformation” do not particularly
results show that the low-carbon cities, as some scholars argue, are target at one specific industry, with both stressing the greener way
of production and the integration of different industries to improve
efficiency. Although all the data are in percentages, it should be
100%
noted that the L group actually devotes much more effort to the
planning of economy and industry, particularly in item 3 and 8,
80% which is seldom mentioned by the other two groups. This again
60% indicates that low-carbon cities are initiatives endorsed by the
government to integrate pollution-intensive industries. Its focus is
40%
to create smart and green stimuli for the nation's economic growth
20% (Hult, 2013). From Fig. 5, it can be concluded that the three groups
promote different sectors of industries. Group L actually has
0%
E ci es L ci es N ci es development plans in all the industries, and highlights the pro-
motion of industrial efficiency and reduction of pollution. Group N
1 : Balanced development 2 : Eco- friendliness
is heavily dedicated to the development of hi-tech industry,
3 : Human-oriented development 4 : Land and resources saving tourism and manufacturing (23%, 16% and 18% respectively). For
5 : Technological innova on example, the statements “… establishing a high-end
manufacturing base to promote car and machinery
Fig. 4. Planning principles. manufacturing industries” and “A high-end manufacturing center
Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66 61

70.00% even of whole China” (“The conceptual masterplan of Singapore-


Nanjing eco hi-tech island,” written time not specified). Hi-tech
60.00%
and innovation industries have become a popular development
50.00% advocated throughout the country due to the national industrial
upgrading strategy. In addition, all the master plans of eco-cities
40.00% make general proclamations to develop a circulating and eco-
30.00%
friendly economy, although most descriptions are quite general.
Therefore, the conventional assumption that eco-cities place
20.00% greater emphasis on the green economy is largely supported by the
results, because the E group selectively develops certain industries
10.00%
and tries to avoid more conventional industries. However, it should
0.00% also be noted that screening out other less “eco-friendly” industries
might jeopardize the future of the eco-cities themselves, as some
projects have difficulty in attracting investments and an “unbal-
anced” development strategy may also cause severe social injustice.
While as the other “sustainable city” concept, low-carbon cities
essentially plan similar economic sectors with the N group, but
spotlight industrial integration and cleaner production. However, it
is clear that improving industrial efficiency and coordination
among different sectors is not an easy task. It can be argued that
low-carbon cities plan for a more efficient economy, but not
necessarily greener. However, considering that low-carbon new
towns are heavily biased towards economic planning, it implies
E ci es L ci es N ci es
that low-carbon cities, unlike the eco-cities, are more concerned
Fig. 5. Industrial composition. with promoting a sustainable form of economic production.

will be established for new energy automobiles” occur in two 4.3. Landscape and transportation
master plans (“The master plan (2010e2030) of Tianfu New District
(Chengdu),” 2011; “The master plan of Nansha New District As discussed at the beginning of this section, the landscape is
(Guangzhou),” (2012) - recurring themes in all the conventional one of the main distinguishing themes. The materials in landscape
new town master plans. planning constitute animals, an integrated landscape, the modern
For group E, on the other hand, “financial and service industry” view and the proper design of plants and water views. Fig. 6 shows
as well as “circulating and eco-friendly economy” are the most the number of statements concerning landscape design made in
popular, with each accounting for over 20% of the statements the group E, L and N plans, with the eco-city numbers being the
relevant to the economy. All the eco-cities master plans make highest in all four sub-categories. The number has not been con-
commitments to build comprehensive commercial, financial and verted to a percentage to demonstrate the sharp contrast of the
service sectors that are convenient for local residents. For example, landscape design of the three groups.
All the three groups place green and blue (plants and water)
In the centers and sub-centers of the city, comprehensive
views at the core of their landscape design, with each group having
financial and service industries will be established [and] the
19, 11 and 10 descriptions respectively. Obviously, those in the E
commercial sectors, generally speaking, should be arranged
group almost double their efforts in their landscape planning. One
within a 400-m walking distance for the local residents (“The
significant difference is that the design for green views in eco-cities
master plan of Caofeidian Eco-city,” 2009)
is closely related to transportation, especially the greening of
and that walking and cycling lanes. The general aim of the master plans in
group E is to create ecological aesthetics. For example,
The service and financial locations, as well as commercial sec-
tors, should be arranged in line with the metro line and they Three areas with distinctive views will be developed on the is-
should be properly settled in the residential and commercial land. One is a wetland along the Yangtze River, one is the
regions so that citizens can reach them by walking (“The master ecological agriculture area and one is an ecological tourism area.
plan of Sino-Singapore Eco-city (Tianjin),” (2008) The eco-city will integrate the pastoral rural views with the
modern urban views. It will be a harmonious picture of the blue
waters and green plants (“The conceptual masterplan of
The blocks in residential areas are also defined as cells in most
Singapore-Nanjing eco hi-tech island,” written time not
eco-city plans, which sounds more organic and perhaps eco-
specified)
friendlier, and they all promote a convenience-oriented planning
model in terms of the distribution of the commercial, service and
financial sectors. C. P. Pow from the National Singapore University holds that eco-
However, the three groups of master plans do share a common cities concentrate more on designing an aesthetically beautiful eco-
factor, i.e., the dedication to boosting hi-tech industries. This in- environment.2 This resonates with the findings of the content
cludes the innovation industry and information technology in-
dustry. For example, with the national support for the development
2
of the animation industry, many plans, regardless of which group This argument originates from a discussion with Professor C. P. Pow during a
they belong, share a similar tone, such as the statement that Q&A session at the 2016 American Association of Geographers Conference, San
Francisco. He argued that eco cities in China adopt aesthetic ecology as a planning
Nanjing's “animation industries will be located in the innovation and designing principle. The views of these new towns tend to be very good but
park, which will be the center of innovation industry of Nanjing and this does little to help with their overall performance.
62 Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 : Animal 2 : Integrated 3 : Modern eco view 4 : Plants and water
landscape (general
descrip on)

E ci es L ci es N ci es

Fig. 6. Number of descriptions of landscapes.

9 : Water transporta on
8 : Trains
7 : Smart transporta on
6 : Parking lots
5 : General descrip on
4 : Cable cars
3 : Bus
2 : BRTs
1 : Bicycling and walking

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

E ci es L ci es N ci es

Fig. 7. Transportation modes promoted in the master plans.

analysis. The E group makes more effort to create a livable envi- commercial, service and financial sectors, as already discussed, are
ronment, which covers the preservation of natural animal and plant arranged within the walking distance of local residents in eco-
resources and integration of nature and built environment in an cities. The walking and cycling lanes are also greened and usually
aesthetically pleasing way. However, the N and L plans also provide constructed alongside waterways, providing a pleasant view and
many descriptions concerning the design of green landscapes, comfortable environment for people to walk and cycle.
particularly those relating to plants and water. “All the waterways,
Green transportation is encouraged. Within a distance of 200 m
canals and rivers in the planned area will be kept, they will form the
of all developed areas, special walking and cycling lanes will be
typical view of a water town in southern China” (“The master plan
constructed. The clustering design will reduce the traffic de-
of Suzhou Industrial Park,” written time not specified). However,
mand in the city and therefore walking and cycling will become
the eco-city plans mention the protection of animals and their
two of the major transportation modes on the eco-island (“The
habitat, together with creating a modern view. Thus, even though
conceptual masterplan of Singapore-Nanjing eco hi-tech is-
the conventional assumption: “Compared to conventional new
land,” written time not specified)
towns, eco-cities highlight the development of green/natural
landscape more” is supported in a broad sense, the low-carbon
cities and conventional cities are not particularly different from However, it should be noted that some of the new towns may
each other. Their landscape design is more from a utility perspec- distract from the original plans and the slow traffic may not be as
tive than aesthetical perspective, which is also supported by our convenient as they proposed. During a site visit to Tianjin Eco-city,
interviews with the professional planners. we find that the transportation relies heavily on automobiles,
The master plans of the three groups contain 10% (E and N rather than the planned slow traffic. Yet with its population moving
groups) and 6% (L group) respectively of materials relating to in and new light rails under construction, following-up in-
transportation. Fig. 7 divides these into 9 sub-categories, with item vestigations is required. It is still in question to what extent will the
1 being a slow transportation mode and the other eight being sustainable traffic mode in the plans be realized. We also need to
modes of public transport. Item 1 is specifically concerned with examine whether remedies will be made to such deviations from
cycling and walking, which are enthusiastically encouraged in eco- the original plans in the future. Although walking and cycling have
cities. They are also believed to be more sustainable ways of also been proposed in some low-carbon and conventional new
transportation (Sengers & Raven, 2014; Sengers, Raven, & Van towns, they are not important components of their overall trans-
Venrooij, 2010). It should be noted that this is in accordance with portation plans.
the economy and landscape planning in their master plans. The In terms of public/private transportation, note that from Type 2
Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66 63

to Type 9, there are eight transportation modes (including one type upgrade the pollution-intensive growth model. In contrast, the
of general description), all of which are a form of public transport. most outstanding principle of the conventional new towns is
Bus transport, second only to general descriptions of transportation “balanced development”. Furthermore, the four eco-cities selec-
planning, is the most prominent public transportation option tively advocate industries such as commercial, service, financial
suggested in the master plans of eco-cities. To promote a leisurely and hi-tech industries as an approach to advocating sustainable
lifestyle, cable cars are also proposed as a model of green public economy. But the master plans of low-carbon cities are not
transportation. In contrast, public transportation in conventional fundamentally different from those of conventional new towns in
new towns is heavily concentrated on trains (including metros, terms of economic sector planning. To boost sustainable economic
railway and light rail) and waterborne transportation (most of the growth, the two types of “sustainable” new towns diverge on their
eight projects are located in the coastal region or alongside major track, one by selective development, the other through industrial
rivers such as the Yangtze). The ratios of the E and N cities for these integration and transformation.
two modes are 1:6 and 1:3 respectively. Nevertheless, other conventional perceptions are supported
Moreover, the ports and railway stations proposed for the N only in a broad sense. For example, there are more landscape-
group serve not only the needs of citizens but also the demands of related descriptions in the master plans of eco-cities. They spot-
business. “Upon the completion of the port, Binhai New district will light the need for ecological aesthetics and stress the importance of
become the logistics and transportation center of North China,” contriving distinctive views with plants and waters. Another
states the master plan of N1 (“The master plan (2005e2020) of characteristic of the landscape in eco-cities is the emphasis on the
Binhai New District (Tianjin),” 2004). The four N cities all hope to integration of modern and ecological views. Yet the low-carbon and
construct a regional/national logistic center that satisfies the de- conventional new towns resemble each other regarding their
mands of people and goods. landscape design. Similarly, the conventional perception of trans-
portation in eco-cities has been invalidated by the result of the
There are 5 level-8 waterways and 2 level-5 waterways in the
content analysis. Both the E and N cases encourage public trans-
planned area. When completed, one level-8 waterway will be
portation modes, although with different foci. But the L cases
promoted to level-5 (the level created by the Chinese govern-
generally pay less attention to aspects other than the economy.
ment to regulate waterborne transportation, the smaller the
In short, the eco-cities and low-carbon cities reflect two trends
number, the greater the transportation capacity). It will
in the process of promoting urban sustainability. Eco-cities are
strengthen the connections between Suzhou and Shanghai. It is
more concerned with the promotion of a sustainable way of life,
also a complementary transportation mode within the Indus-
with their planning focus evenly distributed over all aspects. They
trial Park (“The master plan of Suzhou Industrial Park,” written
particularly emphasis the creation of an aesthetically pleasing
time not specified).
livable environment. In contrast, the low-carbon new towns are
more concerned with the promotion of a sustainable means of
Low-carbon cities, generally speaking, do not differ significantly production, with its attention based towards the economic sectors.
from the N group in terms of transportation. However, they do not However, the master plans of these two types of new town devel-
deliberate on transportation as much as the other two types. It is opment may reflect the intention of the Chinese government to
clear, therefore, that all three groups advocate public transportation deal with the problems arising in a period of great environmental
modes with distinctive foci. Although walking and cycling are pressure and transformation. At least verbally, they reveal two
recommended more in the master plans of eco-cities, it cannot be trajectories deviating from the conventional urbanization model.
concluded that eco-cities promote public transportation more, Due to the limitation of the length of the paper, several minor
contradicting the conventional perception of the transportation in aspects have been left undiscussed. For example, the planning
eco-cities. However, it seems they do encourage slower, environ- models of the three groups are closely linked to the planning of the
mentally friendlier, transportation modes in the plans. The reali- economy, transportation and other public facilities. Also, despite
zation of such plans needs much concert efforts. social and cultural targets receiving similar attention in the master
plans, the sub-themes are slightly different for the E, L and N groups.
5. Conclusion Moreover, the promotion of certain economic sectors, while poten-
tially benefitting the ecosystem, may also jeopardize economic
Eco-cities and low-carbon cities are the two major concepts that prospects and cause severe social injustice. Most importantly, we call
have been promoted in new town development practice in China. for future research to investigate, to what extent and by what means,
However, as most of the projects are still under construction, it is too the words in planning will be translated into built and lived reality.
early to form a firm opinion. In response, this paper conducts a
comparative content analysis of 12 master plans of Chinese eco, low- Acknowledgements
carbon and conventional new towns. It indicates that the three
groups differ greatly in several major aspects (planning principles, This research is supported by the National Natural Science
economy and industry, landscape and transportation etc.) from each Foundation (Project No: 71303203; 71673232), the Early Career
other. It has answered, although partially, the question: will the Scheme of Hong Kong Research grant council (Project No:
eco//low-carbon cities be fundamentally different from conven- 9048039),the General Research Funding of Hong Kong Research
tional new towns? However, these groups also share many common grant council (Project No: 9042363), the Environment and Con-
themes, such as “planning models”, “social and cultural targets” and servation Fund (Project No: 92110732) funded by HKSAR Depts, the
“the application of information technology in local governance”. Research Writing Grant from the College of Liberal Arts and Social
The analysis also reveals that, although eco-cities and low- Sciences, City University of Hong Kong (Project No: 9618005). The
carbon cities are both terms under the umbrella concept of “sus- work described in this paper was also substantially supported by
tainable city”, their practice in new town planning has distinctive the Matching fund for NSFC (Project No: 9680114 and 7004309);
foci. The master plans of eco-cities indeed incorporate more sus- Contract fund on ’Community Eco-transformation in the new-type
tainable principles, highlighting the importance of “saving land and urbanization era: modes, trend and influence’ (R-IND6606) and the
resources” as well as “eco-friendliness”, while that of low-carbon Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Foundation project, (USA & China)
cities is more concerned with “technological innovation” to (project no: R-IND6604).
64 Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66

Annex

Table 3
Summary of the hierarchy of nodes.

Name Sources References

Buildings and infrastructure 8 15


General description 1 1
Green building 5 8
Infrastructure 5 6
Economy and industries 12 174
Agriculture 6 10
Bio and health industry 3 6
Circulating and eco-friendly economy 8 16
Commercial sectors 10 14
Financial and service industry 10 19
First class business environment 6 13
Hi-tech (innovation and IT) industry 12 33
Industrial integration & transformation 4 11
Manufacturing 9 27
Tourism 8 25
Education and research 10 23
Basic education 6 6
Higher education center 4 5
Research and traning center 6 11
Innovations in governance 4 10
Landscape 11 60
Animal 1 2
Integrated landscape (general description) 5 12
Modern eco view 3 5
Plants and water 11 40
National and international role models 7 22
A national model 6 10
Education, hi-tech and research model 1 1
Green model 1 1
International exchange (eco development) 4 12
Planning models 9 20
Blocks as cells 5 6
Cores, chains and clusters 8 14
Planning principles 12 110
Balanced development 9 22
Eco- friendliness 10 18
Human-oriented 8 10
Land and resources saving 11 41
Technological innovating 7 18
Safe and livable environment 12 73
Environmental safety and reparing 11 45
Livable environment 10 28
Better living environment 4 6
Eco residence 5 9
Low carbon or eco friendly lifestyle 5 11
Smart city & governance efficiency 7 14
Social and cultral tragets 11 68
Access to public services 10 41
Harmonious society 3 5
Preservation of (traditional) culture 6 9
Recreational service and facilities 8 12
Social equity 1 1
Transportation 11 67
Bicycling and walking 7 10
Public transportation 11 57
BRTs 1 1
Bus 7 11
Cable cars 2 2
General description 7 13
Parking lots 4 4
Smart transportation 4 7
Trains 7 11
Water transportation 5 8
Y. Fu, X. Zhang / Habitat International 63 (2017) 55e66 65

Table 4
Matrix of nodes and the eight master plans.

E1 E2 E3 E4 L1 L2 L3 L4 N1 N2 N3 N4

1: Buildings and infrastructure 2 1 1 1 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 0


2: General description 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3: Green building 1 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
4: Infrastructure 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
5: Economy and industries 12 14 3 2 16 29 11 13 18 15 12 3
6: Agriculture 0 1 0 0 1 2 4 0 1 1 0 0
7: Bio and health industry 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0
8: Circulating and eco-friendly economy 2 1 0 1 3 1 0 4 0 3 1 0
9: Commercial sectors 2 2 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 2
10: Financial and service industry 3 2 1 1 2 2 0 2 2 1 3 0
11: First class business environment 2 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 2 0
12: Hi-tech (innovation and IT) industry 1 4 1 1 3 5 2 3 5 4 3 1
13: Industrial integration & transformation 0 0 0 0 3 6 0 1 1 0 0 0
14: Manufacturing 0 1 0 0 6 8 1 1 4 4 1 1
15: Tourism 3 3 0 0 1 3 6 0 5 3 1 0
16: Education and research 1 3 1 2 1 0 1 2 4 4 3 0
17: Basic education 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0
18: Higher education center 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
19: Research and traning center 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 3 2 0
20: Innovations in governance 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 0
21: Landscape 7 15 3 7 4 1 7 0 2 4 3 4
22: Animal 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23: Integrated landscape (general description) 0 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
24: Modern eco view 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25: Plants and water 5 8 2 4 3 1 7 0 2 4 2 2
26: National and international role models 1 2 0 4 0 1 0 4 1 0 7 0
27: A national model 1 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
28: Education, hi-tech and research model 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29: Green model 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30: International exchange (eco development) 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 1 0 4 0
31: Planning models 2 3 0 3 0 0 2 2 2 3 1 2
32: Blocks as cells 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
33: Cores, chains and clusters 1 3 0 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 1 0
34: Planning principles 11 9 5 11 10 8 10 7 11 7 9 5
35: Balanced development 2 0 0 2 1 1 2 0 5 3 4 2
36: Eco- friendliness 3 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 0 2 0 2
37: Human-oriented 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 1
38: Land and resources saving 4 7 4 5 4 0 3 4 5 2 2 1
39: Technological innovating 2 0 0 1 5 5 3 1 0 0 1 0
40: Safe and livable environment 10 11 5 4 10 2 4 3 6 5 6 6
41: Environmental safety and reparing 6 5 3 3 5 1 4 0 6 4 4 4
42: Livable environment 4 6 2 1 5 1 0 3 0 1 2 2
43: Better living environment 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2
44: Eco residence 2 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
45: Low carbon or eco friendly lifestyle 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 0 1 0
46: Smart city & governance efficiency 0 2 0 1 3 5 0 1 1 0 1 0
47: Social and cultral tragets 3 6 7 8 2 6 6 0 6 8 7 3
48: Access to public services 0 6 7 5 1 4 5 0 2 3 6 2
49: Harmonious society 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
50: Preservation of (traditional) culture 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 3 1 0
51: Recreational service and facilities 1 2 1 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2
52: Social equity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
53: Transportation 11 5 4 3 3 0 8 2 6 4 5 5
54: Bicycling and walking 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
55: Public transportation 8 4 4 2 3 0 7 1 6 3 5 5
56: BRTs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
57: Bus 2 1 1 0 1 0 4 1 1 0 0 0
58: Cable cars 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
59: General description 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2
60: Parking lots 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
61: Smart transportation 0 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
62: Trains 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 1
63: Water transportation 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 2

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