Research on Urban Evolution in China from an Ecological Perspective: A Case of Beijing
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149, Issue 1
Abstract
The development of cities as products of human society is in line with cyclical law. This study applies the system dynamics model to construct a city development model for Beijing, China’s capital city, and analyzes the simulation results from an ecological perspective. The results suggest that Beijing is still in the process of transitioning from fast development to maturity. This trend will continue until the mid-2030s, and this transition process will be composed of several periods. The motivation for development in each period is different. The industry will be the main driving force in the foreseeable future, and the lifespan of each period is approximately 10 years. Major events such as the Olympic Games are the key to evolution. Therefore, Beijing should exploit each event as booster for growth in the next period.
Practical Applications
Beijing is the capital city of China. Based on our research, the city is in its maturity stage and facing metropolitan issues. In China, an urban plan text contains four parts: guiding ideology, development goal, key task, and implementation path. The findings of this research should make substantial contributions to the second and third parts. We have demonstrated that Beijing is transitioning from fast development to maturity in a cyclic curve. The key motivation for city evolution is industry. Big events such as the Olympic Games are key turning points, and these two findings steer goal-making in the planning process. Moreover, this study also highlighted the tendency of urban production, living, and environment in Beijing to contribute to key task selection.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Beijing Social Science Foundation (19JDGLB027) and Zhejiang Natural Science Foundation (LY18G010014).
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149 • Issue 1 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 5, 2021
Accepted: Aug 19, 2022
Published online: Dec 6, 2022
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: May 6, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Asset management
- Business management
- Case studies
- Dynamic models
- Ecosystems
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Financial management
- Human and behavioral factors
- Infrastructure
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Practice and Profession
- Research methods (by type)
- Simulation models
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
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