Models of Guangzhou's Plan

To the right is a general model of a socialist city that applies primarily to cities in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The East Asian socialist city, with the exception of Beijing, only resembles this model in a very limited way. While Guangzhou does have an old town that contains the government buildings, there is no public square in the city. There are several monuments, perhaps the most prominent being a statue of the revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, but obviously there is not a dominant church or cathedral as there would be in a European city.

Outside of the old town, the model is also largely irrelevant. Aside from Baiyun Mountain north of the city, Guangzhou has nothing that could be considered a green belt. Rather, city growth is limited by protected agricultural land and mountain barriers. Traditionally, industry in Guangzhou was not concentrated in suburban industrial parks as the model indicates, but rather was dispersed through the central city and surrounding areas. However, planners are now working to create decentralized industrial clusters, relocating factories from the central city.

The suburban elite residential areas are also a recent development in Guangzhou. Traditionally, the elite lived near the city center where they had better access to services and transportation. New luxury housing developments on the city's periphery, as well as improved services and access to automobiles, is gradually changing the residential pattern to resemble the model more closely.

 

The following model is specific to Guangzhou:

Note the new CBD beside the old downtown. In the old residential areas surrounding the new CBD and old downtown, there are large white circles representing areas of redevelopment. New residential areas are springing up in Fangcun and Tianhe districts, comprised both of relocated central city residents and migrants from the rural areas. A suburban subcentre is emerging around the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in Huangpu, and the corridor between the downtown and Huangpu is quickly being built up. Large new areas of urban sprawl are spreading rapidly north and east of the city.

This model emphasizes Guangzhou's structural transition from a compact city centered on the CBD to a sprawling metropolis with peripheral subcenters. This change is the result of several factors. An increase in the city's wealth has allowed more people access to private motor vehicles. Recent improvements in infrastructure have provided more efficient transportation and better services, allowing people to live further away from the downtown. Also, changes in housing policy have created a boom in the luxury housing market, and inner city redevelopment has rehoused many residents in peripheral locations. Perhaps most importantly, city planners have created and promoted peripheral subcenters to help ease congestion in the central city.

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