As Yichang accelerates the pace of reconstructing the old town, Dagongqiao Passenger Station was pulled down to make way for the Yichang Plum Garden. Trees and flowers like goldenrain trees, orange trees, plum trees and lilies in the reconstructed park add luster to green Yichang. (Photographed by Reporter Huang Xiang)
This year, Yichang Municipal Party Committee and Government set a goal of building Yichang into a livable city, coordinate the "remodeling of three olds"---old towns, old factories and old villages "shantytown transformation" and new urban district construction, proposed the requirements of the old town’s reconstruction. After analyzing policies, learning from experience and calculating resources, the administration made qualitative and quantitative analysis of Yichang developmental features at this stage, consider comprehensively the actual needs of urbanization and industrialization, and introduced the Views on the Reconstruction of the old town and Building a Livable City (hereinafter referred to as Views), which answered the core questions like why and how they implemented the reconstruction of the old town, worked out its overall deployment and find out the direction and tasks.
On May 12, Ye Bangbin, a research group member of the Views and Municipal Construction Committee spokesman, accepted the reporter\'s interview and explain the background and highlights of the Views in detail.
[Background Analysis]
Now, Yichang is faced with a reality that the average population densities of Xiling and Wujiagang District have reached 40,000 people per square kilometer, and some local regions have even the same population densities of 60,000 people per square kilometer as that of Beijing, Shanghai and other first-tier cities. However, International Technical Reference Value of Livable City is 10,000 people per square kilometer. Thus, Yichang main urban area is overloaded for its function, so it is necessary to form a peripheral circle.
At the end of 2012, Wuhan Urban Planning and Design Institute took charge of the conceptual plan of Yichang new urban district and the overall design of the city, pointing out the distinct problems in Yichang: overloaded main urban area, fragmented space, function loss, ecological environment to be improved, a lack of urban characteristics, and so on. Therefore, the Views made it clear that the reconstruction of the old town was both a livelihood project and a development project. Considering shantytown transformation as the core goal, including the transformation of old factories, old villages, mixed neighborhoods and old buildings, the administration drove land reallocation with market and changed the existing pattern of the old town through "secondary development" of stocked construction land.
State policies provided support for urban renewal in Yichang. In early 2013, the Ministry of Land and Resources issued the Guidance on pilots of redeveloping urban land with inefficient use". Yichang is one of 21 pilot cities in 10 provinces to boost the redevelopment of urban land with inefficient use, optimize land-use structure and promote the transformation of economic development pattern. In July 2013, the State Council issued the Views on Accelerating the Transformation of Shantytowns, set a clear goal of reconstructing 10 million various shantytowns in the next five years and gave local supports in financial investment, construction land, taxes and credit. Meanwhile, the relocation of industrial enterprises created good opportunities for the adjustment and reconstruction of old industrial bases in the country. Yichang entered into the list of the National Adjustment and Reconstruction Plan of Old Industrial Bases (2013 -2022).
[Interpretation of Highlights]
Highlight One: Putting planning at the first place, the administration has a high-level reform planning of the old town, coordinated with the overall urban planning, land use planning and economic development planning. These plans make a contribution to building Yichang features.
Abstract: The administration adheres to the principle of "two decreases and two increases" (decrease population and building densities of the old town, increase its infrastructure and open space) and builds balanced and harmonious public space; the administration adheres to organic renewal, repairing old as before, respecting history and protecting culture, and takes reconstruction method in a scientific way to avoid demolition and construction in a large area.
Reporter: What is the most significant feature for the reconstruction in the Views?
Ye Bangbin: Urban renewal does not mean blind demolition and construction in a large area but “organic update”. In terms of Yichang\'s reality, we focus on "subtraction" to achieve the goal of "two decreases and two increases" and carry out a high-standard transformation in accordance with the Views.
Highlight Two: The administration follows the principles of government lead, market operation and resettlement first; respecting public opinion, improving people\'s livelihood and taking the wishes of the masses as the driving force.
Abstract: Urban renewal is a complicated systematic project. The administration must make overall plans and take all factors into consideration, systematically boost the project, deal with the relationship between new urban area and the old town, the city and industries, present and future, and market drive and financial leveraging. The administration pursues the concept of a big balance and evaluates the value of the city, the people\'s interests, social benefits and urban management to realize the organic unity of social, economic and environmental benefits and promote a sustainable urban development.
Reporter: How many stages are there in the transformation?
Ye Bangbin: After repeated demonstrations, according to the Views, we initially outline the total reconstruction area of approximately 12.51 million square meters, involving about 143,000 households. The specific task of transformation will be approved according to regulatory plan. Among them, there are about 56,000 households in shantytowns, 61,700 in mixed neighborhoods and 25,300 in urban villages.
There are three stages in the reconstruction plan. According to The Views, we plan to complete about 75% of the transformation task within five years, all of it around 2020. At the first stage (2014-2015), we will complete reconstruction planning and declaration, start the construction of the first projects, and finish a reconstruction area of one million square meters and a renovation area of 1.2 million square meters. At the second stage (2016-2018), we will finish the reconstruction area of 2.2 million square meters and a renovation area of 1.71 million square meters. At the third stage (2019-2020): we will finish the reconstruction area of 1.1 million square meters and a renovation area of one million square meters.
Meanwhile, according to the Views, the government puts forward a series of supporting policies on the planning and management, land use, expropriation, resettlement and finance to ensure a successful implementation of urban renewal. It comes up with an unique compensation policy of house expropriation, such as "for the private landlord or the tenant of state-owned or private-owned public house to promote expropriating resettlement and security placement together. For example if one’s house is levied, he has access to low-rent housing and public rental housing at the same time with common property right.
Highlight Three: The administration insists on contiguous development and overall balance, emphasizes on coordination of the constructions of Yichang New District, the Three Gorges New Tourism District and the Three Gorges Pivot Harbour in order to make an overall planning and synergistic promotion.
Abstract: The administration encourages contiguous development and synchronous development of relevant plots, makes a layout of roads, green spaces, public parking, home-based care for the aged, health services, community offices and other public facilities of the old town in priority, and pushes relevant indicators toward national standards.
Reporter: What goal do you want to achieve?
Ye Bangbin: By pushing the transformation, we will try to solve the problems in six aspects. First, problems of dilapidated buildings are to be resolved. We will remove the area of prefabricated houses, adobe houses, bungalows and tube-shaped apartments, solving security problem of dilapidated housing. Second, the environment and public facilities are to be improved. Public service facilities will be almost available. The level of municipal infrastructure will be enhanced significantly. The indicators of road network density and green coverage ratio will reach the standards. The landscape along the road and in important areas will be improved. Third, the density of the old town will be effectively eased. People will be dispersed. Space structure will achieve a significant optimization. Problems like traffic jams and inadequate parking lots will be greatly solved out. Fourth, we will lift the efficiency of land use. Urban construction land will change from extensive to intensive form to achieve economical and intensive land use. Fifth, we will promote the transformation and upgrading of modern service industries like tourism, expand industrial scale and optimize the industrial layout. Relevant facilities will reach a higher level. Sixth, we will show characteristics and highlights of the city. We will focus on the unique culture and landscape in Yichang. The characteristic landscape area with prominent signs and historical marks will take initial shape, increasing the city’s cards.
Urban renewal has its own rules and requirements. The principle will go through the whole process of urban renewal that market determines choice, green determines life and death and livelihood determines purpose". Difficult as it is to implement urban renewal, different departments that in charge of the planning, real-estate management, land, housing construction, development and reform, finance and IT will cooperate with and complement each other to promote the renewal under government coordination. All the main social parties are welcomed to the involvements of the reconstruction of the old town.
[Public Opinions]
Gu Yuanshun ( Deputy Director of Xiling District Housing Construction Bureau):
Xiling District is the main position in the reconstruction. To coordinate with decision deployment of the municipal party committee and government, we have started various preparations, some of which have been actively pursued. We will find out a comprehensive improvement in these areas, take benefiting the people and improving life quality as a starting point and integrate urban renovation with alleyway reconstruction in novelty.
Luo Yan (a relocated resident on Xianfu Road in urban area): Our family has been living in the old town for several generations, so we have a deep feeling to the town. We also feel proud when Yichang becomes a national exemplary city and people from outside speak highly of Yichang. As long as government policies are good enough and following departments put them in place, we believe that Yichang will have a beautiful future. We will support it in full swing.
Wen Hongchen (Director of Yichang Urban Planning and Design Research Institute): There are several features for reconstruction: First, we have a solid foundation. The city has taken the transformation of the old town as a government practical project for many years and completed a large batch of urban renewal projects, taking the lead in similar cities in China. Second, we have a strong driving force. We suggest transferring the population and function of the town to the new district, while new district construction firmly relies on the old town renovation, which links the old town with the new and forms a strong endogenous power system, unlike some places where the new urban area and the old town are separated by spatial distance. Third, we have a high starting point. We adheres to the principle of "two decreases and two increases", take out a lot of land to perfect urban functions, which is a concept of high standards in the country. In this way, urban renewal will not be limited by small accounts, avoiding that each plot lowers quality to seek balance on its own, thus urban value, people\'s interests, social benefits and urban management fall into place. (Reporter Zhang Liang, Wang Suzhi)