"Yizhuang is an empty city." The statement is sharp criticism of Beijing's failure in the construction of satellite cities in past 10 years.
The idea in establishing the satellite cities was to relieve the overcrowding in the city's central area. But 90 percent of their residents are either from the satellite area or migrated there from other provinces. Those who moved there from downtown Beijing account for only 10 percent.
"The middle class who live in Yizhuang have to go to work downtown, while blue-collar workers employed in Yizhuang can't afford to buy houses here," said Ye Dahua, director of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area's (BDA's) City Planning and Environment Design Research Center in Yizhuang.
Yizhuang's designers did not consider the need for industrial and commercial development along with habitation. The result is traffic jams between capital and satellite, residents who are constantly worn out from the commute and a city that most people choose to bypass.
Suburban bedroom communities began to spring up in developed countries as early as the 1920s. Commercial growth in these areas enabled many to work where they live, and eventually urban employers also began to disperse to the outskirts.
The concept of unifying residential and employment locations was proposed in Beijing in the 1980s, and its new city plans incorporate this goal.
According to Ye, Yizhuang will bring in industries centered on new and high technologies, such as electronics, automobiles and medicine. This should attract three groups of people from three different areas: management personnel from central Beijing; skilled technicians and other white-collar workers from other provinces; and blue-collar workers from the local area.
"Only when the independent functions of the new city are improved and the infrastructure is close to the downtown level will people be willing to live in the satellite cities," said researcher Ye Limei from the City Problem Research Institute of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Chen Xiushan, head of the Regional Economy and City Management Research Institute of Renmin University of China, is a leading expert in new city development policies. He found that most of the population of Tongzhou had migrated there from other parts of the country. Although they have lived there for extended periods, some of them even buying homes, their registered permanent residence was elsewhere.
From the aspect of social management, these people are beyond control, according to Chen. Who are they? How many are there? The government knows very little about them.
Chen and his team suggest that new cities should explore a new population registration system as well as employment and immigration systems.
The population registration system should require those who move to a new city for a certain period of time -- for example, over six months -- to register with the public security department and residence committee.
Those who have been working for three to five years in steady jobs, or who have a long-term work contract and are able to pay insurance fees and taxes, should be qualified to apply for employment immigration. This would enable them to enjoy the same rights and benefits as other citizens of the new city.
The 1991-2010 version of Beijing's city plan required that immigration and population increases be managed primarily through administrative requirements and economic policies.
However, according to Tan Xuxiang, the era in which every target depended on the government's administrative orders has passed. Beijing's goal of keeping its population within 18 million by 2020 will not be realized under the planned economy, said Tan, but as a guided goal in the market economy. Control should emphasize reasonable distribution of the population.
In the market economy, organizations, enterprises and individuals will give greater consideration to housing costs, location and the cost and potential benefits of relocation.
Tan went on to say that, "The process will be very long, but the government should improve the construction of public infrastructure in advance. It should also provide a friendly environment that is conducive to the gathering of industries."
Chen Gang, director of the Beijing Municipal City Planning Committee, concurred. He gives priority to transportation systems, including railways, highways and public transportation centers.
In early 2005, Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan said in his government report that to accelerate the construction of infrastructure, services and accessory facilities in Beijing's new cities, 50 percent of the municipal government's investment would be earmarked for the suburbs, an amount totaling 7.7 billion yuan (US$930.0 million).
Land policies can also be adjusted to attract individuals and businesses to the satellite cities. The greater supply of land in these areas should help to speed construction of the new cities.
Beijing does not seek to drive people away, but to encourage them to move to more livable places.
(Excerpt from China Newsweek translated by Wang Qian, April 5, 2005)
