Effects of urban planning on urban expansion control in Yinchuan City, Western China

Habitat International 64 (2017) 85e97

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Effects of urban planning on urban expansion control in Yinchuan City, Western China Meng Wang a, *, Aleksandra Krstikj b, Hisako Koura c a

Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan Department of Architecture, Tecnologico de Monterrey, CCM, Mexico City 04470, Mexico c Graduate School of Arts and Design, Kobe Design University, Kobe 6512196, Japan b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 18 October 2016 Received in revised form 2 March 2017 Accepted 18 April 2017

Yinchuan, an inland city in Northwestern China, has been undergoing rapid urban growth in recent years that has imposed great challenges on urban planning. This study aims to examine the effects of urban planning on urban expansion control in light of the transition from a centrally planned economy towards a rapid growth of the market economy. The analysis is focused on the mutual influences between the planning concepts presented in Yinchuan's master plans, the implementation of the planning tool e specific zoning, and the urbanization in the Central Urban Area of the city. The study has clarified that the focus of city's plans had significantly shifted from constraining expansion to development promotion, in line with the intentions of the city government. However, the planning still does not function well in leading the urban development, which can be seen in the frequent adjustments of the plans to incorporate the special zones promoted by local governments. Excessive zoning has been revealed in the repetitive industrial zones with low land use efficiency. Moreover, it has been assessed that the designated specific zones have not been effective in promoting or controlling market-based developments since sprawl has been observed outside the zones. The per population urban expansion has exceeded the planned quota with 122 km2 in 2015 and cultivated land saw a continued annual decrease as 3.01% over the last 8 years. Thus, the city faces significant sustainability challenges brought on by the present landconsumptive developments. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Master plan Planning concept Planning tool Specific zoning Urban expansion Western China

1. Introduction Cities in China have experienced tremendous changes since the “Reform and Opening up” in 1978 (Gaubatz, 1999; Ma, 2002). The rapid, unordered urban expansion, fueled by the high-speed economic growth has been criticized as the major cause for massive green lands’ loss, social inequality, and environmental deterioration in Chinese cities (Cheng & Masser, 2003; Wu & Yeh, 1999; Ding, 2009; etc.). Seeking efficient measurements to manage urban growth towards achieving sustainability is imperative under the considerations of these issues. With China's first City Planning Act from 1989, a comprehensive planning system was enforced (Yeh & Wu, 1999). According to the act, the master plans of all provincial capitals and cities with

* Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Wang), sandra.krstik@ gmail.com (A. Krstikj), [email protected] (H. Koura). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.04.008 0197-3975/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

population over one million must be examined and approved by the State Council. Once a master plan is approved, any adjustment of the plan is basically prohibited and all development projects should conform to the planning regulation. Therefore, urban planning has been a primary instrument in guiding and controlling urban developments, which in turn has brought planning effectiveness in the center of the discussion on sustainable urban growth. Nevertheless, the available research does not offer a systematic overview of the conditions in Chinese urban planning and development (Zhu, 2013). For instance, the majority of study areas are focused on the economically stronger mega-cities in east coast that had explosive population increase triggered by the rapid economic growth. Cities in central and western China have experienced quite a different development process (Yeh & Wu, 1996), where the economic growth lagged behind after 1978, though phenomenal urban expansion has been observed in recent years. Today, the balance between the development pressure and the local economy is a specific planning issue for the inland cities. This study takes Yinchuan city-a rapidly growing regional center

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in northwestern China, as a study area. The dramatic urban growth of the city was impelled by the “China Western Development” e a central strategy from 2000 that promoted massive public investments as well as the intensified market reforms from late 1990s that facilitated abundant private investments. This unprecedented development has imposed great challenges on urban planning to effectively control the urban expansion; yet, studies that address this topic are rare. Therefore, our study aims to examine the effects of Yinchuan's urban planning on urban expansion control in order to provide insights into the planning issues of fast-growing inland Chinese cities. 2. A contextualized framework Studies across the world have provided rich references for evaluating the effects of planning in controlling urban expansion. One focal point is the effects of planning are largely dependent on the characters of the implemented programs. For example, Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) can have lasting effects on the future urban growth pattern, necessitating a carefully delineation based on the simulation of the complex process of urban growth (Tayyebi, Pijanowski, & Pekin, 2011; Tayyebi, Pijanowski, & Tayyebi, 2011; Tayyebi, Perry, & Tayyebi, 2014; Tayyebi, Pijanowski, Linderman, & Gratton, 2014). By utilizing spatial analysis and modeling that enable explicit interpretation of the urban growth pattern in a specific context, efforts have been made to predicate future urban growth for setting an UGB in fast-growing cites and assess the impact of different urban policies (Tayyebi, Delavar, Saeedi, & Amini, 2008). In this way, land use and cover change models (LUCC) have served as a feasible and promising tool to support policy design and improve the quality of land use plans in areas of unordered urban development. (Pijanowski et al., 2014). A bulk of studies conducted to empirically estimate the effects of planning tools on reducing urban sprawl revealed that coordination of locally implemented regulations significantly influenced the effects of these regulations at the regional level (Shen, 1996; Nelson & Moore, 1996; Pendall, 1999; Shen & Zhang, 2007; etc.). While zoning, land use regulations and capital improvement plans serve as straightforward tools to control urban development at the local level, state or regional planning and policies provide broader perspectives to channel local programs in a coordinated way. Ultimately, the effects of these two elements converge and reflect on the land use outcomes, thus, single evaluation of a planning tool could be misleading in understanding of the overall planning effects and fail to identify critical underlying factors of planning ineffectiveness (Carruthers, 2002). Therefore, there is a need for a holistic analysis of the set of relationships within a planning framework. A systematic array of planning evaluation criteria should include the plan's analytical quality, consistency of local plans and state planning, coordination of zoning codes and master plans (Norton, 2008). Recently, increasing numbers of studies have begun to evaluate the effectiveness of urban planning in post-reform China. It is widely argued that in the new demand-constrained economy, frequent reforms and rapid growth of the city have made traditional urban planning inefficient, since the planning system and the transitional institutions are increasingly incompatible (Ng & Tang, 2004; Wei, 2005; Tian & Shen, 2011; Gu, Wei, & Cook, 2015). Particularly after the formation of the land market in 1988 that legalized paid land transfer and the fiscal reform of 1994 that redistributed tax-sharing between the central and local governments, the pro-growth coalition and the entrepreneurial character of empowered local states have brought about the dominance of “development states” in urban planning (He & Wu, 2005; Jiang & Yeh, 2009; Wei, 2015). Thus, planning is employed by local states

as a tool to realize their economic targets (Zhu, 2013). Moreover, poor interaction between local governments results in tensions between plural agents that challenged the plan's implementation (Luo & Shen, 2008). These previous studies were mostly based on the structure and agency model focused on the rationale of planning in relation to the economic/institutional structure and actor behavior, or is limited to the accordance between real development and plans. Currently, there is an insufficiency of integrated analysis of elements involved in the planning process, which could shed light on the intermechanism between urban planning and developments with careful consideration of local contexts. Therefore, in order to investigate the effects of urban planning in Yinchuan city, our study framework was set to closely analyze the mutual influences between the city's overall plans, the adopted planning tool and the real urban developments, in light of an institutional and economic transition from a centrally planned towards a market economy. A special focus is put on the planning effects in the rapid-growth period. In the two tiers of Chinese urban planning, the city's Master Plan (M.P.) sets up the prospective urban structure and the development strategy to achieve this structure, while the Detailed Development Control Plan (DDCP) that principally framed by the M.P., defines land use regulations within a planning unit for immediate developments. The strategy of the M.P. consists of directing development to the intended urban promotion area and defining areas protected from urban development. Based on the planning concept, Planned Urban Area (PUA) is delineated and the scale of the PUA is estimated as amount of urban land required by the prospect urban population for the subsequent 20 years. The area outside the PUA is preserved for natural green land, waters and rural land use. Specific zoning - designation of a specific zone for special development purpose with detailed plans, is thus one of the fundamental planning tools aiming to control or promote urban land use in a planned manner at the local level. In this study, the concepts in Yinchuan's M.P.s in relation to the implementation of specific zoning is first examined; secondly, the actual urban expansion, promoted or controlled by the designated specific zones is examined from the perspective of the planning concepts; finally, the effects of the urban planning control are clarified, and implications of urban planning on critical land use issues are discussed. The final discussion attempts to explore possible improvements in Yinchuan's planning performance. The result will contribute to the understanding of the planning effects in a changing context of development control as well as to the identification of obstacles in current planning practices. 3. The city of Yinchuan and the study area 3.1. The Central Urban Area of Yinchuan as the study area Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Minority Autonomous Region (province), has long been an agricultural, trading and defense center of the local region. The administrative area of the city is 9025.38 km2, with a total population of 2.16 million (2015). The municipality is comprised of three urban districts (Xingqing, Jinfeng and Xixia), two rural counties (Helan, Yongning) and one countylevel satellite city (Lingwu). The study area is located within the city's loop highway of approximately 400 km2 (Fig. 1). This area, designated as the planning authority of Central Urban Area (CUA) in the 2007e2020 Yinchuan's M.P., has been the focus of urban development and planning control. The CUA is located on the flood plain with an intricate waterway network. The area originated from the so-called “Old Town” that was built in 678 A.D. The main canal Tanlai was

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Fig. 1. Location of the study area - CUA of Yinchuan city, western China.

also built in this period, followed later by the construction of several irrigation canals. In 1739, the camp for the Manchu's troops was built 7.5 km west of Old Town, which formed another “New Town”. The Old and New Town are thus historic urban cores of the CUA. Today, more than half of the total population of Yinchuan lives in the CUA.

industrialization in accordance with the economic plans of different departments. Each “work unit” contained workplace for a state-owned enterprise or public institution, as well as houses and daily services for the employees.

3.2. The social-economic transition of Yinchuan

The transition towards market economy was propelled by the Economic Reform of 1978. With the advent of market values, administrative decentralization was also promoted and local governments gained more autonomy to plan the urban development. However, Yinchuan didn't experience rapid growth of the market economy, mainly due to: 1) the geographical constraints of its inland position; and 2) the national experimental policies for marketization aimed mainly at the east coast. Thus, the public sector still played a dominant role in the urban development in the city. In 1997, 73.90% of annual housing floor areas was still public investment. During 1980e2000, the average annual increase rate of urban built up areas in Yinchuan was merely 3.13%.

The modern urbanization of Yinchuan started in 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. The modern development of the city can be divided into 3 phases, distinguished by the founding social-economic policies: The socialist industrialization and the centrally planned economy (1949e1977) After the socialist state of China was founded in 1949, the central government played a dominant role in the urban development by allocating projects, called “work units”, into the city for promoting

Transition towards market economy and dominance of public sectors (1978e2001)

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Rapid growth of market economy brought by policy changes (2002-) In the Notice No. 23 of 1998, the State Council announced its decision to terminate welfare housing and to create a provision system with commodity housing as the main source. The decision greatly facilitated the commercialized housing development in China. The annual investment in urban housing in Yinchuan abruptly increased by 89.5% from 1997 to 1998, while the share of public investment had significantly fallen to 26.63% (2000). Soon after, a Leadership Group for Western China Development was created by the State Council in January 2000. The target was to support infrastructure and entice investment in under-developed western region through financial grants and preferential terms. In 2002, as a response to this policy, Yinchuan city developed a “Big Yinchuan” strategy that aimed to reform the city into a center of wider area. In order to boost urbanization, the city enlarged its urban jurisdiction from 1316 km2 to 2067 km2 in 2002. Moreover, the central “Tax-sharing Reform” from 1994 greatly facilitated the local governments in promoting urban developments in return for revenue retention from land transfer fees. Similarly, the Yinchuan City's fiscal reform from 2003 that redistributed revenue-sharing between municipal government and district/county governments further increased the lower governments' motivation to promote urban development. The annual increase of investment in infrastructure in the city climbed to 62.29% in 2002 and further to 90.05% in 2003. Meanwhile, the urban built-up areas saw an increase of 30.41% from 2002 to 2003. In the subsequent “Dural Cozy City” strategy of 2006, in order to invite further investments, the promotion of Yinchuan as the most livable and workable city in northwestern China was advocated. In 2015, the built-up urban area of the city has reached 169.1 km2, which is triple the size compared to 2001, while the urban population doubled in the same time span.

provincial and city governments continued to be allocated in Xinshiqu and New Town area, while large-scaled redevelopments were carried out in Old Town by city owned developers. In 1992, the Central State reaffirmed its orientation on “establishing a socialist market economy in China” that pushed forward further marketization. The annual increase rate of real estate investment in the city suddenly rose to 52.39% in 1992 and 64.97% in 1993, and large housing projects had been proposed by the city in the northern outskirts of Old Town. Moreover, in order to promote investments in technology, a High-tech Industry Zone (5.2 km2) was designated by the province and planned by the city between Old and New Town in 1992 (Row Ⅱ-1/planning concept and specific zone designation, Fig. 2). Under pressure to regulate the new developments beyond the “Triple Cores”, the Planning Committee began to revise 1981 M.P. in 1992. The new 1994 plan proposed a “Cohesive Four Cores” structure. The development focus was revised as: 1) the High-tech zone and its south outskirts as a fourth core that connects Old and New Town and 2) the area north of Old Town (Row Ⅱ-2/planning concept and specific zone designation, Fig. 2). However, soon after in 1996, the State Council enforced a policy of “Strictly controlling the city size” (Notice No.18) that compelled by the widespread urban sprawl noticed during China's “Development Zone Fever” and “haphazard enlargement of the planning area”. Hence, before the 1994 plan could be submitted for approval, the city developed a new M.P. for 1996e2010 that intended to strictly control the urban expansion. Based on the steady development of the “Four Cores”, the 1996 planning concept was conceived as “Two agglomerations separated by a Central Green Belt”. The East Agglomeration was comprised of Old Town, the east part of High-tech Zone and their immediate surroundings; the West Agglomeration contained Xinshiqu, New Town and its adjacent areas. A Central Green Belt was set to control the eastern expansion, and to prevent excessive farmland occupation from the developments in the High-tech Zone (row Ⅲ/planning concept, Fig. 2).

4. Planning concepts and implementation of specific zoning 4.1. Urban planning in the planned economy and “work units” zoning In 1958, Yinchuan was designated the capital of Ningxia and city's first railway Baolan was built west of the historic urban areas. The Central State assigned “work units” to Yinchuan in accordance with the planned national development. Straight after, the province government designated an open area west to Baolan, named “Xinshiqu”, for accommodating these “work units”. Thus, the development of this zone as a provincial center of industry, education and administration, was proposed by the province authority in Yinchuan’ s 1958 plan (Row Ⅰ/planning concept and specific zone designation, Fig. 2). Until 1980, the focus of city development remained on Xinshiqu despite the 13 revisions of the plan. 4.2. Urban planning in the transition toward market economy and zoning for city's projects In the 1980's State Conference of City Development, “Control the development of big cities, promote the development of median and small cities/towns” was declared as a primary national policy. Since Yinchuan was considered a big center for the local region, the city's own Planning Committee (established in 1978) prepared the M.P. of 1981e2000 to control the development within the three existing urban cores. A spatial structure of “Triple Cores” was set up, aimed at continuing the development of Xinshiqu and restoring the economic function of Old Town. The plan was approved by the State Council in 1983. Subsequently, “work units” planned by the

4.3. Special zones in the rapid growth of market economy and transformation of the urban planning Soon after the 1996 plan was approved by the State Council in 2000, facilitated by the new policies, various special development zones were initiated by different levels of Yinchuan's local governments, such as the City Government, District or County Governments, and the Administrative Committee of National Economic and Technology Development Zones (ETDZs) - a streamlined agency of the city government (Table 1). Thus, during the rapid growth of market economy, the designation of special zones became a prevalent planning tool to promote and control urban development. Usually, a Management Committee would be chartered by the local governments and entitled to plan and manage the projects in a special zone. However, approval of the plans by the city government is required. As Table 2 shows, the Management Committee behaves as a branch of the local government and the zone development is largely funded by the governments relying on land leasing. Most of these designated zones incorporated vast lands outside the PUA of the 1996 M.P. (Row Ⅲ/specific zone designation, Fig. 2). Yet, these zones were endorsed by the city with subsidies, tax reduction and priority in land allocation. Particularly, in order to secure space for the expected rapid urban growth brought by the “Big Yinchuan”, the city decided to develop the open space between the “Two Agglomerations”. In 2002, a New Urban Zone (NUZ, Zone C) was planned by the city government as a new civic center for 90,000 residents. The central location of the NUZ, demonstrated the disruption of the 1996 planning concept. The unprecedented urban development has rendered the 1996

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Fig. 2. Planning concepts presented by City's Master Plans, distribution of designated specific zones and urbanization in Yinchuan's CUA (1958e2014) (Source: adapted from Urban planning chronicle of Yinchuan (2005) and documents from the 1958 plan, 1981 M.P., 1994 plan, 1996 M.P., 2007 M.P., 2011 modified M.P.; detailed land use plans of special development zones; urban built up map in 1976, 1992, 1997, 2005 and 2014).

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Table 1 Designation and development process of special development zones (2001e2014). Designation of special zone No Name of zone Ⅲ A B B0 C

D

E

F

G

H I

J

Ⅳ K

National ETDZ 1 National ETDZ 2 expand New Urban Zone (city's Civic Center) Helan county Industrial Zone Xingqing Commercial Strip Xixia center of Distribution Xingqing district Technology Park National ETDZ 3 Jinfeng district Industrial zone Xixia district Industrial zoned

Vocational training Base L City Distribution & Trading Centere M City CBD E0 City Distribution and Trade Stripe

Development progress in the zone

year area main land use (km2)

Founder Ⅲ(2001e2006)

2001 2.26

P, C

C

P, C

C

- 1865 enterprises workplaces, C 29 foreign enterprises, 29 , high-tech enterprise (2006) C

2006 30.68 2002 10.5 administration, service, residence

E C

B C

, , New city hall(2006)

2002 16.32 food processing, manufactures, trading

D

B

, 323 enterprises workplaces with 5200 employees(2006)

C

2003 7.2

wholesale marketing, distribution

D, C

C

C

2003 2.11

distribution

D, C

C

, Agriculture material mall, automobile mall (2006), 6 Furniture malls(2005) , Building-Material complex(2005)

2003 3.23

Technological industry, distribution

D

C

2003 5.24

high-new technology

E

2002 5.24

high-tech industry, finance, business Manufacture, logistic heavy industry

Ⅳ(2007e2014)

a b

c

Infra ld. Completed major projects

Infra ld. completed major projects

C

- 2810 enterprises workplaces with 50,000 employees (2011) ,

- Exhibition & Convention Center, Provincial library, science hall and Museum, Art center(2008); 2 commercial complex (2012, 2013) , 477 enterprises workplaces with 16,859 employees (2012)

C

- Agriculture Hardware mall (2007), 7 Furniture malls (2005, 2008, 2012), commercial complex(partly open) -

, 19 enterprises workplaces (2007)

C

, workplaces for 2343 employees (2012)

C

,

C

2004 11.56 machinery, electronic, 4S, D material, industry

B

, 40 enterprises workplaces with 520 employees(2006)

C

- IBI(2013)- 308 enterprises of 4000 employees (2014) , 135 enterprises workplaces with 7200 employees(2012)

D

B

, 39 enterprise workplaces, 6 operated factories(2006)

2004 4.2

2008 8.8

agriculture product processing, machinery, electronic, material industry education

P

C

, 12 collages(2012)

2008 6.23

wholesale, distribution

C, D

C

, Muslin Trading Town (2012), cold-chain logistic center-1 (2012), Service outsourcing industrial park (2017)

2010 2.22 business, finance 2011 32.08 wholesale, distribution

C, D C, D

C B

, , 2 Furniture malls(2012)

a

P (province government), C (city government), E (Administrative Committee of ETDZ), D (district/county government). Infrastructure: C - completed; B - partially completed. c Land development: - - almost all the available lands were leased out; , - Only parts of available lands were leased out. d Zone J was combined into ETDZ-2 in 2005 and ETDZ-2 made expansion plan in 2006 (B0 ). e Zone E was enlarged in 2011 to combine Zone L and Zone G, and renamed as E0 . Data source: compiled from approval documents of establishing special zones issued by city government, materials from Management Committee of ETDZs and Yinchuan Economic Cooperation Bureau, official websites of each zone, Statistic book and event chronicle of Yearbook of Yinchuan (2000e2014), Annual statistic book of Yinchuan (2000e2014), Chronicle of Xixia district (2010), Comprehensive Yearbook of Jinfeng District (2007e2012), Yearbook of Xingqing district (2013), budget report and note of government meetings, Report of land use situation in ETDZs issued by Yinchuan Land Resource Bureau in 2010, and our site survey in July 2014 and August 2016. b

M.P. inadequate. Thus, in 2005 the city began to draft a plan seeking new urban growth direction. Complying with the city's policies to actively promote urbanization, the already developed zones were consequently incorporated into the new 2007e2020 M.P. Along the axis of these zones, “Four development axes and multi-centers intersected by two greenbelts” was proposed as a planning concept. Thus, the urban promotion area was significantly enlarged compared to the 1996 plan. However, the intention to control was not abandoned, which could be seen in the strategy to “Prioritize the west, control the east, expand towards north and south”, as well as in the preservation of the green belts (row Ⅳ/planning concept, Fig. 2).

While the plan was awaiting approval, several new special zones were designated particularly following the Ningxia Inland Opening-up policy in 2009. For example, a new CBD was designated jumping over the existing urban areas to hold the China-Arab Forum from 2010. Further, in 2011, the city enlarged the commercial zone E into E’ to promote Muslin trading and intensive commercial developments, which violated the planning intention to “control the east”. These zones all included areas outside the PUA of the 2007 plan. Hence, the 2007 M.P. was constantly modified in a 2010e2020 M.P. and eventually completed as a 2011e2020 M.P. in 2015, incorporating the overgrown zone areas (row Ⅳ/specific zone designation and urbanization, Fig. 2).

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Table 2 An example of responsibilities and work scheme in the implementation of specific zone -city's new CBD (Zone M). Assignment of responsibility Management Committee of the CBD

Jinfeng District government City government

         

Draw up zone plan (general plan, detailed land use plan, landscape design, etc.), economic plans and work scheme of the zone Raise funds Land expropriation, settlement of relocated farmers, land leveling Infrastructure development Investment invitation and investment project management Coordination with city's government institutions of land, planning and tax, help enterprises to handle administrative procedures. Main organizer, charter the committee Policy support: incentives, tax-reduction, subsidies for enterprises Zone plan approval Administrative approval of single project: land use right grant, planning permission, construction permission, etc.

Finance management Funds Operation Tax-revenue share

Mainly granted by city government by using leasing fee of lands in the zone Self-balance district government: 50%, city government:50%

Source: “Notice on the development proposal of Yuehai CBD” issued by Yinchuan city government, 2010, No.44.

5. The process of urban expansion 5.1. Development of the “work unit” zone -Xinshiqu During 1958e1980, urban development was promoted in Xinshiqu through “work units” of diverse functions, including factories, universities, government institutes, etc. However, due to China's “Great Leap Forward” in 1958e1961 and the “Culture Revolution” in 1966e1976, urban development progressed very slowly in the oversized planning area. In 1978, the original development target for Xinshiqu was far from fulfilled (Row Ⅰ/urbanization, Fig. 2). 5.2. Development of the “Triple Cores” and the High-tech Zone Within the first decade of the 1981 M.P., the urban development based on “work units” continued to progress in Xinshiqu and New Town. By 1985, there were 203 state-owned factories developed in this area (Yinchuan Chronicle, 1998). Meanwhile, the economic function of Old Town was revalued. After the “land reform” of 1988, a relatively rapid development of the Old Town core was observed due to key facilities concentration. In 1992, developments around Old Town approached the limit of the PUA, while large planned areas in Xinshiqu and New Town area were still undeveloped (Row Ⅱ-1/urbanization, Fig. 2). During 1992e1995, the development of the High-tech Zone commenced from its eastern part. By 1996, the built-up area of the zone was 1.6 km2 and “work units” were developed in its southern outskirt. These developments were later regulated by the 1994 plan (Row Ⅱ-2/urbanization, Fig. 2). 5.3. Development promoted by the special zones During the 1996 M.P. (1996e2006), urban developments were rapidly carried out in some designated zones. For example, during 2001e2006, the annual increase of fiscal revenue was kept at 42.1% (data from 2002 is lacking) in the ETDZ-1 and ETDZ-2. By 2006, these two zones have attracted 1865 enterprises and 58% of all the high-tech enterprises in the province. The ETDZ-1(former Hightech Zone, approved as national ETDZ in 2001) was especially well developed after it was re-planned as an urban zone with multifunctions of high-tech industry, residence and finance in 2002. Stimulated by the relocation of the City Hall to the NUZ in 2006, public cultural facilities, and offices as well as housing were promptly developed in this zone as well. At present, the NUZ has taken the position of an administrative and business center. Also, with a variety of wholesale complexes opened, the Commercial

Strip (E) has become a vibrant trading area (Table 1). On the other hand, the development of other designated zones was relatively slow and exhibits inefficient land use. A variety of industry zones initiated by the county and district governments have repetitive functions with ETDZs; however, the gross industrial output (GIO) per area in these zones has been much lower (Table 3). For example, in the Jinfeng Industrial Zone (Zone I) only about half of the land designated for industrial use was fragmentarily developed 11 years after its establishment, although all the ex-farmlands in its designated area have been expropriated. Even though the southern part of the designated zone was not included in the 2007's PUA, in 2010 the city government still promoted this area as an InZone Technology Park (Fig. 3). According to our field survey in 2016, construction of high-rise offices in this in-zone park has commenced, while vast land remains idle in the northern parts of the zone (Fig. 4a). Moreover, large underutilized areas around one factory are common in these industrial zones. For instance, in 2012 severe problems with “increasing numbers of suspended factories” and “no productions in the lands circled by enterprises” were reported for the Xingqing Technology Park (Zone G, Fig. 4b and c). 5.4. Urban sprawl outside the designated zones Concurrently, the construction of a grid road network that linked the new designated zones in the city has driven rapid urban development in the zones’ surroundings. Housing developments overflow the PUAs, especially in the east where they have engulfed the adjacent rural towns. They even encroached the Green Belts and parts of the planned urban green sites (Fig. 5). However, these developments were later included into the revised plans. On the other hand, available land in the designated zones particularly in the west, was left underdeveloped (Row Ⅲ, Row Ⅳ/urbanization, Fig. 2). During 2007e2015, still 31.53% of new housings were built in the east of the city while only 14.86% were built in the west. Thus, the planning intention to control the eastern expansion and

Table 3 GIO of industrial zones with similar functions (million CNY/ha). GIO/area

ETDZ1,2

Zone D

2006 2009 2012

5.58 13.10 5.82

0.77 2.21 5.73

Zone G

Zone I

Zone J 0.09

1.61 0.65

0.09 0.69 2.04

Data source: same as Table 1. GIO of ETDZs in 2006 and 2009 is calculated based on designated area of Zone A and Zone B, GIO in 2012 is calculated based on designated area of Zone A and Zone B0

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Fig. 3. Development of Jinfeng Industrial Zone. (a) Predominant zone area were planned for industrial (technological) use in the land use plan (b) land use condition inside the zone, adapted from Google map, photo date April 8, 2015.

Fig. 4. Underutilized lands of several industrial zones in Yinchuan's CUA (Source: photographed by authors in August 2016). (a)Undeveloped lands in the northern part of Jinfeng Industrial Zone, the tall building is a key project of the In-zone Tech-Park promoted in 2010, located in the south of the zone; (b) underutilized land in the territory of one factory in the Xingqing Technology Zone; (c) Abandoned buildings of one suspend factory in Xingqing Technology zone.

develop the west was not achieved. Fig. 6 illustrates the development process of ETDZ-3 (Zone H, 2003) and its surroundings. The zone was designated by the Administrative Committee of ETDZs in the area planned as open space in the 1996 M.P. In the zone's land use plan of 2003, the area was extensively planned for industry. However, until 2008 only a few scattered industrial projects were built. Meanwhile, private housing developments were burgeoning outside the zone, mainly around a new-built lake park. In the 2007 plan, the land use layout insides the zone was adjusted to convert the majority of the land into residential areas. Housing developments began to gradually fill the zone. Yet, in 2010, a housing project with 20,000 units was invited adjacent to the South Lake, even though this area was envisioned as Green belt in the 2007e2020 M.P. Soon after, all the sites around the lake were rezoned for residential use in the 2010e2020 M.P. and were promoted by the city as a “high-end ecological residential area” in 2012. This demonstrates the inability of the implemented specific zoning to promote ordered urban

development. The situation on the ground suggests this is likely attributed to irrational zoning, e.g. excessive zoning for industry; moreover, the present urban development pattern is shaped by profit-seeking activities that are also favored by the government. In this context, the planning is only conforming to the urban expansion where market values, instead of planning goals, dictate the outcome.

6. Effects of urban planning on urban expansion control 6.1. Mutual influence of the planning concept, implemented planning tool and urban development In the centrally planned economy, urban planning just served to spatially substantiate the central economic plans by accommodating allocated “work units” for Yinchuan. In the transition toward market economy, the primary aim of the 1981 M.P. was to constrain urban development. However, the development of a High-tech

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Fig. 5. Distribution of new housing developments in Yinchuan's CUA in the period of 1996e2006 and 2007e2015 (Source: adapted from Wang, Krstikj, & Koura, 2017). (①housing development encroached into the Green Belts; ②housing developments occupied planned urban green sites; ③housing project under the name of green park development; ④housing developments overflow the eastern planning boundary).

Zone in 1992 beyond the planning area resulted in plan's revision in 1994. The revised plan incorporated the new zone that targeted inward investment and market economic growth of local governments. This revision was thus the initial indication of failed plan-led development in the city. Despite the failure in plan-leading, due to slow market progress, planning control was generally effective in confining the urban expansion in the designated specific zones until 1996. Even though an imbalance between the development of the east and west areas already emerged, the control of urban expansion was not critical. The 1996 M.P. was prepared while the pressure for urban development was still not urgent. The main intention of the plan was to control urban expansion. However, this plan didn't anticipate the subsequent policy changes that facilitated local governments in actively seeking urban growth based on market economy. In order to provide space for the expected urbanization, governments started to develop special zones beyond the 1996 plan, and the plan lost its role as a guiding force in the plan-implementation. Consequently, the new 2007 M.P. formulated a more dynamic planning concept to 1) promote urban development with utilization of private investments; 2) control the urbanized area by enlarging the planning area. The intention of planning control was not discarded yet, however constant modification of the plan seemed inevitable since rapid urban development was pursued by the city. The 2007 M.P. was a significant turning point when the planning aim was changed from constraining to promoting urban development, as an effort to keep up with the intentions of the city government. Despite this, the plan still didn't function well in guiding the specific zoning since the special zones promoted by the local governments still continue to develop beyond the plan. An overall coordination in function specialty and land use arrangement between these zones was absent, thus resulting in excessive zoning. Moreover, uncontrolled urban expansion had taken places in the areas outside the special zones, while the development inside the zones was not fully promoted. Therefore, implemented specific zoning was not effective in controlling the urban development in the market dominant period (Fig. 7).

6.2. Ineffectiveness of planning control Worldwide studies suggest that institutional deficiency is a main reason associated with urban policy failure (Zhao, 2011). In the US, local regulations have failed to alleviate region-wide urban sprawl owing to institutional fragmentation, which calls for jurisdictional cooperation and centralized land use governance in a metropolitan (Carruthers and Ulfarsson, 2002). In China, it seems that the institutional incompatibility in plan-making and implementation is an influential factor behind the dysfunction of master plans. Due to the strict top-down planning approval system, the plan-making process is highly centralized. The intentions of the central government to limit city size evidently penetrated the planning concepts of Yinchuan's 1981 M.P. and 1996 M.P. However, as of the 1980s the plan implementation has evolved to become decentralized since local governments are gaining discretion over the detailed planning, as well as development control and land expropriation. Unlike the central government which has boosted Sustainable Development as a national strategy since 1996 and has highlighted “saving and intensive land use” by rigidly regulating the conversion of Basic Farmlands, tightening development land quota and so forth (Jiang & Yeh, 2009), local governments usually have less motivation in urban expansion control (Yang & Wang, 2008). Also, distinct to mega cities such as Beijing, where municipal urban containment strategies are challenged by the unauthorized developments by lower governments (Zhao, 2011), in Yinchuan, city government has been an active driver of landcentered urbanization especially after 2002. In 2003, 3.5 km2 of land leased by the city government generated a revenue of 1.02 billion CNY, which is 12 times more than in 2002. In 2015, the share of land transfer fee in the total fiscal revenue of the city proper was approximately 24.49%, and the construction tax, urban land use tax and land premium tax occupied 13.88% of the total tax revenue. Thus, frequent breaches of the master plans by the specific zoning can be explained by the interests of both municipal and lower governments. Secondly, as a legacy from the planned economy, master plans

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Fig. 6. Land use planning and development in the special zone ETDZ-3 and its surroundings (Source: Adapted from land use plan of ETDZ-3 in 2003, land use map of Yinchuan's CUA in 2008, DDCP of southern part of Jinfeng District in 2007, photo from Google map on 18th, July 2015; IBI-Incubation park of information technology, bio -technology and intellectual).

are still perceived as long-term blueprints generally without consideration for financial arrangements, management programs and uncertain developments (Wei & Zhao, 2009). As long as the distribution of budgets is decided by the city's Economic and Development Committee, the master plan can hardly be empowered. The 5 year Short-Term Construction Plans defined as the base of master plan implementation, are instead used to spatially

distribute key projects listed in the city's Five-year Economic and Society Development Plans. In effect, it is the short-term economic interest that overrides the long-term spatial planning. Hence, master plans are placed in a reactive position especially under the dramatic policy changes (Ding, 2009). The conflicts of central and local governments and the dilemma of planning in face of the new wave of development brought by policy changes are together

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Fig. 7. Mutual effects between the city's master plans, specific zoning and urban expansion in the social-economic transition from planned economy to market economy in Yinchuan's CUA.

reflected on the lengthy approval of the 2007 plan, which was finally approved in the end of 2016. Furthermore, the discord between policy design and local context leads to ineffectiveness of a specific planning tool. (Sorensen, 2000). In Yinchuan, the inefficiency of specific zones to promote urban development into a phased pattern is likely affected by the in-concordance between the zone design and market-based developments that bounded with the ongoing economic conditions of the whole city. Local governments ambitiously designated vast zones predominantly competing for industrial development, while the territory services are currently growing faster in the city (annual increase of domestic product of industry and territory services in city proper were 17.77% and 26.28% during 2000e2014, respectively). In addition, the zone plan-formulation is exclusively

undertaken by the government institutions without public participation, and once the detailed plan is approved, the complicated procedure involved in the plan revision impedes planners to improve the plans according to changing situations. This sheds light on the fact that industrial projects promoted in the industrial zones are often inadequate whereas other developments are sprouting outside the zones. 6.3. Implication of urban planning on present critical issues of urban expansion In 2015, urban built-up area per capita in Yinchuan's CUA has reached 122 m2 that surpassed the quota prescribed in the 2007 M.P. (117 m2). This excessive urban expansion has raised concerns

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regarding economic efficiency, environmental sustainability and social stability. Since the expropriated farmlands in the designated zones cannot be easily recovered and the housing developments continue to consume more green lands, the waste of land could have future negative effect on the local economy that relies on advantaged agriculture. An annual decrease of cultivated land of 3.01% in the city has been recorded during 2007e2015. Uncontrolled housing developments, indicated by the higher increase of housing constructions (annual rate of 19.86% in 2008e2014) compared to the population growth (7.24%), has generated problems of high vacancy in the large-scale projects (Wang et al., 2017). These land consumptive developments imposes great pressure on the provision of infrastructure and public facilities, which further pushes local governments' requisition of cheap farmlands for budget balances. Employment and insurance of farmers who lost their lands are critical as well. According to a survey conducted in 2008, 48.4% of former farmers in Yinchuan city proper are now living from the land compensation and subsidies from government (Su, Luo, & Wang, 2008). These issues call for taking steps to enhance the capacity of planning control, yet mere physical regulation seems forceless. A reform of master plans is required to cover the financial agenda and strategy for reconciling different interests in the new zones. More importantly, in the advanced market economy, market failure is blamed for excessive urban expansion (Deng & Huang, 2004), while in Yinchuan the states embodies the essence of municipal attitude in the urban growth control. In particular, while the growth of economic and urban population is trending toward stable (growth speed of GDP has continued to decline and growth rate of urban population has kept below 2% since 2011 in Yinchuan), the city's political will to revalue the tradeoff between green land protection and surging urban expansion is the key condition for effective implementation of responsible regulations (Tayyebi et al, 2016). As revealed in Randstad Holland, a vertically coherent institution for planning guidance and plan implementation, in which the national government holds decisive power over infrastructure development, the budgets of municipal governments and the consensus on planning doctrines created on different levels of governments, is a guarantor of implementation of the strategic plans (Dijst, 2000). Informative national policies supported by financial leverage may play a central role in mobilizing local governments to reach planning consensus. Secondly, flexible detailed planning which enables timely adjustment of special zone's plans in response to the development status might improve the performance of the zones. For instance, the ETDZ-1 and ETDZ-3 have achieved prosperous development after their plans have been adjusted in coordination with the city's overall spatial restructuring to accommodate more mixed uses. It is necessary to re-examine the present conditions of the other special zones, and to carefully evaluate the plans based on the needs of stakeholders in the whole city. Lastly, in the land management system of China, the development control of rural land has been generally looser than the urban land. Within Yinchuan's CUA, considerable planned rural built areas are actually utilized to accommodate spilled urban developments. With the new Urban and Rural Planning Act enacted in 2008, integrated control of urban and rural developments is stressed. Currently, designation of a City Development Boundary similar to UGB, based on the analysis of demands on both urban and rural lands as well as land suitability are broadly debated. Practices across the globe suggested that the combination of UGB with other tools, for example, the Priority Funding Areas in Maryland that channeled concentrated development into designated area through fiscal incentives, is crucial to achieve the growth management goals (OECD, 2012; Song, Pijanowski, & Tayyebi, 2015). However, any

application of new tools should be well rooted in the local planning institution. 7. Conclusion Urban planning should play an important role in guiding and regulating urban developments from the perspective of overall spatial organization and ordered development pattern. This study clarifies that in the case of Yinchuan, a median city in Western China, the planning effects on the urban expansion control are contested. In the transition from centrally planned economy towards a decentralized market economy, the urban planning of Yinchuan city has concordantly transformed from constraining urban expansion to promoting urban growth, in an effort to concert the intentions of the city government and keep the control over the urban development. Nevertheless, the centralized planning still failed in guiding the state-promoted urban development, evidenced by the constant modifications to incorporate special zones designated by local governments. As a result, excessive zoning occurred. The specific zoning implemented to control urban development is unable to control developments in a marketoriented context. Specifically, uncontrolled housing developments prevailing around market attractive places, whilst developments were not well promoted inside some special zones. Despite the planning efforts, there is a rapid and wasteful consumption of farm lands with wide-ranging impacts in Yinchuan city. This implies an immediate needs for promoting effective planning control through a coherent planning institution based on consensus building, a reform of master plans towards inclusive and accountable strategies, flexible detailed planning suited in the local sets as well as unified control of urban and rural developments. References Carruthers, J. I. (2002). Evaluating the effectiveness of regulatory growth management Programs: An analytic framework. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 21, 391e405. Carruthers, J. I., & Ulfarsson, G. F. (2002). Fragmentation and Sprawl: Evidence From interregional analysis. Growth and Change, 33, 312e340. Cheng, J., & Masser, I. (2003). Urban growth pattern modeling: A case study of Wuhan city, PR China. Landscape and Urban Planning, 62, 199e217. Deng, F. F., & Huang, Y. (2004). Uneven land reform and urban sprawl in China: The case of Beijing. Progress in Planning, 61, 211e236. Dijst, M. (2000). In G. D. Roo, & D. Miller (Eds.), Compact urban policies in Randstad Holland, in the book “compact cities and sustainable urban development: A critical assessment of policies and plans from an international perspective”. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Ding, C. (2009). Policy and planning challenges to promote efficient urban spatial development during the emerging rapid transformation in China. Sustainability, 1, 384e408. Editorial Committee of Chronicle of Xingqing District. (2014). In L. Dai (Ed.), Yearbook of Xingqing district (2013). Yinchuan, China: Ningxia People’s House (in Chinese). Editorial Committee of Chronicle of Xixia District. (2010). In X. Chang, & X. Liu (Eds.), Chronicle of Xixia district. Yinchuan, China: Ningxia People’s House (in Chinese). Editorial Committee of Chronicle of Yinchuan city. (1998). In Yinchuan chronicle. Yinchuan, China: Ningxia People’s House (in Chinese). Editorial Committee of Chronicle of Yinchuan. (2000e2014). Yearbook of Yinchuan (2000e2014). Yinchuan, China: Ningxia People’s House (in Chinese). Editorial Committee of Yearbook of Jinfeng District. (2014). In H. Jin, & Q. Li (Eds.), Comprehensive yearbook of Jinfeng district (2007-2012). Yinchuan, China: Ningxia People’s House (in Chinese). Gaubatz, P. (1999). China's urban transformation: Patterns and process of morphological change in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Urban Studies, 36(9), 1495e1521. Gu, C., Wei, Y. D., & Cook, L. G. (2015). Planning Beijing: Socialist city, transitional city, and global city. Urban Geography, 36(6), 905e926. He, S., & Wu, F. (2005). Property-led redevelopment in post-reform China: A case study of Xintiandi Redevelopment project in Shanghai. Journal of Urban Affairs, 27(1), 1e23. Jiang, X., & Yeh, A. (2009). Decoding urban land governance: State reconstruction in contemporary Chinese cities. Urban Studies, 46(3), 559e581. Luo, X., & Shen, J. (2008). Why city-region planning does not work well in China:

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