City planning in an economy in transition

Abstract

Cities in East Asia are being transformed in less time than it takes to make an official plan amendment in a Canadian city. This is partly the result of rapid economic growth, but there is another dimension: the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market or capitalist economy. These cities are not just adding new suburbs and downtown high-rises; the whole structure of the metropolitan area is being transformed. New central business districts, new industrial-based districts complete with housing and facilities, and dramatically new forms of residential neighbourhoods and retail areas are developing. If it is to be relevant to managing this change, urban planning must invent approaches that are unlike anything tried in the developed world.