GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA

The document identifies China's urbanization as a critical factor for global climate change, noting that by 2030, China will have approximately 1 billion urban residents. It argues that the current development pattern of 'single use superblocks served by auto-centric transportation' is unsustainable and leads to congestion and pollution. To counter this, the authors propose six 'ingredients for success': permeable urban form (smaller, mixed-use blocks), transit-centered transportation (prioritizing walking, biking, and Bus Rapid Transit), effective and enforced building codes, municipal finance reform to move away from land-leasing incentives, new sustainability performance metrics for mayors, and a strengthened planning process with increased technical capacity.

• China is experiencing the fastest urbanization and largest migration in history, with an expected 230 million additional city dwellers between 2012 and 2025, reaching approximately 1 billion urban residents by 2030.
• Current urban development in China often relies on 'single use superblocks' and auto-centric transport, which creates unlivable conditions despite the fact that over 90 percent of the population does not own a vehicle.
• The document advocates for 'permeable urban form' and transit-centered systems, specifically highlighting Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a cost-effective alternative to subways, costing approximately $5 million per mile compared to $100 million per mile for metros.
• Municipal finance structures in China incentivize urban sprawl because mayors often lease large swathes of land in 99-year leases to developers to fill funding gaps, favoring large, single-use developments over complex, permeable forms.
• There is a need to shift the performance metrics for mayors from a primary focus on increasing a city's share of regional GDP to new sustainability performance metrics aligned with the 12th Five Year Plan.
• Densely populated cities generally exhibit two to three times lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions per capita than sprawling cities, positioning China to lead in sustainable urban design.

APA

Harvey, H., & Busch, C. (2012). GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/GettingCitiesRightInChina-final.pdf

Chicago

Harvey, Hal, and Chris Busch. GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA. Energy Innovation, 2012. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/GettingCitiesRightInChina-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harvey |first1=Hal |last2=Busch |first2=Chris |title=GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=December 2012 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/GettingCitiesRightInChina-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harvey2012getting, author = {Harvey, Hal and Busch, Chris}, title = {{GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2012}, month = dec, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/GettingCitiesRightInChina-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }