GETTING CITIES RIGHT IN CHINA

This research paper by Energy Innovation and the Paulson Institute argues that the scale and speed of urbanization in China will be a primary determinant of future global climate change. The authors propose six critical 'ingredients for success'—permeable urban form, transit-centered transportation, effective building codes, municipal finance reform, sustainability metrics for mayors, and a strengthened planning process—to prevent the proliferation of unlivable, auto-centric 'superblocks' and instead create sustainable, world-class cities.

• China is experiencing the fastest urbanization and largest migration in history, with projections that it will add 230 million city dwellers between 2012 and 2025 and reach approximately 1 billion urban residents by 2030.
• Current urban development in many fast-growing Chinese cities relies on 'single use superblocks' and auto-centric transportation, which causes congestion and pollution despite the fact that over 90 percent of the population does not own a vehicle.
• To create livable cities, China should adopt a 'permeable urban form' characterized by smaller blocks, mixed-use development, and a rich street network that reduces transportation demand and increases quality of life.
• A sustainable transportation strategy should prioritize walking and biking, complemented by Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and subways. BRT is highlighted as a highly cost-effective alternative to subways, costing approximately $5 million per mile compared to at least $100 million per mile for subways, while achieving similar speeds through exclusive lanes and station-based boarding.
• Municipal finance structures currently incentivize urban sprawl because mayors often lease large, single-use blocks of land to developers to fill funding gaps. The paper suggests transitioning to more sustainable revenue streams, such as property taxes, pollution fees, user fees, and the development of a municipal bond market.
• There is a need to reform how mayors are evaluated; previously, performance was measured almost exclusively by the ability to increase a city's share of regional GDP, but new sustainability performance metrics are required to align with the goals of the 12th Five Year Plan.
• The planning process in China requires strengthening to reduce the discretion given to developers and to increase technical capacity. This includes the need for more trained urban planners and the development of new certifications for city planning and engineering.

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} }