Toward Efficient Urban Form in China

Land efficiency in urban China is examined, using Tianjin as a case study, from the perspective of agricultural land conservation; reduction in energy use, conventional pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions; and human time savings. Issues addressed include increased scatter on the periphery, over-consumption of industrial land, over fiscal dependence on land sales, and loss of valuable agricultural and environmental services land. Policy implications discussed include the need for greater variation in urban densities (leveraging already high densities in urban China – one-third the global median), less broad-brush agricultural land conservation policies, higher floor area ratios near rapid transit stations, etc.