The concept of polycentricity in European spatial planning: reflections on its interpretation and application in the practice of spatial planning

The concept of polycentric development has emerged as one of the hallmarks of the emerging field of European spatial planning. It was one of the key principles in the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), it has been frequently debated by academics, and it has been invoked by those engaged in spatial development policy making across the scales of multi-level governance in Europe. The concept is subject to multiple interpretations. This article argues that as well as being differentiated by spatial scale (vertical differentiation), the concept can also be differentiated horizontally by context. It is currently being interpreted and employed in at least three domains of meaning: in the emerging field of transnational spatial planning for Europe; in the practice of spatial development policy making at the various levels of multi-level territorial governance within Europe where planning occurs; and in an emerging academic discourse relating to European spatial planning. The article then focuses on the second domain where polycentricity is employed and has meaning ascribed to it, through a consideration of how the concept has been interpreted and applied in recent spatial planning initiatives in England. The article concludes that further ‘bottom-up’ comparative research and analysis is key to future research into the concept of polycentricity in European spatial planning.     

The Turn to ‘New Regionalism’: South African Reflections

This article analyses critical policy implications for city-regional and national spatial frameworks in South Africa concerning the turn to new regionalism. International debates are reviewed concerning new regionalism, global city regions, the European Spatial Development Perspective and polycentric mega regions. In South Africa, there is a growing policy interest in the writings and implications of new regionalism as a base for rethinking urban and regional development policies. It is argued that the current depth of South African research and debate on issues raised by new regionalism is limited and that strategic planning for the building of Gauteng as a globally competitive city region is the most significant imprint of new regionalism on the South African policy landscape.     

The economic performance of urban structure: From the perspective of Polycentricity and Monocentricity

Polycentric planning strategies aimed at addressing traffic congestion and other agglomeration diseconomies have not achieved expected effects, leading researchers to doubt the effectiveness of polycentricity. So far, the small stream of literature focusing on the linkage between urban spatial structure and economic performance is inconclusive. This paper examines this linkage from mono- and polycentric perspective using China's Second National Economic Census for cities proper. It concludes that polycentricity benefits urban economic performance, as measured by labor productivity. This result is robust to alternative polycentric indexes and also to TSLS estimations. The heterogeneity tests show the availability of internet, as mediator, could improve the effects of polycentricity on economic performance. These findings support the implementation of polycentric planning strategy.     

轨道交通系统对大都市区多中心空间结构的影响

多中心作为一项城市发展战略，已逐渐 受到国内外大都市区的广泛认可。基于集聚—分 散维度和单中心—多中心维度理论，结合百度热 力图等人口空间化数据，提出能够客观反映不同 大都市区多中心空间结构差异性的测度方法和 量化指标——多中心指数（PI）。建立轨道交通 系统对多中心指数的多元线性回归模型，以全国 40个已开通运营轨道交通的大都市区作为实证 研究对象，探索轨道交通系统对大都市区多中心 空间结构的影响效应。研究发现，在控制了道路 交通、人口就业和经济发展等因素的影响下，轨 道交通系统通过线网规模、线网结构以及站点 布局对大都市区的多中心空间结构产生显著影 响，但影响的正负取决于近远郊圈层的轨道交 通发展水平。通过科学规划和系统建设，提高 近远郊线网比重、次中心TOD耦合度以及轨道 网密度，可以显著提高我国大都市区多中心空间 结构的发展水平。     

The Strategic Incrementalism of Lahti Master Planning: Three Lessons

ABSTRACT

The city of Lahti, Finland, has developed a unique policy of combining city strategy work with strategic master planning in an iterative process. It thereby offers insights to research on strategic spatial planning, exemplifying how institutional frameworks of statutory planning can be utilized as resources in strategic planning. Three lessons from the Lahti case are drawn: (1) utilize the moments of opportunity in the institutional environment of statutory planning, (2) shift the focus from the level of ‘strategic plans’ to the policy level of strategy work, (3) develop strategic planning as a platform for diverse ‘languages’.     

基于全域规划视角的市县规划变革思考——以广东增城规划实践为例

2014年广东增城被确立为全国“多规合一”的28个试点之一,基于增城多年持续的总体规划实践、近期“多规合一”试点工作的深入开展以及国家对于“十三五”市县规划改革创新的要求,提出应用全域规划的研究思路,即立足市县城乡一体化、区域一体化以及社区网络化的发展背景和多规合一的发展要求,以市县空间发展总体规划为抓手,在规划编制中构建“发展”与“空间”、“时间”与“目标”、“功能”与“结构”的协同关系,并从责任、法治、效率角度出发,探索与地方分权化趋势相适应、强调边界管理、形成常态化工作机制等空间管治策略促进规划实施,以期为新时期其他市县规划实践提供一定启发。     

都市区化背景下特大城市近郊次区域规划探索——以南京为例

随着我国城市化的加速发展和城市的迅速扩展,都市区化已成为我国沿海地区特大城市发展的新主题,特大城市空间结构向多中心演变,由此在原主城区的外围形成了一些承载中心城区功能外溢的次区域.然而,我国既有的法定规划体系中没有次区域规划层面的规定,导致法定规划层面的巨大落差和规划衔接的困难.鉴于此,有必要在特大城市中增加次区域规划...     

Mastering the urbanization process. The urban questions of engineer August Mennes in the Antwerp agglomeration

Processes of urban expansion at the turn of the twentieth century have generally been described in terms of ‘regional planning’. However, in the Belgian context, and in Antwerp more specifically, the concept of the ‘agglomeration’ was put to the fore rather than the ‘region’, and ‘urbanization’ was a more common practice than ‘planning’. This paper shows how a ‘programme of urbanization’ centred on pertinent ‘urban questions’ shaped the contours of the Antwerp Agglomeration. In adopting this perspective of ‘programmatic urbanization’, the paper seeks to place the development of Antwerp extra muros within a different lineage, outside of the quest for comprehensive planning. Recomposing an eclectic catalogue of five pertinent ‘urban questions’, this paper investigates how and to which extent the Study Committee for the development of the Antwerp Agglomeration and its prominent engineer August Mennes, tried to master the urbanization process as it unfolded. Urbanization, then, is framed as a collective practice that generates positive agglomeration effects and surplus values that could not have been produced by individual actors. As such, the paper expands the understanding of urbanization from a random process of capital accumulation to a project that includes the building of social and cultural capital.     

Strategic Planning for City Networks: The Emergence of a Basque Global City?

Throughout Europe, policy-makers recognize the development potentials of regions in which multiple cities are located close to each other. However, developing synergies among these cities requires networking to optimize the critical mass and exploit complementarities. Much is expected of spatial planning in terms of fostering networks. However, little is known about the actual contribution planning may have in developing city networks, in particular, since it involves planning on a new scale and based upon new starting points and objectives. Exemplary is the territorial development strategy (1990s) of the Basque country aimed at developing the networking among its three main cities (Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria) to develop a Basque ‘Global City’. We find that the leverage of this planning strategy has been poor, due to strong local identities and the lack of regional organizing capacity. This also appears to be common for other polycentric regions.     

国外多中心规划理念与发展经验对中国的借鉴作用

多中心性是（后）现代城市和区域空间演变的共同趋势。本文介绍了多中心性最新发展理念和在现代城市发展中的特点,并以荷兰兰斯塔德地区、欧洲空间发展远景规划和美国大城市地区为例进行典型分析和比较,总结多中心规划或发展在不同尺度和不同维度的特点。最后,在规划实施尺度、战略规划、形成动力、中心区载体、空间与社会经济联系、规划的制度建设和整体考虑社会环境等方面对我国城市和区域规划提出了建议。     

Climate change and China’s mega urban regions

China’s mega urban regions are focal points of economic development and environmental concerns. This paper positions four mega urban regions (i.e., the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Bohai Bay Area, and the South-eastern Fujian Province) along China’s coast into the national economy and elaborates their development challenges and planning innovations. Mega urban regions in China are spatial consequences of rapid economic transition. They deserve close scrutiny and demands for innovative planning responses in order to maintain their key role in driving economic growth but limiting their greenhouse gas emission.     

西方城市网络研究进展和应用实践

1970年代以来的社会经济变革推动着西方城市网络思想的发展。由于城市地位的提升,"流动空间"对"地方空间"的取代以及网络社会的崛起与城市间关系的发展,在理论界产生了一系列的"网络范式"转型,推动着城市研究与规划政策的持续发展,包括城市区域空间组织方式从中心地范式向"城市网络"范式的转变,城市体系组织原则由等级原则向网络原则的演变,以及城市空间形态从单中心模型向多中心模型乃至网络城市模型的演进等,而这些城市发展实践与城市空间组织思想的变革带来了西方城市网络研究的蓬勃发展。作为一种重要的空间组织形式,"城市网络"在西方国家(尤其是欧洲国家)的空间规划中获得广泛的应用,主导着区域空间政策的发展。本文在详细剖析城市网络发展的现实和理论背景的基础上,重点介绍了城市网络的内涵、构成、特征及类型等内容,并对西方城市网络研究中的理论进展、规划应用和治理策略进行了评述,以资我国城市群体空间研究借鉴和探讨。     

立体城市规划理念和实现路径探索——《城市总体规划改革与创新》地下空间规划问题研究

为应对城市发展转型,城市总体规划面临在定位、目标、理念、方法、实施手段上转型,如何制定一个科学的城市资源战略已成为新时期城市规划的主要任务。地下空间作为城市重要的空间资源,其开发利用成为实现城市可持续性发展的重要战略举措,立体城市的规划建设成为解决城市土地资源约束与发展意愿增长矛盾的有效手段。本文从地下空间资源利用角度探讨总体规划中地下空间规划编制的理念转变、体系衔接、工作重点、主要内容等方面的问题,并提出改革创新建议。     

山东省寿光市空间发展新模式:从中心全能到全域协作

新的发展形势下,区域经济成为寿光市发展的主题,空间引导思路随即产生变化,由单一的依托中心城区向区域联动转换。《寿光市城市总体规划(2011—2030)》分析了区域发展态势和县域经济转型下的空间需求,提出了"海陆联动"的发展战略,在市域层面谋划支撑城市未来可持续发展的"一城一区"空间结构。寿光市的全域空间规划思路对处在大都市区内部的县级单元规划建设具有借鉴意义。     

中外次区域层次规划比较研究及其启示

目前,城市总体规划越来越强调战略性,而分区规划又不能发挥大城市总体规划与详细规划两者之间的桥梁作用,因而大城市有必要在总体规划以下增设次区域层次的规划。中国的次区域层次规划在城市规划编制体系中的地位和作用应包括:落实、深化城市总体规划;为次区域提供策略性的发展指引;指导下层次的分区规划及详细规划的编制。     

城市规划区划定研究——以山东省邹城市为例

全国新一轮城市总体规划编制正在进行中,科学的划定城市规划区作为规划编制工作中的重要任务之一,但是现在却没有统一的划定标准。该文通过对城市规划区概念、内涵阐释及发展过程的回顾,对现在发展中出现的问题及各地城市规划区划定做法进行梳理,然后以山东省邹城市为例,对其规划区划定内在要求及考量要素进行研究,进而划定城市规划区的具体范围来寻找城市规划区划定所遵循的原则。     

Taking the high ground: construction of the regional spatial order of Chang’an Area in Tang Dynasty

ABSTRACT

Ancient Chinese cities were closely connected to extramural areas. Therefore, research on the construction of urban space in ancient China should not be restricted to the area within the city wall; rather it should extend to the surrounding areas. There has been plenty of research on the urban planning and design of Chang’an in Tang Dynasty (618–907), which is the capital of the most prosperous dynasty of ancient China. However, little research has paid attention to its spatial order at the regional scale. This article aims to solve this problem using the ‘triple-evidence’ method, i.e. based on the evidences from archaeology, literature and field survey. More specifically, it explores the main problems involved in regional spatial construction, reveals the general strategies for construction of the regional spatial order, and further analyses the planning and design approaches for different spatial scales. This paper reveals that ‘Taking the High Ground’ is the main method used in the construction of regional spatial order of Chang’an Area in Tang Dynasty, which reflects the dialectical whole of ‘configurational force’ and ‘form’ in the planning and design theories of ancient China.     

基于生产性服务业空间主成分分析的长春市多中心性格局 研究

利用生产性服务业的空间布局研究 中心城区尺度多中心性可以探析城市内部的 功能空间结构。本文选取长春市中心城区范 围内的保险、广告、会计、科技、律师、物流、 银行7种生产性服务业的POI数据进行核密 度分析,采用空间主成分分析法对生产性服 务业空间布局进行综合分析,利用城市网络 分析工具U NA测度长春市中心城区交通网 络中心性,检验其与生产性服务业的相关关 系。研究结果发现长春市中心城区范围生产 性服务业多中心呈分级圈层分布;生产性服 务业部分中心与城市商业中心吻合;传统商 务中心对生产性服务业的影响较大,老城区 的老商业中心易出现生产性服务业中心;生产 性服务业多中心与交通网络中心性存在明显 正相关,生产性服务业沿城市主要道路的集 聚明显。     

低碳产业规划在城市总体规划中的应用研究——以北戴河新区为例

本文回顾近年来产业规划以及低碳理论在城市总体规划中的应用和新进展,以低碳的视角重新审视北戴河新区总体规划中的产业专项规划,试图将低碳理念融入到传统产业规划的产业现状分析、产业目标确定、产业体系调整和产业用地布局等各个环节中,从而形成总体规划低碳产业规划的技术路线,应用到北戴河新区总体规划中。     

Does polycentric and compact development alleviate urban traffic congestion? A case study of 98 Chinese cities

Despite a growing interest among policymakers and urban planners in promoting polycentric and compact development to mitigate traffic congestion, empirical studies have often documented mixed and indirect evidence on the impacts of polycentricity and compactness on congestion. Drawing upon a direct and big-data-based measure of congestion and gridded (1 km × 1 km) population data of 98 Chinese cities, this study investigates how polycentricity and compactness may affect congestion in these cities. The degrees of polycentricity and compactness are measured through fine-grained identification of population centers. All else being equal, the empirical results show that congestion is positively associated with the degree of compactness but negatively associated with that of polycentricity. However, increasing the degree of polycentricity by developing more than four population centers may also lead to more congestion. Furthermore, the negative impact of polycentricity on congestion becomes weaker with the increase in a city's population and even turns positive for large cities with more than six million inhabitants within urban districts. The paper concludes with spatial planning implications.