City Planning Network (upla.cn) April 16th news: Not long ago, a reporter learned from the "2008 Urban Development Report" recently completed by the Jiangsu Provincial Urban Development Research Institute that suburbanization characteristics of urban development in the province have already become apparent, forming another "turning point" driving urban development. Prior to this, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and many provincial capitals as well as coastal cities with relatively developed economies had already seen suburbanization become an inevitable trend for continuous urban expansion and development.
In fact, the phenomenon of urban suburbanization has long appeared in Western developed countries. After China established its goal of economic construction-centered development in 1979, Chinese urban development entered a new era. Starting from the mid-to-late 1980s, large cities in the eastern developed regions successively showed signs of suburbanization, primarily characterized by population and industrial suburbanization. To date, during the process of suburbanization development, cultural construction issues have naturally become increasingly prominent.
### The Situation During Urban Suburbanization
Tongzhou District is a typical example of Beijing's urban suburbanization and even China's urban suburbanization process. In recent years, due to its relatively quiet residential environment and better air quality, celebrities from the performing arts and cultural circles have moved to Tongzhou. One could say that Tongzhou is no longer just a suburban county of Beijing. Currently, property prices in Tongzhou have significantly increased, almost rivaling those within the city. Infrastructure construction and other external environments have also improved. However, cultural infrastructure and facilities have not received corresponding improvements, leading to relatively narrow and monotonous cultural life spaces.
Famous Chinese urban planning expert and Director of the National Historical and Cultural City Research Center, Ruan Yisan, said to reporters: "Many foreign cities comprehensively consider the improvement of supporting facilities, including cultural facilities, when developing surrounding areas." He does not even agree with the current term "suburbanization" in China, believing that this phenomenon is merely real estate developers taking advantage of lower land prices around cities due to rapid population growth in urban areas, building properties on the outskirts to gain huge profits. Strictly speaking, it is just a trend of dispersing urban populations and reasonably migrating them to suburban areas. "For example, the Italian City and French City newly developed in the peripheral areas of Shanghai in recent years are extremely inconvenient to live in, leaving residents stuck with only a house, with almost no supporting cultural facilities nearby. Of course, this situation can be understood; if a suburban residential area cannot form a certain scale, various commercial and cultural venues will not survive, and schools may not even exist. Moreover, I believe the government must consider regional planning and related cultural facility construction and relocation when making urban plans."
Urban branding expert Wu Yiyong believes that there are currently the following issues during the suburbanization process: First, excessive emphasis on hardware construction while neglecting software development, especially the lack and inadequacy of cultural construction and cultural management mechanisms; Second, low taste in suburban culture, lacking awareness of high-quality guidance and good cultural planning; Third, the existence of pseudo-cultural phenomena, mostly involving various government-sponsored cultural image projects; Lastly, some suburbs have even deteriorated into gathering places for undesirable elements. Solving these problems during the suburbanization process is essential to gradually forming a cultural magnet that attracts people to live there.
### The "Cultural Magnet" of Urban Suburbanization Living
A friend, who values the tranquility of Tongzhou, has been living near the Guoyuan area for a long time. In her leisure time, movies and plays are her favorite activities, but there are almost no cinemas in her residential area. "Once, I passed by a cinema under renovation and got their phone number. For several days, I called to check if they had opened, but months have passed, and there’s still no sign of opening. People living here have to go downtown to watch movies or plays. Most office workers leave Tongzhou early in the morning to work downtown, spend their free time consuming and relaxing downtown, and return to Tongzhou late at night because Tongzhou lacks large, high-quality cultural and entertainment facilities. As a result, many people are merely 'guests' here, and their 'spiritual home' remains in the city center. Consequently, Tongzhou hasn't effectively utilized many functions of suburbanization of large cities; it's just a 'place to sleep.'"
Tiantongyuan is also a typical example of Beijing's urban suburbanization. This community, which boasts over 300,000 residents and is claimed to be the largest in Asia, is undoubtedly one of the most massive examples of urban suburbanization. When the journalist investigated the cultural life status of residents in this area, Ma Ke, who lives in Tiantong North Park, humorously said: "If you talk about cultural life, the only thing we can do after work is go home to watch TV or surf the internet. There aren’t any cinemas, theaters, libraries, or even post offices nearby."
Similar to Beijing's urban suburbanization fate, many large cities and provincial capitals across the country that are moving towards suburbanization face weak cultural infrastructure.
Experts believe that the group of people choosing to live outside the city generally have relatively high cultural demands. They need a cultural atmosphere with taste and fashion, whether it’s a small neighborhood or a larger region. If a region lacks cultural depth, it will be difficult to attract people to live there. For instance, in certain areas of Beijing's South Third Ring Road and South Fourth Ring Road, even if the housing prices are relatively cheaper, people with high cultural lifestyle requirements would not choose to buy houses and live there. Environment is one factor, but the cultural magnet is another important aspect.
Discussing the cultural magnet, the protection of the history of original villages is also a problem that should not be ignored during the urban suburbanization process. Researcher Yin Jiuke of the History Institute of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences told reporters that after the reform and opening-up, with the development of urban suburbanization, many villages disappeared during demolition and reconstruction processes, along with the names and unique histories of those villages. For example, Wangjing area in Beijing was called "Wangjing Village" as early as the Tang Dynasty. Now, modern communities and buildings stand tall in the Wangjing area, and although the name has been retained, most of its more than 1,000-year-old history has vanished. "The suburbanization process will inevitably cause a certain degree of destruction to the history of the original villages. Of course, this is also an inevitable part of historical development. My colleagues in academia and I have been calling for the protection of some culturally valuable and historically rich village names and histories as much as possible. However, the current issue is that exchanges and communications between academic circles and relevant government departments in various places are not sufficient, and the importance has not been fully recognized. Facing newly built luxurious buildings, without finding cultural roots, naturally, there is also a lack of cultural magnetism."
### Government Guidance and Commercial Operations
The Wen-Yu River and its surrounding areas, one of the four major river systems in Beijing, benefit from their unique natural rural landscape. In recent years, under the planning of the Shunyi municipal government, a new high-end humanistic community represented by the Rongxiang International Style Street is gradually forming. Placed in this environment, no one would think they were in the suburbs of Beijing; instead, it feels like walking on a street filled with exotic charm in another country.
This place differs from ordinary suburban residential areas, attracting international renowned brands such as "Starbucks," "Subway," "Domino's," "Harmony," "Apple Computers," "Eton College," "American Red Horse," and "Standard Chartered Bank," among more than 50 internationally famous enterprises. An increasing number of urban elites are relocating here. Currently, the "British School," introduced by Ronghe Plaza with over 50 years of history, has already started classes. After years of development, Rongxiang International Style Street has gradually formed a unique cultural background and a strong artistic atmosphere, becoming an international living community.
While improving cultural and recreational facilities, Rongxiang Plaza has successfully held a series of influential social and cultural activities for residents, such as the "Foreigners Carnival," "International Envoys Marathon," "International Children's Festival," "Walk into Africa," "International Family Festival," "International Charity Day," and "International Citizens Walking Towards the Olympics."
Of course, there are not only mature suburban residential areas like Rongxiang across the country. More and more large cities moving towards suburbanization are beginning to realize the importance of government-coordinated planning and community cultural atmosphere.
Naturally, the cultural construction of suburban residential areas differs from that within the city. Some experts believe that from the perspective of urban marketing, through operating cultural projects with local characteristics, suburban areas can become carriers of regional images. For example, Songzhuang Art Village in Beijing and Oil Painting Village in Shenzhen elevate regular culture to the level of a "cultural industry chain," promoted jointly by the government, investors, and the market. Furthermore, ecological and leisure cultures in the suburbs, if well-developed, can greatly attract urbanites. During the cultural operation process, suburban areas should develop culture with a market-oriented approach, guided by government planning and leadership. (Editorial responsibility: Monica)