China is urbanizing at speed. As more big cities emerge, the problem of life quality in these megapolises becomes a concern to people. China has 300 cities with populations over 1 million, 88 cities with more than 5 million, and 13 cities with more than 10 million. Large populations, high urban density, congested public transport and severe air pollution have deteriorated people's quality of life.

In 1949, the urban area of Beijing was only 109 square kilometers. By 2016, that had increased to 1,401 sq km. The large scale of the city lures people through job and business opportunities, but the inconvenience of living in a big city tires people. Many have started to reminisce about the bucolic way of life, hoping to buy a house or a yard in the countryside, which has resulted in the de-urbanization trend in some parts of China.

Long commuting times and limited parking make city life hard. The old acquaintance society was replaced with urban indifference. Green spaces and public spaces have shrunk, distancing humans from nature and from each other.

The origin of this urban problem comes from three issues.

The first is the lack of proper planning for residential real estate development. The urban problem started to loom in Beijing in the early 1990s, when the guiding principle in urban planning was not adjusted from market-oriented to people-oriented. The Chinese capital developed too many residential communities, demolishing old homes and building new apartment blocks without limiting the floor area ratio, the relationship between the total amount of a building’s usable floor area and the total area of the land on which it stands. For old neighborhoods, the ratio was usually 1.5, but after development it jumped to 3 or 4. In some places it even exceeds 5 or 6. The high floor area ratio means that developers have built more apartments on the same piece of land, and made more money by selling them.

The high floor area ratio means a neighborhood has a denser population; for example, an area that once held 20,000 residents would accommodate 100,000 after redevelopment. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, the main type of residence in Beijing was siheyuan, which comprised several one-story homes built around a shared courtyard. In the ’70s and ’80s, it became normal that a dozen households would live in a four- or five-story apartment building. But from ’90s onward, most residents have been housed in 20- to 30-story condominium blocks. With such high density, the quality of life is compromised.

The second issue is the blind pursuit of large scale. Almost all construction projects aim for a bigger scale. Take for example the construction of Beijing's railway stations. The planner could have built several smaller railway stations around the city, giving travelers much more convenience in terms of accessibility. Instead, a huge Beijing West Railway Station was built in 1996, covering 510,000 square meters, with the main building occupying nearly 200,000 sq m. In 2008, the city built the Beijing South Railway Station for high-speed trains with an even bigger scale.

Commercial projects also pursue big scale — and give themselves a fancy name. They often occupy hundreds of thousand square meters, pulling in flows of people, traffic and logistics, making people lost inside and creating congestion. Likewise, many residential projects are examples of over development —some Beijing neighborhoods house tens of thousands of people. It’s comes down to the market mechanism. By gathering more people together, the capital can earn more profit.

The third issue is that cities are distancing humans from nature. In the past, Beijing had many wetlands, small streams and forests. People could enjoy the sunrise from Chaobai River and appreciate the sunset at West Mountain. Children grow up with memories of chasing dragon flies, playing with crickets, and running around in the city’s traditional alleyways, known as hutong. But now all these spaces are gone. They have been used to construct houses and apartments. Now when children come down from their high-rise, there aren't enough green spaces for them to run around, and when they open their windows, they cannot see green trees and faraway mountains but only buildings. We are distancing ourselves from Mother Nature — and the farther we stray, the unhappier we will be.

To build a livable city touches on the fundamental goal of human development. Pursuing faster economic growth, larger economic scale and higher household incomes are not essential. Instead, we should simply aim to increase the happiness in our lives, which is directly affected by our living environment. People need blue skies, green fields and clear rivers, not higher floor area ratio or larger construction scale. If the living quality in a city is bad, and people's lives become more distant from happiness, then what is the point in chasing faster development, more innovation and high incomes?

Xu Zongwei is former general director of policy for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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