“CASS Forum (Economics 2012): The 10th International Forum on Urban Competitiveness” to Hold in Beijing
The joint research group of National Academy of Economic Strategy of CASS and Global Monitoring and Research Department of UN-HABITAT issues the research report titled Probe into the Development Mode of Low-income Settlements in the Urbanization Process ---- the Experience of Shantytowns Reconstruction in Liaoning. The report shows that Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction has created a new world miracle with its overall accomplishments, and its empirical model of “government-dominant and market-operating" is worth of global reference.
The “CASS Forum (Economics 2012): The 10th International Forum on Urban Competitiveness”, sponsored by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), organized by National Academy of Economic Strategy and Center for City and Competitiveness of CASS, was held in Beijing on June 27 and 28, 2012.
Honorable guests present at the Forum include: Wang Weiguang, Executive Vice-president of CASS and President of the Presidium of CASS Academic Committee; Xu Weiguo, Vice-governor of the People’s Government of Liaoning Province; Li Yang, Vice-president of CASS and commissioner of CASS Academic Committee; Ning Jizhe, Deputy Director of the State Council Research Office; Gao Peiyong, President of Strategy National Academy of Economic Strategy of CASS; Mao Zhixiong, Assistant Mayor of Chengdu Municipality; Wang Yan, Director of Beijing Municipal Planning Commission; Wu Chunmei, Vice Mayor of Hefei Municipality; Chen Gang, Vice Mayor of Rizhao Municipality; Xi Kelu, Executive Vice-mayor of Fushun Municipality; Li Mingshan, Vice Mayor of Fuxin Municipality; Guo Zhixin, Vice Mayor of Tielin Municipality; Liu Feng, Deputy secretary-general of Nantong Municipal Committee; Ma Gang, Deputy secretary-general of Benxi Municipal Committee; Din Shi, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Economic Daily; Xia Weidong, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Truth Magazine; Cao Huanrong and Director of News Coordination Department of People’s Daily. Leaders and experts from relevant ministries, prestige Universities and research institutes in China; officials of Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and provincial government and leaders and experts from relevant institutions, laboratory and bureau of CASS are also present at the Forum. Members of the joint research group and representatives from more than 50 domestic and foreign media located in Beijing, including Xinhua News Agency and CCTV, also attend the meeting.
International experts and officials attending the meeting are: Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Director of Global Monitoring and Research Department of UN-HABITAT; Anna, Consultant of the low-income settlements research of the World Bank; Edward Blakely, Chairman of the College of Urban Design and Planning of University of Sydney, Australia; Jeff O'Brien, former Mayor of Newcastle City, UK; Nicolas Retsinas, Professor of Harvard Business School; Peter Karl Kresl, President of GUCP and Professor of Bart Cornell University of United States; Joan Trullen, Professor of University Autonomous of Barcelona, Spain; Richard Levin Ghent, Professor of San Francisco State University, United States; David Maurrasse, Professor of Columbia University, United States; Dong-Sung Cho, Professor of Seoul National University; Quito Ferrari, Professor of University of Florence, Italy; François Kiburu, Director of Research Center of National Academy of Sciences of France; Shen Jianfa, Professor of Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK); Wang Lihong, Investment Environment Consultant of the World Bank; Hilary Quinn, Distribution Manager of Edward Eger Publishing Company, England; Michael Fallis, Assistant Governor of Osun State, Nigeria; MuyiWa, member of Land and Urban Planning Committee, Osun State, Nigeria; Johnson, President of AdegboyegaOjo Company of Osun State, Nigeria; Euler Dewy, honorary member of Housing Committee of Osun State, Nigeria; Norberto Steinmay, Cultural Counselor of the Italian Embassy in China and Robert Stan Mel and other international leaders and experts.
The Forum consists of the theme Forum: “Probe into the Development Mode of Low-income Settlements in the Urbanization Process ---- the Experience of Shantytowns Reconstruction in Liaoning”, the City Governor Forum: “Sustainable Urban Competitiveness and Residential Area Development for Low-income Residents”, Expert Forum one: “Residential Area Development for Low-income Residents: Economics, Society and Environment”; Expert Forum Two: “Residential Area Development for Low-income Residents: Housing Security and Shantytowns Reconstruction” and “Release and Discussion of Global Urban Competitiveness Report”. About 50 renowned experts from home and abroad and government officials make speeches at the Forum.
Co-chaired by Ni Pengfei, Director of Center for City and Competitivenes of CASS and Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Director of Global Monitoring and Research Department of UN-HABITAT, the research report titled “Probe into the Development Mode of Low-income Settlements in the Urbanization Process ---- the Experience of Shantytowns Reconstruction in Liaoning” was issued in both English and Chinese in the Forum. The report is consisted of a General Report, nine Subject Reports, three International Reports and eight Special Reports. These reports comprehensively demonstrate the systematic research on Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction.
The report says that settlement of low-income residents is one of the most important problems of human development. Reports of UN-HABITAT indicate the total number of slum dwellers in the world in the year of 2010 was 827.6 million, which accounted for 1/4 of the world’s urban population and was still rapidly increasing. China is experiencing the largest-scale of urbanization and acceleration process in human history. When a large number of low-income migrants surge to the urban area, how to properly solve the housing problems of low-income residents requires the country to take urgent initiatives that proven by reality to be workable and practical.
With the investment project success degree evaluation method of the World Bank, the report evaluates the performance of Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction from the subject and content, and conclusions drawn are: the Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction creates a new world miracle: since 2005, Liaoning Province has spent 4 years completing 29.1 million sqm reconstruction of concentrated urban shantytowns, anyone of which was at least 10,000 sqm, constructing 44 million sqm of new residential housing and improving the housing conditions of 2.11million population in 706 thousand households. These achievements were almost twice as much as the average millennium development goals on slum reconstruction per year, proposed by UN. In addition, outstanding characteristics of the reconstruction project include: large-scale reconstruction, short reconstruction period, large number of beneficiaries, high completion rate and high ratio between investment efficiency and satisfaction level; Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction completely achieves overall success: in addition to some extreme individual indicators that might require further observation, most of the 41 indicators from 10 areas involved in shantytowns Reconstruction, namely construction, land, finance, development, demand, economy, social conditions, environment and space, are evaluated as “obviously improved” or “fully accomplished or over fulfilled” and all have achieved great benefits and created significant impacts. The overall score given to the performance is 1.32, which indicates the accomplishments to be almost flawless; Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction achieves the “Four Great Changes and One Improvement”: (1) great changes are made by the households of shantytown residents. Surveys find that: the per capita housing area is increased from the 10.6 sqm before the reconstruction to 16.6 sqm after the Reconstruction with an increase rate of 56.6%; an increase of 49% is achieved in per capita income, which increases the household assets by several times; 91.5% of the residents believe that employment opportunities are increased, 90% of the residents believe that the awareness and ability of entrepreneurship are also enhanced, 97% and 92.4% of the residents express the improvements of spiritual quality and social status respectively. After removing into new houses, the happiness index of former shantytown residents increase to the high level of 80 points; (2) great changes are made in reconstructed shantytown areas. Surveys find that: 82.7% of the residents believe that the noise in the residential areas to be decreased; 70% of the residents believe the quality of drinking water to be improved; 78.7%, 89.9%, 93%, 84.3% of the residents believe the green space is increased, the landscape is improved and the housing becomes more comfortable and air quality is improved respectively; 85.7 % of the residents believe the rate of public security cases is decreased significantly; (3) great changes are made in the cities where the shantytowns are reconstructed. The shantytowns reconstruction promotes the urban economy to change from struggling to thrive and promotes the urban landscape to transit from old and dirty to new and beautiful; (4) great changes are made in Liaoning Province thanks to the shantytowns reconstruction. Measurement show that a total number of 29.1 million sqm concentrated shantytowns is reconstructed in 5 years with an average annual improvement rate of 1.04%; (5) one improvement is made to the government image and reputation thanks to the shantytowns reconstruction. Surveys find that: 84.2% of the residents approve the realization of governmental commitments; 90.4% of the residents believe in the integrity and honesty of the government in the reconstruction process; 76.4% and 73.5% of the residents express their satisfaction with the evaluation and compensation; 46.3% of the residents’ satisfaction towards the government is increased after the reconstruction.
The report says that the neighborhood resident-based bottom-up reconstruction model previously recognized by the international community is proven by real practices as having little effect on the fundamental improvements of slums. In recent years, many experts believe that a strong government is essential in the transformation of residential areas of low-income residents, yet there are few governments brave enough to try these models. The Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction, started in 2005, is involved with areas, bearded with burdens and faced with questions of record high and heavy. Guided by the Scientific Outlook on Development, the Liaoning Provincial Committee and Provincial government make in-depth investigation and scientific research on shantytowns issues, and then propose the “government-dominant and market-operating” model, which is also a “complex matrix model”, for shantytowns reconstruction. It consists of philosophy and methodology, system and mode, public policies and reconstruction contents.
The reported says that many explorations carried out in the Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction have a wide range of reference values for the global improvement of residential areas for low-income residents in many aspects. The measure of “government-dominant, market-operating and multi-party participating” is proven to be a relatively effective tool in solving the housing problems of low-income residents. The ideas and methods of “systematic, comprehensive and sustainable”, the persistence of “top-level design and overall plan” strategy and planning, the mechanism and policy of “constructing ancillary facilities to benefit people for long” and the “normalization, order, human-oriented self-governance” management and services should be insisted in the process of reconstruction of urban low-income settlements.
Specific requirements on different aspects in the reconstruction of low-income settlements are stated as: various financing and dynamic balance should be achieved in terms of fund-raising and fund utilizing; intensive usage and cost reduction should be achieved in land use and utilization; classification of development and adjusted measures to local conditions should be maintained in terms of housing developments and construction; moderate financial injection and focuses on self-producing ability of the citizens should be insisted in the improvement and reconstruction of citizens’ payment ability; policies of development promoted by reconstruction and reconstruction driven by development should be carried out in the economic transformation and development; reconstruction of the neighborhoods done by the citizens should be insisted in terms of social changes; comprehensive remediation and completion of ancillary facilities should be persisted and layout optimization and balanced mixture and separation should be achieved in terms of urban spatial structure planning.
The report also notes that to be applied as a global model for successful sustainable development, the Liaoning Shantytowns Reconstruction still needs : ) to further perfect the long-term mechanism that ensured stable accommodation for shantytown residents; 2) to further improve the intensity and enthusiasm of residents’ participation in shantytown reconstruction and maintain an optimized balancing point between the gather and disperse of residents relocation of shantytowns; 3) to further perfect the community management mechanism; 4) to further plan the repayment of funds; 5) to further improve the quality of housing, and to continuously focus on the property management issues in new neighborhoods after the reconstruction.
For all contents of the opening ceremony, please visit the people.com.cn Finance Channel for live transcripts on June, 27.