Urbanisation has developed rapidly in China since the 1980s. Cities and towns -- especially medium- and small-sized cities and municipal towns -- have mushroomed. At the same time, urban infrastructure projects have become one of the country’s major economic growth drivers.

But as a developing country with a large population and an urgent need to improve housing conditions, China’s urbanisation process has encountered many problems. One of the more striking difficulties has been lack of experience in urban planning which has made it hard for planning standards and PREDICTABILITY to meet the requirements of urban development.
As a governmental development financing institution, China Development Bank has lent active support to the country’s urbanization drive for many years and played an enterprising role in building a financing market for urban infrastructure projects. (CHECK)
China Development Bank governor Chen Yuan proposed inviting world-reknown experts to talks about successful international experiences as a way of raising the standard of urban planning in China and ensuring it develops in a scientific way.
It is for this reason that China Development Bank has joined hands with the World Bank to sponsor the International Urban Planning seminar.

The main theme of the conference is to plan for the future of Chinese cities. Its main aim is to raise standards of urban planning while adhering to the idea of scientific development, actively exploring the concept of “Five Planning as Wholes” and learning from foreign experience.

Invitees to the conference include experts and senior scholars from China, Europe and America and representatives from transnational corporations involved in municipal projects. Mayors from provincial capitals and cities, some county-level cities and towns and representatives from relevant functional departments are also expected to attend. The conference will discuss universal issues such as land use, appropriate layout of city functions, orientation of urban development, the creation of high-tech cities and serious but common problems like the protection of cultural relics. It will also focus on advanced theories and experiences from both home and abroad, as well as successful urban planning case studies from the likes of Vancouver, Paris and Stockholm. During the conference, experts will visit the key cities of Tianjin, Wuhan and Xi’an to learn about urban planning in China and offer insight into their own experiences in dealing with urban planning problems.
Around 200 of the participants are expected to come from China. The conference will be hosted by the heads of China Development Bank and the World Bank. Keynote speeches will be given by senior officials from the National Development Commission and the Construction Ministry.