Beijing has for the first time put forward a new concept of
"building corridors of towns" between the 5th and
6th ring roads. Schemes of building six satellite towns
and one airport town have been completed, aimed at attracting the
downtown population, and removing them from the central urban area
to form a development zone for the central city.
The whole population of the six satellite towns and one airport
town is expected to increase from the current 0.8 million to 1.94
million, according to sources from the Beijing Municipal
Commission of Urban Planning. Related schemes have been
completed so far. It is the first time for the concept of
“corridors of towns” to be issued as an important approach to speed
up Beijing’s urbanization process.
According to the schemes, these towns will have three-level
administrations, namely satellite town, central town and
ordinarily-organized town. Regarded as "groups" scattered along
highways radiating from central areas of Beijing, they will
directly or indirectly connect with each other to form a pattern
and will become a main development zone for the city.
In the satellite towns, high-tech industrial bases will be
built, as well as higher educational parks and residential
quarters. It aims to decrease the population and industrial
densities of central urban areas.
The basically-completed expressways with a pattern of radiation
will be?“thoroughfares” to connect the city’s downtown
areas.
The six "corridors of towns" will cover six directions of the
city:
In the northwest, there will be Shahe Satellite Town where
high-tech industrial bases and higher educational parks will be
built.
In the northeast, there will be the Airport Town where high-tech
industrial bases and airport-related industrial development
districts will be built.
In the east, there will be Tongzhou Satellite Town where the
Beijing-Tongzhou and Beijing-Shenyang expressways and
Bawangfen-Tongzhou subway make the communication with urban
downtown area easily.
In the southeast, there will be Yizhuang Satellite Town where an
important high-tech industrial base will be built and the
Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway and the planned urban railway
project will become passageway to the urban downtown area.
In the south, there will be Huangcun Satellite Town where the
Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway, planned urban railway project and
urban-suburb railway will connect the town with urban downtown
area.
In the southwest, there will be Changxindian and Liangxiang
satellite towns where high-tech industrial bases and higher
educational parks will be built and the Beijing-Shijiazhuang
Expressway and planned urban-suburb railway project will connect
the towns with urban downtown area.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 21, 2003)