Analysis of an Urban Development Boundary Policy in China Based on the IAD Framework

Although urban growth control policies are widely adopted to help sustainable development in various countries, including China, few studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness and optimization of such policies in Chinese cities. Hangzhou, China, was chosen for this study as the research object, where the local authorities manage the urban sprawl via an urban development boundary policy. The institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework was employed to identify the conflicts between the central government and the local government as well as the developers and homebuyers in the formal/informal stage. The analysis shows that, with the implementation of the policy, problems such as fiscal crises, property inflation, and illegal construction will appear as a result of actors’ interactions. The study also highlights that industrial land transfer inside the boundary should be controlled in a reasonable range and that a land value tax should be introduced during the implementation of the urban development boundary policy.

Time-Lag Effects in Urban Environment Adaptation as a Warning System for Urban Growth Control: An Application to Flanders

In this paper we wish to discuss some aspects of a particular system approach in urban planning. An attempt has been made to explain the meaning of the first principal factor (Hotelling, 1933) in the verification of a set of supposed urban characteristics. The same factor model has been used in the subsequent measurement of the degree of urbanity in each municipal territory in Flanders. In mapping the results we have also attempted to verify some growth and communication theories for the Flanders case. Finally, the basic point of the paper is the detection of time-lag effects which create gaps between the slower development of more rigid environment elements, with which the planner is concerned, and the more quickly adapting elements—a time lag which could indicate urgent planning areas.