Urban Vitality in Dutch and Chinese New Towns. A comparative study between Almere and Tongzhou

Building new towns seems to be a rational regionalization approach that releases pressure from overly burdened large cities. This strategy was developed in Western Europe in the middle of twentieth century. Since the 1990s, the European new town model has been widely implemented in China. However, the author questions the feasibility of the large-scale, hasty new town developments. The study of worldwide new town experiences, especially European and Chinese cases, demonstrates that many new towns in fact have difficulty in achieving a real sense of urban quality and vitality. So far, few research projects have been conducted to evaluate and develop solutions for this problem. The purpose of this research project is therefore to identify the spatial and non-spatial factors and conditions that facilitate the development of urban vitality in new towns. It is aimed to reveal the impacts of spatial design, urban planning and governance approaches on the degree and patterns of local urban life of new towns in China and in the Netherlands. The generated knowledge of this research project helps develop not only a better understanding of the main problems of new towns, but also spatial strategies with the aim to enliven new towns and other types of (sub)urban areas as well. The central research question is approached through literature review and case studies. The literature review provides a critical re-evaluation of the scientific validation of the new town model, especially the notion of town self-containment in economic terms. The relevant theories under study mainly include regional science and economic geography. The literature review also clarifies the general definition of urban vitality and its distinct meanings in different socio-economic and political backgrounds of the two societies, sets up the quantitative measurements methodology, and identifies a preliminary framework of spatial factors and conditions. As it turns out, the key indicators of urban vitality are the co-presence of people as well as the social, cultural and economic activities in public spaces. The primary conditions are categorized as attractor-determinism, space-determinism and people-determinism. In regard to the spatial factors, the focus is on the spatial configuration of street networks, the composition of urban blocks and neighborhoods, as well as the value of details on small scales. The non-spatial factors primarily include the changing urban planning and governance approaches. The systems approach of planning and control, and the decentralization of decision-making powers ar