Urban Futures- toward a new model of urbanisation and urban living in China?

我提议的博士研究重点是了解发展中国家内围绕城市化和移民的新出现趋势--使用城市未来的口号和中国京津冀城市群的案例研究。在过去的30年里，城市化一直是世界经济发展和繁荣的重要推动力，而亚洲的城市发展一直是国际经济增长的主要引擎之一。随着全球政治、环境和经济气候的不断变化，城市未来已成为实现可持续发展的基本国际和国家政策议程。在的领导下，中国走上了一条不同于以往的未来城镇化战略--“中国式新城市主义”。在国家层面，城市发展重点已从珠江三角洲和长三角地区转移到国家首都地区-京津冀地区(也称为京津冀)。在京津冀，两个备受瞩目的新区--雄安和通州--正在建设中，这两个新区都是应对北京人口外溢的新城镇。雄安位于河北省管辖范围内，是继深圳、上海浦东之后的第三个国家级开发区。在中央政府的精心指导和监督下，这些新区的规划和发展原则反映了共产党的新城镇化政策和理念。在京津冀区域背景下研究雄安和通州是非常及时和重要的，因为规划者有明确的意图利用这些新区来创造一种不同的具有中国特色的城市未来模式。到目前为止，中国的城市化主要是由农村向城市的迁移，导致了一个集中化和城市群的过程。雄安和通州标志着中国的一种新的内部迁移方式，因为除了建筑工人，这两个新城镇都将作为吸引和容纳北京居民的新区--一个分散和多中心发展的过程。无论是好是坏，京津冀的这些新活动以及雄安和通州的发展将影响城市的未来，并可能暗示中国新的城市生活。它的经验将对全球发展和国际城市化产生重要影响。因此，这是一个非常重要的理论和实证博士研究课题。

My proposed doctoral research focuses on understanding new emerging trends around urbanisation and migration within the developing world - using the tagline of urban futures and the case study of the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration in China. Urbanisation has been an important driving force for economic development and prosperity in the world in the last 30 years, while Asia's urban development has been one of the primary engines for international economic growth. With ongoing changes of the global political, environmental and economic climate, urban futures have become a fundamental international and national policy agenda in achieving sustainability. China under the leadership of President Xi has embarked on a different urbanisation strategy for the future - namely 'Chinese style new urbanism'. At the national level, urban development focus has shifted from the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions to the nation's capital region - Jing-Jin-Ji region (also known as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei). Within Jing-Jin-Ji, two very high- profile new districts, Xiong'an and Tongzhou, are under construction, both to act as new towns for population overspill from Beijing. Although Xiong'an, lies within Hebei Province's jurisdiction, it has been given the status as the third national level development zone, only after Shenzhen and Shanghai Pudong. Under the careful instruction and supervision of the central government, the planning and development principals of these new districts reflect the Communist Party's new urbanisation policies and ideas. It is timely and very important to study Xiong'an and Tongzhou in the regional context of Jing-Jin-Ji as there is a clear intention from the planners to use these new districts to produce a different model of urban future with Chinese characteristics. China's urbanisation, so far, was dominated by rural to urban migration, resulting in a process of centralisation and urban agglomeration. Xiong'an and Tongzhou marks a new style of internal migration for China as, apart from the construction workers, both new towns will function as new areas to attract and accommodate residents from Beijing - a process of decentralisation and polycentric development. For better or for worse, these new activities in Jing-Jin-Ji and the development of Xiong'an and Tongzhou will affect urban futures and possible hint at new urban living in China. The experiences of which will have important implications to global development and international urbanisation. It is therefore a very important topic for theoretical and empirical PhD research.