Building new towns in China – A case study of Zhengdong New District

In the past 20 years, China has seen the active redevelopment of old towns and construction of new towns around booming cities. Zhengdong New District is one of them. Zhengdong (150 sq km) is located in central China, and was planned by the Japanese architect, Kisho Kurokawa (1934–2007). After the plan was approved in 2001, Phase I of 33 sq km was constructed in 5 years with monumental buildings and grand plazas. Why did this foreign designed project receive tremendous support from the Chinese government during its planning and implementation? What are the problems of redeveloping new towns at such a fast pace? With these crucial policy and praxis questions, the authors studied the project on site and visited the stake-holders. This paper describes the birth of the plan and discusses how it was developed and nurtured into being by the various forces of government, developers and architects in the background of contemporary China. Through the process of development and construction in Zhengdong New District, the authors analyze the reasons behind the support and success of this unique planning phenomenon with strong Chinese characteristics.