Satellite Town in China:Large City Evacuation Experiences in Shanghai(1949-1978)
As a strategic approach to curb the expansion of large cities,satellite towns have had a wide and profound impact in many countries and are an important part of China's urban planning history.Early modern Chinese plans,such as the Greater Shanghai Plan and the Ten-Year Construction Plan for the Capital,employed the Satellite Town Theory,although the plans were not implemented.After establishing the People's Republic of China,Shanghai became a pioneer in practicing the theory of satellite towns,constructing the first batch of satellite towns:Minhang,Wujing,Anting,Songjiang,and Jiading.Based on data collected from the Shanghai Archives and considering key planning figures,relevant planning documents,and events,this study traces and evaluates the introduction and practical effectiveness of the Satellite Town Theory in Shanghai from 1949 to 1978 from the perspective of urban planning history.The study found:(1)it is believed that the introduction of Satellite Town Theory in China is based on comprehensive considerations of factors such as population decentralization,industrial layout adjustment,and alleviation of food shortages.First,the Great Leap Forward(1958-1960)led to a significant influx of rural population into cities,resulting in high population densities in urban centers.Satellite towns catered to the policy of urban"population reduction,"facilitating a balanced urban-rural structure.Second,during the First Five-Year Plan period(1953-1957),urban construction led to a mix of production and living areas,reducing the efficiency of urban operations.Satellite towns provided a platform for rapid industrial expansion,enabling a more cost-effective optimization of the urban industrial layout.Additionally,as the population of large cities continued to grow,so did the demand for food.Relocating some urban populations to satellite towns helped reduce the strain on food and other supplies in cities.(2)The early urban planning theories in the People's Republic of China were not entirely derived from the Soviet model;European experiences were also significant.New post-war towns like Harrow,Besselden,and Wellingby were considered ideal planning models.China's introduction of the Satellite Town Theory was not due to the imposition of dominant cultures(such as colonial or aid-based urban planning);rather,it was based on autonomous decisions tailored to its needs.(3)In the practice of developing satellite towns,industrialization was prioritized over population decentralization and social life,reflecting adaptive changes in planning practice under specific historical contexts.First,the construction of satellite towns was more focused on supporting national industrialization goals,with a much higher proportion of industrial land compared to post-war satellite towns in Europe.Second,although the 1959 Shanghai Urban Master Plan explicitly proposed the goal of population decentralization,this goal was not fully achieved in practice,and the development scale of satellite towns was less than expected.Further,local social life was not prioritized.Delayed public transportation development,scarce public facilities,and imbalanced gender ratios indicate that limited available investments were directed towards industrial production.This article systematically traces the complete process of the introduction and practical exploration of Satellite Town Theory in China after 1949.It constructs the internal logic of China's application of this theory,helping re-examine China's modern urban planning and its external influences,deepening the understanding of the complex relationship between planning theory and practice.
国家科技期刊平台
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