China’s Green Urbanization in the Perspective of Ecological Civilization

This paper proposes a conceptual framework and a strategic idea for China’s green urbanization from the perspective of ecological civilization. The existing urbanization model — whether the activities carried out in the city or the city’s organization form — is largely a product of the traditional industrial era. China must think outside the traditional industrial box and promote green urbanization based on ecological civilization which is the fundamental solution to address the unsustainable development of cities. Green urbanization is more like “building cities in (natural) parks”, rather than “building parks in existing cities”, that is, creating a prosperous economy without destroying but making full use of the natural ecological environment. This means there will be profound changes to the development concept, the activity carried out in the city, the city’s organizational logic, and the implications of the regional economy. China’s green urbanization based on ecological civilization should focus on three basic tasks and two strategies. The three tasks are to reshape the existing cities, urbanize the newly added population in a green way, and redefine the rural areas. The two key strategies are to realize green urbanization of urban clusters that account for more than 90% of the national GDP, 70% of the total population, and 30% of the land area; and to urbanize county-level areas where about 60% of the national population resides.