Planning and Property Development Coursework 2 Individual Report

Planning and Property Development Coursework 2 Individual Report
Name
CDE311 Planning and Property Development
DR Hyung-Chul Chung
Date
Introduction
China’s State Council influences policies on urban planning and development at the state and local level providing guidelines and a framework in the creation of urban areas. However, effective urban design policies have been negatively affected by the unprecedented urbanisation boom, which partly explains cities expanding into rural lands to cater for urban expansion. The General Office of the State Council also influences prioritization of construction projects that result in sustainable development and regulates construction including in urban villages. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) issues guidelines on public housing development and programmes in China. Thus, various authorities work together to influence urban development including in the transitional neighbourhoods as is the case with the urban villages
China has experienced rapid urbanization with increased focus on transforming urban villages that often include old buildings that reflect the areas’ past. The village in the city (ViCs) or urban villages are also known as chengzhongcun reflects urban development where there has been expansion of the urban areas into the villages, where farmland is usually acquired but some residential areas in the villages are not acquired (Lin, Meulder & Wang, 2011). In other words, the urban sprawl swallows the villages, but they are not fully part of the urban areas where they retain the rural and urban structures (Lin, Meulder & Wang, 2011). Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern to China and one of the most important and the Guangzhou sea port has made it easier to trade with the outside world. This is an evaluation the transparency, equity, and efficiency of urban governance in this urban village transformation.
Fairness (equity)
Fairness entails focusing on the needs and requirements of the stakeholders where there is equal access to the resources and opportunities. When focusing on equality in real estate the issues of balancing fairness (equity) and justice arise as there are competing claims on whether to maintain the urban villages’ most important sites and whether to change the area, which helps in revitalization. Impartiality is closely linked to fairness. For there to be fairness there is a need to prioritize transparency and accountability since fair distribution occurs when the authorities and stakeholders are held accountable. While fairness is a contested concept, fairness distribution takes into consideration the legitimate claims and entitlements of different parties
Efforts to ensure that there is affordable housing in the urban villages and surroundings have not always been successful. Affordable housing reflects equity in the real estate market and with more people moving into urban areas in the urban village of Guangzhou, there is rising demand for housing, which pushes the price of houses and rents up. The urban village accommodates the recent rural immigrants, which makes it a good option for the residents, but still there is lower investment in the urban villages when compared to other parts of the urban sprawl. Nonetheless, the relative affordability and accessibility of the urban villages make them the preferred options for the rural migrants employed in low paid jobs and the landless peasants.
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Comprehensive strategic alliance between the real estate developers and financiers in China has made it easier to finance for the big infrastructure projects and works. In the urban village, the government provides financing, but private developers are also involved in property development. Access to cheap loans from the state owned banks has made it possible to finance large projects since resources are mobilized and put into use where required. Financing includes targeting subsidized housing as there has been growing demand in the urban village to ensure that the urban poor find affordable housing.
The Chinese government provide low-rent housing, but the measures have been inadequate because of the rapid urbanization and demand for housing. This affects fairness as the government policy emphasizes redistribution to meet the peoples’ housing needs, and this worsens the housing problem for the urban poor who are more likely to stay in urban villages in southern China as apartments are expensive. The rent within the zone differ depending on the location and easy access to services, and increased focus on affordability, housing supply and environmental pressures will support community regeneration (Wu et al., 2019). In any case, these communities have affordable housing where the standards of living improve and there is acceptable quality in housing.
Transparency
Corruption and lack of transparency on small and large scale, at the local, provincial, business level, affect the real estate market negatively. Commitment between the public sector and the private sector to promote transparency promotes growth of the real estate market in Guangzhou and revitalization of the urban village is beneficial. This is because there are public-private investments and improving housing to facilitation to boost the sustainable and inclusive development of the village in the city of Guangzhou. Corruption reduces investments and increases the cost of doing business for private developers while increasing costs to the public entities, where the taxpayers then bear the burden.
There is a reputational and economic impact when there is failure to improve transparency, which may result in some infrastructure projects being suspended and this affects liveability and sustainable development. One of the alternatives to improve transparency and accountability is through public-private commitment where reforms in public and private sector are necessary to foster growth and development. Stronger anti-corruption measures supported by an effective of legal framework are equally important to improve transparency and address corruption. This may entail preventing conflicts of interest when monitoring public expenditure on the urban village where there is better understanding of spending and investment on real estate projects.
Reforms focusing on transparent, honest, open policies are crucial to support sustainable development of the urban village and this has been increased support for openness to to achieve greater economic growth in the region. This can help to address the housing deficit in the region,...