【4】The compact city

The compact city is a concept related to urban planning and design which promotes for a high density city format in terms of residential land and other land uses. It is featured by mix land use patterns and efficient public transport system aiming at encouraging and supporting walking and cycling activities, which is relatively low energy consumption and more environmental friendly comparing with automobiles. In addition to the environmental considerations, the compact city is also known for its advocating in terms of social issues’ consideration such as social interaction and well-being and sense of the space with a feeling of safety as well.

The less-populated cities are likely to have more open areas within the urban landscape, where land is suitable for development. Filling up the urban gaps automatically increases city compactness. As population continues to grow, urban development has to take place beyond the existing city limited urban sprawl may harm the city’s compactness. Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, three mega cities and municipalities, are good examples of “unlimited” urban sprawl without enhanced compactness. This fact is critically important because many local cities tend to follow the urban-growth models of Beijing and Shanghai in their urbanization processes. It is worth noting that China has experienced an increase in per-capita urban area in the past decade, indicating that land use has become less efficient over time and that there is a need for compact-city development in China. Expansion in urban living space and increase in city compactness both can help improve life quality in China. However, an acceleration in the compactness of China’s cities is needed in the future to ensure that land is used economically and sustainably.