Research On The Planning Of Small Mountain Front Towns In The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

Although China’s urbanization rate surpassed fifty percent in2011, theimbalance of urban and rural development has been a long-standing issue. Big citiesare under rapid development while rural areas have insufficient development. Smalltowns in China are faced with four prominent problems: extensive and crude landutilization, blind industrial selection, insufficient public support and lagging livingstandard. In recent years, China has stressed several times the significance of theSmall Towns. Also, the policy supports from the Urban-Rural Coordination alongwith the market-oriented economy also provide significant opportunities for thedevelopment of the Small Towns.The research further focuses on the Small Mountain Front Towns of theBeijing-Tianjin-Heibei Region, which are characterized by the diverse topography,outstanding resources, excellent ecological environment and rich cultural heritages.With the rapid expansion of the population as well as the increasing spatial pressure incentral cities like Beijing and Tianjin, nowadays, the Small Mountain Front Townshave become places of leisure and recreation in the region. Therefore, the SmallMountain Front Towns in Beijing-Tianjin-Heibei Region play an important role innarrowing the gap between urban and rural areas, and contributing to regionalcoordination. This article starts from the research on the appropriate industry types forthe Small Mountain Front Towns, and then proposes the industry selecting modebased on their individual natural resource endowment, including developing industriesof fruit planting, animal husbandry, organic and specialty agriculture, food processing,logistics, tourism and real estate.Furthermore, based on the case study of Baijian Town of Ji County, the articleexplores the planning of Small Mountain Front Towns accorded with the industrytypes. The master plan of Baijian Town makes the full use of the opportunitiesprovided by the large transport infrastructure. It also takes full account of the potentialof tourism development in the northern mountainous area of the town. The masterplan sets three goals for the town, including becoming the agricultural products base,the regional tourism node and a livable town guiding local urbanization. The masterplan proposes a new town center with an industrial group in the central plain area, four separate small tourism services groups in the northern mountainous ares, andthree renovated rural settlements in the southern plain area. Through land-use andother special plans, Baijian Town would provide rich job opportunities, a good livingenvironment, and complete public services to local residents. Then, the articlerespectively focuses on the planning of the town center, tourism groups and therenovated rural settlements, putting forward relavent cases study and planningproposals.Finally, the article summarizes the planning of Small Mountain Front Towns inthe Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region represented by Baijian Town, including integratingspatial planning with the industrial selection, making good use of transportinfrastructure, comprehensive planning of urban and rural groups, facilities sharingsystem and grading distribution, etc. Besides, the research summarizes theshortcomings and difficulties during implementation of the master plan, including theslow transformation of traditional industries, the reluctant relocation and removal ofvillages, the huge amount of infrastructure investment, and the hard introduction ofmarket development as well. Lastly, the article presents the prospect of the SmallMountain Front Towns in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.