URBAN MORPHOLOGY AND SPATIAL OPTIMIZATION STRATEGY OF INDUSTRIAL SMALL TOWN IN CHINA UNDER “NEW URBANIZATION MOVEMENT” – A CASE STUDY OF TANGZHA

Abstract

China has experienced the largest and most rapid urbanization process for the past 50 years due to the large amount of rural population and booming economy. Overcrowded mega-cites, polluted environment and “hollowed” villages are the consequences. The Chinese government introduced a movement called “new urbanization” to promote green, efficient and people-oriented urbanization strategy. Small town plays an important role in urbanization as the lubricant and linkage between cities and villages. Industrial small town is one of the key elements in the city system. However, many Chinese industrial small towns lack of professional planning to respond to the industrial and social restructuring. Characteristics in urban form is the core value of industrial small towns but some of them lost their characteristics by simply copying big cities. This article used space syntax to analyze the spatial structure and urban morphology of the first industrial small town in modern China, Tangzha, to find the law of its spatial development and its connection with other social factors including household income, government policies and public service, trying to provide optimization strategies to guide the development of industrial small town under “new urbanization”.