UN Habitat: China's urbanization model to change in future

China's urbanization has been successful so far, but its model will change along with social and economic transformations in the future, Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Joan Clos said while in Beijing.

The country's focus during the next phase of urbanization will need to move from land to people's well-being, Clos, also executive director of the UN Human Settlements Programme, known as UN Habitat, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"As China's economy changes from rapid industrialization to a more knowledge-based one, Chinese citizens will ask for more quality in life in the future, not just quantity," he said.

He predicted middle and small-scale cities will grow in the long term because people in big cities will want to move back to smaller ones, looking both for a better quality of life and a good connection to the "knowledge system".

Clos was in China to attend the 100 Eminent Persons' Forum on China's Urbanization and the World Cities Day events.

He hailed China's new urban policies, which put people first, as a "timely decision" to address the challenges posed by the old-style of urbanization characterized by industrialization.

"The Chinese government is reacting positively towards the challenges, such as environmental issues and the integration of the rural population into urban life," said Clos.

"No other government on the planet has been able to take 700 million people out of poverty in 37 years."

He admitted that China has paid a price to reach its current urbanization level, but lessons can be learned and different methods can be tested in the future in order to find the best one.

"We are analyzing the Chinese urbanization model because it goes even faster than the developed world," Clos said. "It may be in the hands of the Chinese people to invent or innovate new urban models."

He said he hopes China can bring its experiences to Habitat III, the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito, Ecuador next October, "experiences that can help other countries avoid the challenges China has encountered during urbanization, such as air pollution"

He said Africa will become the next frontier for urbanization after China. So far, the continent has seen "rapid urbanization with low industrialization or urban planning" and therefore requires "the support of others, including China, to propose new ideas and systems."

Clos proposed South-South Cooperation should move from basic urban services such as energy, water, and solid waste management, to more strategic tools like how to establish rules and regulations, urban design, and financial planning.

"If any of the three strategic tools fails, the whole urbanization drive fails," he said. Endi