From Concentration to Decentralization: The Spatial Development of Beijing and the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Capital Region

Abstract

The capital region of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) has developed unbalancedly over the past four decades, since Beijing and Tianjin have absorbed most of the regional investments, resources and talents for being the capital or the national central cities. And the emerging “mega-city diseases” of Beijing caused by high densities of urban functions and populations, such as heavy air pollution, water resource shortage, serious traffc jams and continuous environmental deterioration, have pushed the state government to continue exploring a more sustainable approach to promote the eco-friendly development of Beijing, as well as the wider BTH region. The national strategies of decentralizing the non-capital functions of Beijing and promoting the coordinative development of BTH region have been launched. Among them, the decision to construct Tongzhou, the Sub-City Center of Beijing, and the Xiong’an New Area, a new magnetic development center in Hebei province, are the two most signifcant actions. Based on literature review and policy analysis, this chapter frst summarizes the evolution trend from “concentration” to “decentralization” of Beijing and the BTH region during the past decades, and then illustrates the main recent decentralization measures aiming at controlling the population and functions of Beijing from four spatial levels: the BTH region, the Beijing administrative region, the Beijing central city and the community level. The prospect of the decentralization strategy is further discussed in the conclusion and discussion.