[JAABE Special Issue] Exploring the future of Industrial Parks in China

This Article Collection aims to explore the changing roles of industrial parks and their impact on new-type urbanisation in China. Through the lens of urban renewal, it provides a vision for future cities and to explore key planning and design principles that can underpin sustainable urbanisation in 2021-2035. The key research questions include: what are the core functions of future cities in China? And what planning and/or design interventions can effectively cope with the new challenges arising in urban renewal processes?

Industrial parks, as the main catalyst for socio-economic growth since 1990s, have played an important role in facilitating industrialisation and urbanisation in China during the past thirty years. While following the successful completion of the National Plan for New-type Urbanisation (2014-2020), the urbanisation ratio in China has reached 66% by 2023. A large number of emerging industries have also arisen, such as big data, artificial intelligence, low-altitude economy, etc. As a result, many industrial parks and economic-technological development zones located in the eastern coastal areas (e.g., Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, etc.) are facing the challenge of sustainable renewal nowadays. There is an urgent need to redefine the key roles and core functions of these industrial parks for the next 15-30 years.