*5.2. Shenzhen*

Shenzhen is the youngest and the fastest growing megacity in the PRD. Before China's economic reform in 1980s, Shenzhen was a small fishing village. Because of its proximity to Hong Kong, it was chosen as a special economic zone (SEZ) to learn from and experiment with Hong Kong's capitalist market economy. Shenzhen has a unique urban structure defined by its borders with both Hong Kong and the mainland, known as the two-line borders (*erxianguan*). Shenzhen's SEZ was strictly confined to protect the socialist system in mainland China, which deeply influenced Shenzhen's urban structure. The central four districts Nanshan, Futian, Luohu, and Yantian, formed the original SEZ area (called '*guannei*') and later became the city's central area, while Baoan, Guangming, and Longgang were the

buffer areas (called '*guanwai*') and now form Shenzhen's suburban area (Figure 6). The hard border between '*guannei*' and '*guanwai*' was removed in 2010 and Shenzhen's administrative area increased fivefold from 395 km<sup>2</sup> to 1948 km<sup>2</sup> . In 2012, the redevelopment of land surpassed the new construction land, which marked the end of expansion era, and urban redevelopment and renovation became the main theme in Shenzhen's urban planning. *Sustainability* **2020**, *12*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 20 administrative area increased fivefold from 395 km2 to 1948 km2. In 2012, the redevelopment of land surpassed the new construction land, which marked the end of expansion era, and urban redevelopment and renovation became the main theme in Shenzhen's urban planning.

**Figure 6.** New town projects in Shenzhen. **Figure 6.** New town projects in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen's low dependency on land revenue and urban growth mechanism is also reflected in its new town development strategies. Unlike Guangzhou, which launched a number of new town projects that were not contained in its urban master plan, new town projects in Shenzhen are generally in alignment with its master plan, as most of them were listed and mapped on the 'key development area and projects in the near future'. In the urban central area, there are only three main new town projects (No. 1–3 in Table 3). Xiangmihu new financial centre (No. 1) and super headquarter base (No. 2) are the latest urban upgrade projects in the dense and developed urban centre. They have a small amount of land to redevelop, and aim to use it efficiently using very high floor area ratios. Qianhai (No. 3) is a long-developing free trade zone and harbour city in Shenzhen. Shenzhen's low dependency on land revenue and urban growth mechanism is also reflected in its new town development strategies. Unlike Guangzhou, which launched a number of new town projects that were not contained in its urban master plan, new town projects in Shenzhen are generally in alignment with its master plan, as most of them were listed and mapped on the 'key development area and projects in the near future'. In the urban central area, there are only three main new town projects (No. 1–3 in Table 3). Xiangmihu new financial centre (No. 1) and super headquarter base (No. 2) are the latest urban upgrade projects in the dense and developed urban centre. They have a small amount of land to redevelop, and aim to use it efficiently using very high floor area ratios. Qianhai (No. 3) is a long-developing free trade zone and harbour city in Shenzhen.

**Table 3.** Information of new towns in Shenzhen. **Table 3.** Information of new towns in Shenzhen.


9 Pingshan New Town District government District centre - 2006 <sup>10</sup>Shenzhen International Low Carbon City Municipal Eco-city 53 km2/1 km2 2012 In suburban areas, there are seven new town projects (No. 4–10). Three of them (No. 7–9) are new district centres initiated by district level governments. Normally, the main goal of these new towns is to accommodate the increasing population. Shenzhen north station business district (No. 4) is a typical high-speed rail station area development, which can also be found in Guangzhou and Foshan. The smart city of Shenzhen called Banxue science and technology city (No. 5) is also located near north station to fully make use of transport benefits, thus forming a transport and technology urban cluster. Lastly, the Shenzhen airport city (No. 6) and the international low carbon city (No. 10) are the two remaining special ones. They are located on the border area of Shenzhen where there is plenty of land to use and they are the biggest new town projects. Although sustainability is not the core value in Shenzhen's urban development, it remains as an important experimental base for ecological technologies.

Several characteristics of new town development in Shenzhen are apparent. First, most of the new town projects in Shenzhen are located in the suburban area (in Guangzhou most of them are located in central urban areas). However, it cannot be simply interpreted as Shenzhen having more suburbanisation and urban growth than Guangzhou. These two megacities have very different urban structures, as Guangzhou should be regarded as basically a network of cities. The central area of Shenzhen is denser and more urbanised than of Guangzhou. The land price of central areas in these megacities is much higher than it in suburban areas. Cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen no longer need to develop large amounts of suburban land to generate capital, as small-scale projects in central areas may be more profitable. Thus, Shenzhen has small-scale new town projects in its central area for urban renovation and upgrading, mid-scale new towns in district cores as new development poles, and large-scale new towns in suburbs. Second, although similar urban concepts and functions are used in new town development in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, a much more organized and planned pattern of new towns can be observed in Shenzhen. The local government tends to have a more cautious attitude towards property development. Rather than boosting land-leasing revenue, the main goal of new town projects in Shenzhen is to build a leading model of innovative and sustainable urban development in the PRD region. The increase of competitiveness and attractiveness by prestigious projects outweighs the sheer economic benefits from land development.
