Speakers: Zhang Lei, Renmin University

Professional planning in China has changed over the past four decades, shifting from a focus on market-oriented reforms to a focus on the environment and people-centered practice. This lecture will discuss these changes at three different scales. First, what has changed along with the transition in the urban planning system?  Second, I examine the role local leaders play in drafting master plans, showing that the degree of emphasis on environmental issues varies with the personal characteristics of party secretaries and mayors. I find that the education and age of local leaders have a significant effect on environmental concerns in master plans, while their work experience and state mandate do not. Third, I examine the role community planners have played in the case of Beijing, showing that they play hybrid roles as technical experts, advocates and communicators in their daily practice, yet they exhibit a limited understanding of their role as communicative planners and how to effectively involve the public in the planning process.

Lei Zhang is a Professor of Urban Planning in the School of Public Administration and Policy at Renmin University of China. He completed his Ph.D. in planning at the University of Tokyo. He serves on several academic committees within the Urban Planning Society of China, including as the secretary-general of the Planning Implementation Committee.  His research focuses on explaining institutional diversity and evolution in urban planning and development control, and in particular, the changing role of political power and public involvement in plans and planning in China and other East Asian Countries. He also explores the role of informal institutions in shaping place and space in China’s mega-cities.

This event series is sponsored by the MIT Sustainable Urbanization Lab, the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, and the Harvard University Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

Presented via Zoom Meeting.
Meeting link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/93343229272