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Urban Forest Planning and Policy in China

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Book cover Green Infrastructure in Chinese Cities

Part of the book series: Urban Sustainability ((US))

Abstract

Urban forests, in various forms and sizes, have been recognized as an important component of urban landscapes for millennia. Being produced and managed by governmental authorities, they manifest how various policy and planning initiatives have been implemented. This chapter delineates the history, experience, and characteristics of policy guidance pertaining to urban forests and urban green spaces (being an early and still co-existing form) in the People’s Republic of China since its founding in 1949. The chronological roadmap of China’s urban forest can be roughly divided into four phases: (1) piecemeal urban greening and massive deforestation (1949–1979), (2) urban gardening and peri-urban afforestation for landscape beautification (1980–2000); (3) urban forests as a countermeasure to environmental stresses (2000–2010), and (4) urban forests as a visual manifestation of ecological civilization (post-2010). It is unquestioned that China is strongly committed to promoting ecological civilization as an innovative paradigm for its sustainable development and a new vision for the global future. The transformation of this political discourse into expected outcomes in urban forest development requires policymakers, scholars, and practitioners to construe urban forests as an integral component in urban transition, a stronghold of civic responsibility, and a key dimension of the nature of human flourishing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

    Wendy Y. Chen & Yining Su

  2. Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, No. 1 Dongxiaofu, Xiangshan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China

    Cheng Wang

Authors
  1. Wendy Y. Chen
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  2. Cheng Wang
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  3. Yining Su
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendy Y. Chen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Ali Cheshmehzangi

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Chen, W.Y., Wang, C., Su, Y. (2022). Urban Forest Planning and Policy in China. In: Cheshmehzangi, A. (eds) Green Infrastructure in Chinese Cities. Urban Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9174-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9174-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-9173-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-9174-4

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