The State Council approved the overall urban planning (2002-2020) for Ma’anshan city in East China’s Anhui province.
An area of 353 square kilometers was designated for unified rural and urban development, the circular stated.
The circular urged expanding public facilities to serve neighboring villages, developing counties and key villages with potential, and optimizing the overall layout of villages and towns.
More efforts will be concentrated on counties and central towns with good basic conditions to promote modernization of agriculture and villages.
By 2020, the goal is to cap the downtown population at 1.06 million, and urban construction land should be limited to 110 square kilometers.
No new development zone or city district should be set up beyond the approved area. Increase in construction land will be controlled, and protection of arable land will be strengthened.
The circular stressed green development for urban infrastructure facilities, including transportation systems, parking lots, underground tunnels and disaster prevention systems.
To build a resource-saving and people-friendly city, the local government was asked to control pollutants, speed up overcapacity retirement, and support green buildings.
While placing strict management on water resources, more work should be done to build a sponge city and protect ecological function areas.
Measures should be rolled out to protect natural reserves, such as ecological function zones, including wetlands and water sources.
The local government is also asked to make coordinated arrangements for service infrastructure closely related to public interests, such as education, healthcare and municipal administration, with a special focus on affordable housing projects.
Subsidized apartments should be included in construction plans. Shantytowns, villages within the city and dilapidated houses should be renovated and equipped with improved facilities.
Efforts should also be made to protect the traditional city landscape and historical and cultural heritage sites.
