Territorial spatial planning is the spatial planning system of the People's Republic of China which, according to its official definition, serves as the guide of the country's territory's development, the blueprint of sustainable development, as well as the fundamental basis of all kinds of development.[1] Territorial spatial planning is an "all-in-one" planning encompassing former major function zone planning, land-use planning, urban and rural planning, as well as other different types of spatial planning.
Prior to the establishment of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the introduction of policies of territorial spatial planning, various types of spatial planning systems had existed in mainland China, which include (but are not limited to):
| Planning system | Competent authority at the national level | Period | Legal/policy basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National economic and social development plan | National Development and Reform Commission | 5 years | N/A | |
| Major function zone planning | National Development and Reform Commission[2] | 10 - 15 years | Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization[3] | |
| Land-use planning | Competent department of land management department (Ministry of Land and Resources) | 15 years | Land Management Law | |
| Urban and rural planning | Competent department of urban and rural planning department (Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development) | 15 - 20 years | Urban and Rural Planning Law | |
| Environmental protection planning | Competent department of environmental protection (Ministry of Environmental Protection) | 5 years | Environmental Protection Law |
An attempt to solve this problem was conceptualized in the Decision of the CCCPC on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening the Reform passed on November 12, 2013:On December 12-13, the Central Working Conference of Urbanization discussed the necessity to "build a spatial planning system, push forward the reform of the planning system, and accelerate legislative works of planning".[5]
The National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014-2020) put forward the idea to "strengthen coordination between urban planning and other planning systems including economic and social development planning, major function zone planning, land-use planning, ecological and environmental protection planning, and infrastructure planning. Push forward the integration of multiple plans, including economic and social development planning, urban planning, and land use planning, into one plan in areas where conditions permit."[6] In the same year, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the Notice on the Pilot Project of "Integrating Multiple Plans Into One" for Cities and Counties, and a total of 28 cities and counties were appointed in the pilot project.[7]
On September 21, 2015, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council issued the Integrated Reform Plan for Promoting Ecological Progress, which declared that "A spatial planning system will be designed, with the main purpose of strengthening the spatial governance and improving its structure, which is nationally unified and better connected between different departments of government, and according to which management is divided between governments at multiple levels, in an effort to eliminate overlapping and conflicting spatial plans, the overlap and duplication of responsibilities between departments, and the issue of local authorities frequently changing their plans." "Spatial plans will be divided into national, provincial, and municipal (or county) levels (spatial plans for cities which are divided into districts will be formulated for the district level)."[8] [9]
On March 17, 2018, the First Session of the 13th National People's Congress adopted the Decision of the First Session of the 13th National People's Congress on the Plan for Institutional Reform of the State Council, and the Plan for Institutional Reform of the State Council was approved. The plan states: "The Ministry of Natural Resources will be established. The Ministry of Land and Resources's duties, the National Development and Reform Commission's duties to organize the formulation of major function zone plans, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's duties in regard to urban-rural planning management, the Ministry of Water Resources's duties in regard to water resources survey and ownership registration management, the Ministry of Agriculture's duties in regard to grassland resources survey and ownership registration management, the State Forestry Bureau's duties in regard to forest and wetland resources survey and ownership registration management, the State Oceanic Administration's duties, and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping's duties shall be integrated, and the Ministry of Natural Resources shall be established as a department under the State Council. The Ministry of Natural Resources shall retain the brand of the State Oceanic Administration. The Ministry of Land and Resources, the State Oceanic Administration and the National Administration of Surveying, State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping will be dismantled."[10] [11] On April 10, 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources was officially inaugurated,[12] which cleared the administrative barriers to the integration of different types of spatial planning.
On May 9, 2019, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council issued the Opinions on Establishing and Supervising the Implementation of Territorial Spatial Planning System, which set out objectives of the reform of territorial spatial planning.[1] On May 28 of the same year, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued the Notice by the Ministry of Natural Resources on the Comprehensive Development of Territorial Spatial Planning, which prescribed "Major function zone plans, general plans for land use, urban system plans, comprehensive plans for cities (towns), and marine function zoning, etc. shall no longer be newly formulated or submitted for approval. Provincial land-use plans, urban system plans, major function zone plans, comprehensive plans for cities (towns), and the former pilot provincial spatial plans and pilot cities and counties' "multiple plans to one" projects which have been approved and expire later than 2020 shall be integrated into newly formulated territorial spatial plans at the same level in accordance with new planning requirements."[13]
On August 26, the Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China was amended and adopted. Article 18 was added to prescribe the legal status of territorial spatial planning:
On May 27, 2019, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the Guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Establishing and Supervising the Implementation of a Territorial Spatial Planning System . Zhuang Shaoqin, chief planner of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said in response to a journalist's question that the levels and contents of territorial spatial planning can be summarized into "five levels, three types, four systems" . They are:
| National | National territorial spatial planning | - | Specialized planning | |
| Provincial | Provincial territorial spatial planning | - | Specialized planning | |
| Municipal | City territorial spatial planning | (Inside UDB)Detailed planning | (Outside UDB) Village planning | Specialized planning |
| County | County territorial spatial planning | Specialized planning | ||
| Town | Town/township territorial spatial planning | - | ||
The "two evaluations" of territorial spatial planning, i.e. the evaluation of the carrying capacity of resources and environment and the evaluation of the suitability of territorial spatial development, are the basis for the formulation of territorial spatial planning. According to the Technical Guide for Evaluations of Resource and Environmental Carrying Capacity and Suitability of Territorial Spatial Development (Consultation Draft) formulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, "resource and environmental carrying capacity" refers to "the comprehensive support level of natural resources, environmental capacity and ecological service function for human activities in a given territorial space", while the "suitability of territorial spatial development" refers to "the suitability of land space for different patterns of development, protection, and utilization, such as ecological protection, agricultural production, and urban construction."
Among "three areas, three lines", "three areas" refer to the areas of ecological, agricultural, and urban functions. "Three lines", i.e. three control lines, are the ecological conservation red line, permanent prime farmland, and the urban development boundary .[1] The"three areas" highlight the division of dominant functions, while the "three lines" emphasize the strict control over boundaries.[15]
The three control lines are defined as follows:
The relationship between the "three areas" and "three lines" is listed as follow:
| "Three areas" | Spaces delimited by "three lines" and other spaces | |
|---|---|---|
| Ecological space | Ecological conservation red line | Core areas of natural reserves |
| Normal areas of natural reserves | ||
| Other areas inside the red line | ||
| Other eco-spaces | ||
| Agricultural space | Permanent prime farmland | |
| Other agricultural spaces | ||
| Urban space | Urban development boundary | |
| Other urban spaces | ||
According to the Notice by the Ministry of Natural Resources on the Comprehensive Development of Territorial Spatial Planning, the main criteria for the review of the provincial territorial and spatial plans include:
The criteria for municipal comprehensive territorial space plans which should be review by the State Council, in addition to a deeper and refined version of the provincial ones, also include: