- Estimation of the Water Resource Capacity of Chinese Cities and Megalopolises in the Future Urbanization   click here to open paper content1610 kb
by    Zhang, Danming & Dong, Arong | zhangdanming@gmail.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
This paper estimates the water carrying capacity of Chinese cities and
major megalopolises and intends to offer future urbanization suggestions
by considering issues in water aspect.
Abstract
Water scarcity and regional maldistribution is always the constraint for
Chinese development. Since the late 1970s, China has stepped into the
accelerating phase of urbanization, which has boosted the water consumption
of Chinese urban area. At present, there are two thirds Chinese cities are
suffering from water shortage, and about 100 cities are extremely lack of
water supply.
Most existing studies have discussed related issues on national or regional
scale from the perspectives of the water resource sector, but little
research has focused on the scale of urban level and the potential demand
and influence of Chinese future urban development to water resource
management.
Accordingly, based on the water-related statistical data from
China City Statistic Yearbook and public statistical
reports of the specific cities, this paper intends to utilize the approach
of spatial analysis and spatial statistics to estimate the water resource
capacity of the 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities under the stress of
future urbanization process, which will help to identify and indicate the
potential and feasibility of Chinese cities to accommodate the newly
emigrated population from the rural area and the suitability to further
accumulate or develop related industries.
Specifically, the major study content includes: (1)The
hydrological background analysis of the study cities from the regional
scale (precipitation, evaporation, hydrogeological condition etc. );
(2)Water resource condition analysis of the study
cities(sum, surface water, ground water, dominant water resource type,
diversity and stability in supply etc.); (3)Analysis of
water related infrastructure of the study cities (water supply, sewage,
drainage, reclaimed water, grey water, treatment plant infrastructure
etc.); (4)Analysis of water consumption in industries
and urban life (water use in agriculture, manufactory industry, service
industry, and household use etc.) of the study cities;
(5)Present and future water balance analysis and calculation of
the study cities; (6)Discussion about the optimization
strategies of demographic distribution from the perspective of water
resource and other related factors, which could lead Chinese urbanization
process towards more sustainable routes in the future.
The prospect contribution of this paper is to study water resource related
issues at a more detailed spatial scale and from the perspective of urban
studies. By identifying the water resource capacity and constraint factors
of different prefecture-level cities, suggestions about population density,
industrial development option, water infrastructure investment, and water
management policies will be raised to lead China finish its urbanization
process in a more sustainable pattern in the future.
Keywords
water urbanization capacity
Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2013: Frontiers of Planning - Evolving and declining models of city planning practice
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