High-Modernist Urban Planning in Beijing for Population Control

Abstract

This article analyses the implementation process of Beijing’s current urban master plan using the background of modernisation theory. The line of thought behind the new urban master plan follows a high-modernist ideology embedded in an environment of reflexive modernity. Intermediate goals of the urban master plan are to tighten population control and increase social legibility of the city, providing an additional explanation for state-led urbanisation besides economic reasons. Urban planning is thus used as a social control mechanism and has emerged as a new means to maintain social distinction, creating new forms of exclusion. It can be observed that disruptive Mao era style pushes are still being employed in the policy cycle even today. This becomes evident from the implementation style of urban planning, where campaign-style and regularised implementation methods are complementing each other. This is corroborated through documentary analysis, interviews, and fieldwork conducted by the author.