China Embraces The Car

Increasing popularity of the private automobile is bringing big changes to China.

1 minute read

March 9, 2004, 11:00 AM PST

By Janet Boyko


China has become the fastest-growing auto market in the world. As the automobile population surges, the country is beginning to face the effects on urban design, social geography, and environment that western nations have been dealing with for decades. “Bicycles are being gradually banned from Shanghai's larger streets to make way for the automobile, and old houses torn down to make space for wider roads and parking lots. Cars are changing how people shop, enabling the proliferation of big-box retail stores while expanding the confines of an enduring real estate boom.” Not surprisingly, suburban growth is booming and energy consumption is rising. Chinese planners now join many other nations around the world in coping with the challenges of a society becoming increasingly dependent on the automobile.

Thanks to Janet Boyko

Monday, October 24, 2005 in The Washington Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

2 hours ago - CALmatters

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

3 hours ago - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

4 hours ago - The Urbanist