A New Government Planned Mega-City Shapes Up Next to Beijing

Planners for the Xiong’an New Area hope to cure the ills of "megacity disease"

1 minute read

June 10, 2017, 5:00 AM PDT

By jwilliams @jwillia22


Beijing, China

Nikolaj Potanin / Flickr

Ma Tianjie of Foreign Policyreports on the planned development of a new mega-city recently announced by the Chinese government in one of Beijing's neighboring provinces. The hope with Xiong’an New Area is to create the kind of areas that Shenzhen or Shanghai's Pudong area have become, with non-governmental functions, including corporate headquarters, moving from the capital of Beijing to the new town. However, some critics see little hope of repeating the economic boom that transformed the "backwaters" of Pudong and Shenzhen into global financial hubs. The government is also struggling to curb wild real estate speculation in the designated new area.

Xiong’an’s planners are faced with the tricky task of managing not just expectation but also imagination. There is visible frustration over what the government sees as a small-minded, reductionist reading of the New Area as nothing more than a real estate play. Wild speculation is “debasing” to the leadership’s vision for the New Area, an article in state mouthpiece People’s Daily declared. The grand plan, it argues, is an ambitious strategy to explore a new way to overcome “megacity disease,” to achieve more balanced regional development and to nurture innovative engines of growth.

Tianjie reports that the phased development of Xiong’an will begin with a 38 square mile city, eventually growing to 770 square miles, or slightly smaller than Tokyo.

Friday, May 19, 2017 in Foreign Policy

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

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

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.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

1 hour ago - InTransition Magazine

Row of older brick houses in Detroit with front porches and front lawns.

Detroit Says Problems With Property Tax Assessments are Fixed. Advocates Disagree.

With higher-valued properties under assessed and lower-valued properties over assessed, advocates say there's still a problem with Detroit's property tax system.

3 hours ago - Shelterforce Magazine

Google street view of red brick multi-story power plant building in Pittsburgh, PA.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower

A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

July 4 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette