Urban traffic congestion in China: causes and countermeasures

Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying*

Based on the analysis of the current situation and causes of urban traffic congestion in China,
this paper points out that the rapidly rising gap between demand and supply in transportation,
inappropriate urban space arrangement, and inefficient traffic management are the underlying
causes of traffic congestion. Drawing on the advanced experience of foreign countries, this paper
also offers suggestions for countermeasures against urban traffic congestion in China.

Keywords: urban traffic, traffic congestion, countermeasures

During the course of on-going urbanization and the continuing scale expansion of cities, traffic
congestion has become an increasingly prominent problem. This “disease” has threatened the
healthy development of Chinese cities. It is even more acute as more Chinese people buy cars.
Urban road construction has lagged behind the rapid increase in the total number of privately-
owned cars. A certain amount of traffic congestion occurs everywhere, be it first-tier, second-tier,
or third-tier cities. It causes inconvenience to people’s lives and increases cities’ operating costs.
Comprehensive studies and analysis are needed to find effective countermeasures against traffic
congestion.

1. Current situation of traffic congestion

China is now entering a new phase in which its cities are improving road conditions for its
people. As more Chinese families buy private cars, it is inevitable that traffic congestion will
occur as long as China does not improve its transportation infrastructure. Traffic congestion
mainly occurs in the following forms.

1.1. Ever-increasing congestion areas

In China, the definitions of congestion junctions and congestion sections are as follows: “a

*
Liu Zhiyan (Corresponding Author, email:[email protected]), Professor, Institute for Urban and Environmental
Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China; Yue Xiaoyan, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute
for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China; Zhao Rui, Graduate
Student, Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China;
Zhang Ying, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, Beijing, China.
48 China Finance and Economic Review

congestion junction is a road junction that has no traffic lights in control, where vehicles are
not moving and the queue is longer than 250m, or a road junction that has traffic lights where
vehicles fail to pass through after three green lights; a congestion section is a road section where
vehicles are not moving and the queue is longer than 1km.” Judged by these definitions, 2/3 of
the 655 Chinese cities suffer from traffic congestion during rush hours, and the phenomenon is
spreading to second-tier and third-tier cities.

1.2. Ever-increasing travel time

Traffic congestion increases travel time. According to “2010 China’s New Urbanization
Report,” Beijing ranks first among the top 50 cities in terms of average commute time (52 min).
Guangzhou comes in second (48 min), Shanghai in third (47 min), and Shenzhen in fourth (46
min).

1.3. Ever-increasing economic costs

In addition to causing delays, traffic congestion may easily make people agitated and
impatient, reduce work efficiency, and even induce more traffic accidents. Meanwhile, traffic
congestion is costly. According to Niu (2010), 15 Chinese cities currently have to spend
nearly 1 billion yuan ($153.8 million) per day on traffic congestion management. Among
them, Beijing ranks first with its citizens spending 335.6 yuan/m on traffic congestion. Next
come Guangzhou and Shanghai, with the losses standing at 265.9 yuan/m and 253.6 yuan/m
respectively.

1.4. Ever-increasing pollution

Traffic congestion exacerbates air pollution. The research results of the Beijing Municipal
Research Institute of Environmental Protection show that if the speed of a car increases from
20km/h to 50km/h, carbon monoxides (CO) and hydrocarbons emitted can be reduced by about
50%. It is thus clear that frequent speed changes during traffic congestion will exacerbate air
pollution, thus threatening people’s physical health.

2. The causes of traffic congestion

From a macroscopic perspective, the underlying cause is that during the rapid advance of
urbanization, road use increases fast while the traffic supply remains limited; from a microscopic
perspective, the direct cause is that inefficient traffic management leads to traffic dispersion. The
causes are manifested in the following aspects.
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 49

2.1. Rapid urbanization widens the gap between supply and demand for transportation

Traffic supply capacity is an integral part of a city’s population carrying capacity. It is

estimated that in 2010, China’s urbanization rate approached 47.5%, and is projected to exceed
50% by 2013. Based on the Logistic Growth Model, China’s urbanization rate will reach
57.7% by 2020, and 67.8% by 2030. In a nutshell, China’s urbanization rate will increase by an
average of about 1 percentage point per year in the next 20 years. After that, the growth of the
urbanization rate will slow down. That is to say, in the next 20 years, the urban population in
China will increase by about 14 million per year, an increase equivalent to the total population of
Beijing. Therefore, it is inevitable that Chinese cities will face more traffic pressure.

2.2. The increase of private cars outpaces the increase of roadways per capita in urban areas

As Chinese cities develop, roadways in urban China are expanded and the traffic
conditions are greatly improved. Motorbikes, electric vehicles, and bicycles are rarely seen
on the street now. More people are choosing private cars instead of walking. Figure 1 and
Figure 2 show that from 1991 to 2008, road areas per capita in urban China increased by
14.7% on average per year. However, during the same period, the number of urban transport
vehicles increased even faster, especially that of private cars, which were up by 19.7% per
year. For example, in the first half of 2010, the average net increase of motor vehicles in
Beijing was 1,900 per day. If the trend continues, by 2015, the number of motor vehicles
owned by Beijing’s citizens will reach 7 million, and the average speed will be lower than
15 km/h. Such a speed is even lower than current levels during the worst traffic congestion
(Guo, 2010). Road conditions would be even worse than that those on July 13th, 2009 when
the traffic system in Beijing failed due to a severe rainstorm. In order to mitigate traffic
congestion, Beijing introduced a new regulation to restrict the purchase of private cars. In
some second-tier cities, private car ownership has also grown dramatically. For example, in

Figure 1.Variation curve for urban road areas per capita    Figure 2. Variation curve for private car ownership
50 China Finance and Economic Review

Nanchang, the number of private cars jumped from 17,751 in 2005 to 86,624 in 2009, up by
almost 5 fold. It can be concluded that although China has committed itself to urban road
construction, urban roadways have not increased rapidly enough to match the speed of motor
vehicle ownership. Traffic congestion is therefore becoming more serious.

2.3. Short-sighted and inefficient urban planning aggravates traffic congestion

Due to short-sighted and inefficient urban planning (esp. medium and long term planning),
megacities and super cities in China adopt an “Urban Sprawl” model of space arrangement which
includes spreading outwards from the suburbs of a city to its outskirts. During this process, due
to a shortage of sound infrastructure, the functions of the newly-formed cities are not sufficient.
For example, when conducting urban planning, Tian Tongyuan of Beijing considered only the
issue of housing and not the employment for its residents. As a result, suburban residents have to
go to work in the city every day, making Tian Tongyuan a super-crowded area. It can be said that
such kind of “working-and-living-in-separate-places” space arrangement will definitely aggravate
traffic congestion. Other urban planning, though systematically sound, strategic and forward-
looking, may encounter some problems during enforcement due to the tug-of-war between
different stakeholders. Therefore, it is difficult to conduct scientific urban planning.

2.4. Poor design of urban road networks is the direct cause of traffic congestion

The current urban road network features low density and poorly constructed subsidiary and
branch roads. The space between main roads is excessively large, and the functions of insufficient
branch roads are confusing. Bottleneck roads, dead end roads, and road intersections are the main
areas where traffic congestions occur. In addition, when dealing with traffic congestion, China
does not efficiently disperse traffic flow between main roads and branch roads, between road
nodes, and between different main areas, nor does it have a sound micro-circulatory system. For
example, as influenced by traditional thinking, Chinese organizations and communities all set up
walls. For them, unfamiliar vehicles are prohibited from entering. As a result, cars are stranded
on the streets while traffic lanes within the communities are empty of cars.

2.5. The choice of trip modes is not diverse enough, which exacerbates traffic congestion

Since the 1990s, the amount of urban public transportation has grown in step with the length
of road networks (See Figure 3). The average annual growth rate for urban public transport
was 35.5%, and that for road networks was 31.1%. Although such improvement has enabled
more people to travel in motor vehicles, the speed of public transport has decreased due to its
disproportional growth, which offsets the enhancement of efficiency. Since public transport is no
longer the optimal choice, passengers have had to find alternative modes of transportation. As a
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 51

result, the use of private cars has increased. According to statistics, 1/3 of Beijing citizens choose
public transport, another 1/3 choose cars, and the rest choose bicycle or walking. Such a lineup of
trip modes is not diverse enough, so the functions of urban roads usually fall into disorder. Thus, in
many cities, severe traffic congestion occurs at a definite time or suddenly without any warning.

Figure 3. Urban public transportation operating vehicles and length of operating lines

2.6. Relatively lagging urban rail transit fails to effectively disperse traffic flow

Currently in China, subways are mainly concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing,
Guangzhou, and Shenzhen (See Figure 4). Other cities in China do not have subways. Those
under construction are also located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong (See Figure 5). Subways
in these three cities account for 56.3% of China’s total subways. No matter whether completed
or still under construction, these rail transit systems are short and insufficient, and are mainly
concentrated in Beijing and Shanghai. The limited resources of these rail transit systems cannot
sufficiently share the burden of public transport. Such a situation, to a large extent, worsens the
scenario of traffic congestion.

   Figure 4. Urban subways completed in 2009      Figure 5. Urban subway under construction in 2009
52 China Finance and Economic Review

3. Lessons learned from foreign countries and countermeasures

The relation between urban roads and traffic flow is similar to that between blood vessel and
blood. Tackling traffic congestion means utilizing all kinds of mechanisms to regulate traffic
flow in order to prevent congestion from occurring. The goal, in essence, to adjust the proportion
of various trip modes (cars, public transport, bicycling, and walking), to optimize the spacial
arrangement of roads, and to balance urban traffic supply and demand. Therefore, urban traffic
flow can resume to smooth conditions and traffic congestion can be relieved.

3.1. Lessons learned from foreign countries

Traffic congestion is a thorny problem of common concern around the world. Although
governments around the world have taken various measures to mitigate these issues, the results
are not all satisfactory. A comparison between measures taken by different countries shows that,
usual countermeasures include the followings: to ensure traffic supply; to manage traffic demand;
and to improve urban space arrangement (See Table 1).

Table 1
Lessons learned from foreign countries

Lessons learned from foreign countries Case study cities

Focus on traffic dispersion, road expansion, improvement of traffic facilities, and construction of
three-dimensional traffic systems; in recent decades, commitment to road expansion; focus on the
Tokyo
design of road networks, especially the design of branch roads; develope public transport and rail
transit on the ground.
Introduce automatic traffic control systems; collect real-time information of traffic conditions
Melbourne, Sydney,
through platforms like GPS, mobile phones, cameras, and online resources; publish the
and London
information through media like radio and television to road users.
For those entering controlled areas during morning peak, traffic jam fees are charged; introduce
Singapore
ERP Electronic Toll Collection System to shorten queuing time.
Charge expensive parking fees; raise parking fees to 10 times the amount of those in similar cities. Tokyo
Impose weekly traffic restrictions based on the last digit of license plate numbers. Athens, Mexico
On the streets of Manhattan, only those in possession of special license can be allowed to park for
loading and boarding; other vehicles are prohibited from parking; whoever breaches this rule must New York
be fined.
Create an ideal combination between urban planning and urban traffic planning; separate footways
Brasilia
from motorway; motorways are constructed at different heights.
Optimize urban space arrangement; develop a radial traffic pattern with ring roads; develop
Paris and Tokyo
polycentric cities; improve city functions.

Tokyo is the role model in mitigating traffic congestion through regulating the traffic
supply. The major advantages of such methods are as follows: widening roads can enhance the
traffic capacity of the entire road network; improving the design of road networks can bring
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 53

their best functions into full play; and increasing the amount of public transportation can offer
more travelling choices to people. These are all necessary elements for a city to tackle traffic
congestion.
Singapore, Tokyo, New York, and Athens have all taken various measures to control traffic
demand in order to mitigate traffic congestion. Auctioning Certificates of Entitlement, charging
traffic jam fees and expensive parking fees are more effective. The major advantage of such a
method is that ownership of vehicles and the number of vehicles entering city center are sharply
reduced within a short period of time, which forces people to use vehicles less frequently, hence
relieving traffic pressure. The major disadvantage of such a method is that it will lead to the
formation of “A City of Wealthy Persons.” In a sense, such a method deprives middle and low
income groups of the right to choose the trip mode they prefer. Some western countries prefer
traffic control where they impose weekly traffic restrictions based on the last digit of the license
plate number. It is effective because it can reduce traffic flow in a short period of time. However,
it may encourage people to buy another car, which increases car ownership.
Tackling traffic congestion by rearranging urban spaces is a method being taken on by Paris,
Tokyo, and Brasilia. Optimizing urban space arrangements and improving city functions can
decentralize city centers, relieve traffic pressure, and reduce long-term traffic demand. However,
it is capital and time intensive.
In conclusion, China can draw on the experience of foreign countries in taking
countermeasures against traffic congestion. However, instead of just mimicking other attempts,
China should proceed from its specific situation to conduct and implement comprehensive traffic
control.

3.2. Countermeasures against traffic congestion

Traffic congestion is the disease of modern cities. It is too complex an issue to be solved
completely at this point. Therefore, cities in China must conduct comprehensive management
from three aspects: ensuring traffic supply, managing traffic demand, and rearranging urban
space. In order to achieve these goals, this paper offers the following propositions.

3.2.1. To improve transport infrastructure such as urban roads, and focus on the design of road
networks
Sound transport infrastructure can enhance the transportation capacity of the entire road
network, which will lay a solid foundation for preventing and tackling traffic congestion.
First of all, a sound design of road networks must include the construction of rapid arterial
traffic with great carrying capacity, integrated interchange stations, and minor routes which link
various communities; it must develop traffic channels on, under, and above the ground. Attention
should be paid to the design of cross-roads, flyovers, and the diversification of trip modes so as
to form a three-dimensional traffic system featuring an optimal distribution of arteries and by-
54 China Finance and Economic Review

passes, and an organic combination of above-ground, ground, and underground channels. In

recent years, many Chinese cities built up roads rapidly. However, more attention was paid to the
construction of trunk roads instead of ensuring that other road facilities match the trunk roads.
As a result, various trip modes are concentrated on the trunk roads. The mutual influence and
interference leads to traffic jams on the trunk roads.
Besides widening roads, traffic infrastructure such as parking lots, traffic signs, traffic lights,
traffic markings, and monitoring facilities also needs constructing. In terms of the construction of
parking lots, basic parking lots are needed, while public and “park and ride” parking lots should
also be added. Meanwhile, a small parking fee should be charged in order to encourage people
to ride public transit. Parking lots should be multi-story because as to enable more utilization of
space.

3.2.2. To develop mass public transport, and enhance carrying capacity

Relying only on the expansion of road areas cannot solve traffic congestion effectively. An
integrated public transport system comprised of bus and rail transit must be developed.
First of all, increasing mileage is important when building subways and rail transit. However,
designing interchange stations must not be ignored. An effectively integrated interchange station
can relieve traffic pressure on the ground. The metropolitan cities of developed countries all
value the construction of mass rail transit. For example, subway mileage in Tokyo exceeds 320
kilometers. If urban Light Rail Transport (LRT) is included, the total mileage amounts to nearly
2000 kilometers. Tokyo’s subway system can meet 86% of the total traffic demand, far more than
the 54% carrying capacity of New York and the 35% carrying capacity of London. However, in
Beijing, the total mileage of subways and LRT only approaches 336 kilometers, meeting less
than 20% of the total traffic demand. Meanwhile, it is time-consuming for commuters to transfer
between rail transit and buses in Beijing.
Second, it is imperative to develop BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). As an important part of public
transport, the main functions of buses are to serve areas outside the reach of urban rail transit and
to link sparsely-populated communities to the rail transit system. Therefore, besides increasing
buses and bus lines, relevant authorities should take the development of bus related facilities as
priority, set up designated bus lanes and signals, and properly design interchange stations for
passengers to transfer between rail modes or within the same mode.

3.2.3. To introduce proper pricing policy, and charge time-of-use and sectional fares for traffic
jams and parking
Though convenient and comfortable, cars take up vast amounts of public space, so car users
should pay for it at a great cost. Experiences of all countries show that charging expensive road
tolls and parking fees reduces road use.
First of all, Chinese cities should raise parking charges by a large margin. In 2008, the per
capita GDP of Beijing was $9,075, and the figure for Tokyo was $34,000, 3.75 times the amount
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 55

of Beijing. Parking fees in Tokyo were, at the most, $20 per hour, while in Beijing, at its most,
parking fees were only 10 yuan ($1.5) per hour. That is to say, parking fees in Tokyo was 13 times
the amount of that in Beijing. The hard evidence shows that in most Chinese cities, including
Beijing, parking fees are relatively low. If relevant authorities want to rely on pricing measures to
curb traffic demand, they must raise parking fees by a large margin.
Second, license fees should be charged, and to some extent, adopting other pricing measures
such as increasing fuel tax might be effective in easing traffic congestion. For example, Shanghai
has been auctioning private car licenses, which has become a form of the most expensive
license fees. As a result, car ownership in Shanghai is only at 1.7 million, while that in Beijing
has reached 4.6 million. It can be concluded that auctioning private car licenses is indeed an
important way that Shanghai has lessened car ownership.

3.2.4. To formulate relevant policies and regulations, modify citizen’s travel behaviors, and
introduce control measures if necessary
As China’s economy grows and the threshold of car ownership falls, car ownership in China
has grown dramatically. As a result, space-consuming cars now take up even larger share of
traffic volume. If car use cannot be effectively controlled, the only result will be the inability of
cities to meet increasing traffic demand.
First of all, Chinese government should introduce the most effective policies and regulations,
modify citizen’s travel behaviors, advocate a good manner of travelling, and raise people’s
awareness for honoring traffic laws. If people can change from being forced to avoid traffic
violations, human-incurred traffic congestions and traffic accidents will disappear. No matter
whether driving or walking on streets, all of us should observe certain rules, or else traffic order
cannot be maintained. The occurrence of the current traffic congestions and traffic accidents is
largely because drivers and passengers lack traffic safety awareness and do not observe traffic
rules.
Second, introducing control measures, such as traffic restrictions, is also necessary. Cities
including Athens, Mexico, and St. Paul have all imposed restrictions on the number of days when
car use is allowed. Weekly traffic restrictions based on the last digit of license plate numbers have
been imposed, which to some extent, eases traffic congestion. In some stipulated areas of certain
cities, only cars with permission are allowed to enter. In a nutshell, only a small fraction of cars
(those with their owners living in the community) are allowed to enter the community, while thru-
traffic is banned from entering. In other countries, people are not allowed to drive a car alone in
certain congested areas. People are encouraged to seek car-pooling and ride-sharing strategies by
establishing private car clubs and setting up taxi stands in the same direction.
Beijing has implemented traffic restrictions and purchase restrictions, namely, banning
cars from entering certain areas based on the last digit of license plate numbers and issuing
a monthly lottery to limit the number of license plates to be registered. An assessment report
released by the Beijing Transportation Research Center shows that after the implementation
56 China Finance and Economic Review

of traffic restrictions, the number of frequently congested road sections has been reduced from
422 to 249, and the mileage has fell from 99 kilometers to 50 kilometers during morning peak.
During the evening peak, the number of frequently congested road sections has been reduced
from 818 to 555, and the mileage has fell from 177 kilometers to 110 kilometers. During the
morning peak, the average speed of vehicles running within the 5th Ring Road is 24.7 km/h, up
by 13.3%. During the evening peak, the average speed is 22.3km/h, up by 19.3%. Congestion
time within one day is reduced by 5 hours and 15 minutes. Meanwhile, according to the air
quality data published by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection, during
traffic restrictions, air quality in Beijing generally improves. Daily emissions of motor vehicle
pollutants are down by 375 tons. Among them, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen
oxides (NOx), and inhalable particles are reduced by 10%, 10%, 8%, and 8%, respectively.
Although there is no report assessing the effect of the purchase restrictions imposed since the
beginning of 2011, one can be sure that it must have some effect on easing traffic congestion in
the short term.

3.2.5. To introduce policy incentives to encourage green commuting

In addition to pricing policy and control measures, other policy incentives can also be utilized
to encourage people to ride public transit. Through replacing cars with inexpensive public
transport, and advocating long-distance communication, car use will be sharply reduced.
First of all, the government can subsidize public transport, such as lowering ticket prices of
buses and subways. Buses are highly-efficient and environmentally-friendly with lower energy
consumption. Lowering ticket prices of buses and subways will make people more willing to
choose buses over cars. For example, in 2008, Beijing began to lower the ticket prices of buses
and subways, which greatly increase the number of people riding public transit.
Second, the government should control or even reduce the number of official state cars,
promote IT application, and encourage telecommuting and flexible office hours so that people
from different professions can travel less or choose different time periods for home-to-work
travel. Meanwhile, the government can formulate a staggered rush hour plan to stagger the work
schedules of state organs, institutions, and enterprises. Such methods can reduce traffic volume by
1/5-1/4 during peak hours and help to form a relatively smooth traffic flow, which will effectively
ease traffic pressure.
Finally, China should encourage people to reduce private car use, and shift to green
commuting and low-carbon living. When going to work, Japanese people usually take buses
instead of cars. Private cars are used primarily for family outings during vacations. Though
similar in private car ownership, Beijing and Tokyo differ greatly in terms of people’s attitudes
towards private car use. The attitudes of people in Tokyo help to form an urban environment of
far less traffic pressure than Beijing. At the same time, promoting modern ways of living such as
online shopping may also reduce unnecessary trips and excessive use of means of transportation
during rush hours.
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 57

A city with cars as the dominant trip mode will consume 2.5-4 times the energy per capita than
a city where public transport is its dominant trip mode. It is obvious that a city showing excessive
reliance on cars will not develop in a sustainable way.

3.2.6. To accelerate the development of an ITS (Intelligent Transport System), and enhance
transportation planning and management
Due to the scarcity of land resources, the traffic supply cannot meet the traffic demand.
Such discrepancy has become a common concern for all countries in the 20th century. Newly-
built traffic facilities will generate more traffic flow, while traffic demand always exceeds traffic
supply. Increasing supply does not only mean widening roads or increasing public transport. It
should also mean the proper planning and management of urban transportation, effective delivery
and use of ITS, and appropriate allocation and utilization of roads and land resources.
Road networks in China’s urban areas generally have certain deficiencies. The inappropriate
design and arrangement, and the lagging of traffic management leads to the underuse or misuse of
land resources. As a result, severe traffic congestion occurs. Ultimately, China should accelerate
the development of ITS, improve traffic management, increase the efficiency of land use, and
enhance the capacity of delivering an efficient traffic supply. In the 1970s, America was the
first country to propose systematic traffic management. Tackling traffic congestion was closely
associated with solving energy and environmental issues. At the end of the 20th century, the
American government did not build more or better roads. Instead, the government improved
its management of existing traffic systems. Now road and traffic authorities of all countries
are exploring new measures of traffic management and control, and tapping into the full traffic
capacity of existing road networks. The best practice is the wide application of ITS and ongoing
technological innovation and improvement. In 2007, Japan introduced ITS, and introduced 17
million ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) devices. The penetration rate of ETC reached 70%.
With the help of ETC, traffic congestion at toll stations was completely solved and carbon
emissions were down by 40%. However, in China, cities did not apply ITS on a large scale,
though conditions exist for cities like Beijing to rely on ITS to collect traffic jam fees and parking
charges based on the time-of-use and sections used.

3.2.7. To build polycentric cities with chain-store operations of quality public services, and
optimize urban space arrangement
After the industrial revolution, rural populations in advanced countries started to migrate
to urban areas. Urban areas became increasingly crowded, which was first manifested in the
over-crowdedness of houses. It was solved by building high-rise buildings and geographically
extending housing space. Since city centers have strong drawing power, and more employment
opportunities and shopping malls, a large number of people living in the outskirts come to
the city center for work and shopping, causing traffic congestion. As cars are used as popular
means of transportation, urban over-crowdedness, especially traffic over-crowdedness, becomes
58 China Finance and Economic Review

increasingly severe. When we entered 1990s, urban over-crowdedness became more complex.
It has become a mix of housing, traffic, and environmental over-crowdedness. Traffic over-
crowdedness can be seen not only inside a certain city, but also between cities, not only on the
streets, but also inside public transit systems. If over-crowdedness continues and hampers traffic
movement for a long time, traffic congestion will occur. It is thus evident that traffic congestion
is not a problem created solely by the traffic system. It is, to a large extent, a problem caused by
inappropriate urban space arrangement.
In order to mitigate traffic congestion, relevant authorities should combine it with overall
urban planning, construction, and management so that the trend of over-exploitation and the
disorderly sprawl or extension of city centers can be reversed. With the creation of a polycentric
city structure, the functions of city centers can be rearranged, travel modes optimized, and traffic
pressure mitigated.
It is fair to say that the key measure of tackling traffic congestion is to optimize urban space
arrangement and improve the functions of cities. Particularly for China, special attention should
be paid to improving urban planning. That is to say, China should minimize the distance between
places of residence, employment, schooling, and entertainment, and reduce urban third space
so that people can work, go to school, visit a doctor, and go shopping at the nearest place. With
the introduction of chain-store operations, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, shopping malls, and
recreation areas will be arranged in a balanced manner to avoid unnecessary daily travel. Large
cities should build residential areas, basic support facilities, and places of amusement around
major industries. Meanwhile, industries with close business ties should be located as near as
possible because it is conducive to shortening office-to-office, home-to-work, and work-to-leisure
travel distances. Therefore, the growing traffic demand can be curbed by introducing proper
urban planning.
Back in the late 19th century, Ebenezer Howard, a famous expert in the field of urban
planning, envisaged the establishment of garden cities. He proposed that combining convenient
ways of living in urban areas with a sound ecological environment in rural areas, garden cities are
the ideal places for people to live. Since then, the philosophy has evolved based on the experience
of various urban development, and has led to the formation of many new urban spatial structures,
such as satellite cities and metropolis circles. One development mode called TOD (Transit-
oriented Development) is, in particular, effective in easing traffic congestion. Its purpose is to
build a mixed-use residential or commercial area surrounded by traffic routes and stations. Such
a development mode will encourage travelers to take public transport and reduce private car use.
Although cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have realized the advantages of adopting
such a development mode, the implementation still takes time.
 Liu Zhiyan, Yue Xiaoyan, Zhao Rui, Zhang Ying 59

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