Strategy for Creating the Finest Place: Path for Construction of Garden City in Xicheng District, Beijing

Objective  Both Park City and Garden City emphasize people orientation, function integration, ecology valuation, system promotion, co-governance and sharing, and fine governance. Park City focuses on service, and takes municipal parks as the main body to improve the supply and service of urban green leisure space, with the aim of increasing pleasant green space in urban life. Garden City focuses on the core of urban characteristics and takes the global space as the object to improve the livability of the city. The construction goal of Garden City is to make people feel good anytime and anywhere, so as to create the overall urban image of “living in the forest, walking under the shade of trees, and sitting and inhabiting among flowers and plants”. The construction of Garden City is based on the development concept of Park City and a new journey to continuously promote the construction of ecological civilization. In 2022, the total forest coverage of Beijing reached 44.8%, the urban green coverage reached 49.3%, and there were a total of 1,050 parks of all kinds in the city. Besides, the per capita park green space reached 16.63 m², and the coverage of park green space within the 500 m service radius reached 88%. The above data indicates that Beijing has achieved the standard of “city of a thousand gardens”, placing a sound foundation for the construction of Garden City. With the arrival of the capital’s reduced development stage, in order to implement the idea of ecological civilization and promote high-quality urban development, Beijing will soon start the construction of Garden City. Xicheng District is located in the downtown area of Beijing, with a total area of 50.7 km². It is the core functional area of the capital, the core carrying area of national politics, culture and international exchanges, the key area for the protection of historical and cultural cities, and the showcasing area for displaying the image of the capital. The Regulatory Detailed Planning of the Capital’s Functional Core Area proposes to “build the functional core area of the capital into the finest area with excellent government environment, outstanding cultural charm, and first-class living environment”. In the context of the construction of Garden City in Beijing, this research, in combination with the initial planning of the construction of Garden City in Xicheng District and relevant regional characteristics, scientifically and systematically explores the path for the creation of Garden City in the core area of Beijing in a problem-oriented manner, which can provide a reference for the construction model to achieve high-quality development and construction of Xicheng District.

Methods/process  Nearly 30% of the land in Xicheng District is occupied by historical and cultural blocks, and the ancient city style is an important foundation and endowment for the construction of Garden City in Xicheng District. It is supposed to implement the most stringent control over the core area based on the overall consideration of landscape protection, urban safety and reduced development and, relying on city site remains, checkerboard road network, historical water system, and nine altars and eight temples, comprehensively leverage a variety of means to integrate history and culture into modern urban space, and strengthen the integrity of the old city’s spatial structure. Xicheng District actively explores new ideas and new methods to improve the fine management of street environment, and its renovation scope covers nearly 23 km², more than 1/3 of the total area of the district. This research is based on the summary of the results of the core area planning and fine urban governance implemented in Xicheng District since 2018. The research aims to, in combination with regional characteristics, explore the for building Garden City in the core area of the capital in a problem-oriented, scientific and systematic manner, which is of great significance for Beijing to develop into a world-class, harmonious and livable capital.

Results/conclusion  Centering around the 7 aspects of historic culture, functional positioning, travel environment, travel experience, ecological background, people’s life, and green digital development of Xicheng District, the research summarizes the 7 key tasks of Xicheng District in the construction of Garden City, namely shaping core elements constituting the image of a great country, raising the perception of special functional areas, creating a beautiful and comfortable travel environment, enriching the experience of enjoying green spaces, strengthening the city’s ecological resilience, and building a green digital ecological civilization, so as to build a system of public participation in joint construction of Garden City, while providing a construction model reference for achieving high-quality development of Xicheng District. Garden City is part of Beijing’s plan for the construction of ecological civilization in the new era. When the capital is about to start the construction of Garden City, Xicheng District, based on its own characteristics and development orientation, closely follows the needs of “seven goals” and “five characteristics”, and takes the construction of a capital core district with excellent government environment, outstanding cultural charm and first-class living environment as its main purpose, initially forming the path of Xicheng model for Garden City creation. Due to the great differences in construction conditions, regional characteristics and development directions, each district will actively explore the route for Garden City creation suitable for regional development. The research hereby proposes the following strategies for Garden City creation. First, focus on the needs of people, and improve the function of urban services to strengthen people’s sense of gain; second, respect nature, conform to nature, and coordinate regional resource-carrying capacity to improve the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem; third, mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of the whole society to participate in the construction of Garden City, form a good atmosphere of co-construction, co-governance and sharing, and explore a diversified model of government, market and social participation in the construction and operation of Garden City.