This report presents an overview of trends in urban policies in OECD countries with the objective to identify successes and failure that could inform national Chinese policy-makers in their preparation of an Urbanisation Strategy.

This review examines the major challenges associated with China's shift to a new model of urbanisation, looking at a range such issues as social and labour-market policies, land use and transport planning, urban planning, urban governance and public finance.

This book provides an overview of the key challenges currently faced in China and OECD's main policy recommendations to address them.

This book is a handy reference guide to the regional policies of OECD countries and a broader analysis of trends in regional policies, based on sound, comparable information.

In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce. With China’s urban population projected to rise to about one billion – or close to 70 percent of the country’s population – by 2030, China’s leaders are seeking a more coordinated urbanization process. Urban China is a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council which was established to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in China and to help China forge a new model of urbanization. The report takes as its point of departure the conviction that China's urbanization can become more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. However, it stresses that achieving this vision will require strong support from both government and the markets for policy reforms in a number of area. The report proposes six main areas for reform: first, amending land management institutions to foster more efficient land use, denser cities, modernized agriculture, and more equitable wealth distribution; second, adjusting the hukou household registration system to increase labor mobility and provide urban migrant workers equal access to a common standard of public services; third, placing urban finances on a more sustainable footing while fostering financial discipline among local governments; fourth, improving urban planning to enhance connectivity and encourage scale and agglomeration economies; fifth, reducing environmental pressures through more efficient resource management; and sixth, improving governance at the local level.

This report examines the economic and socio-economic trends in Chile’s urban areas; it analyses four policy areas with significant implications for national urban programming, and it examines possible approaches for revitalising the urban governance.

OECD's 2013 Economic Survey of China examines recent economic developments, policies and prospects. Special chapters cover inclusive urbanisation and reforms for a healthier environment.