CHALLENGES FACING BY URBAN GOVERNANCE

--The case of Taiyuan

Student name: Xiaodan MiStudent number: 43982279Course Title: Urban Management & Governance in Developing Countries

Unidentified emissions from a coal-fired power plant in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, in 2007. The whole city was enclosed by the heavy haze. Residential area was not far away from the plant which means the waste gas may let residents get respiratory or other kind of illnesses.

ENVIRONMRNT

Taiyuan government official website provides various columns for the public. One of the most special part is governmental affairs publicity, which provide the public information about the process of government’s work, such as the measures implemented by government to improve environment quality.

This is the Fen River in Taiyuan, it is a desirable place for people to relax. The air quality and water quality have been improved effectively owing to the close of substandard plant. In fact, the government closed down 30 coal-burning plants in 2013, which have improved environment effectively.

URBAN-RURAL DISPARITY

A dilapidated brick house is maintained by a piece of rotten wood with a shabby sofa. This building located at Wuyi Street, which is one of the busiest streets in Taiyuan. The tenants of this house are all migrant workers who can’t afford higher rent of a better house.

This is a luxury residential area in Taiyuan, only those rich people could afford the high price of the ideal accommodation. Furthermore, they may have more than one house in different cities, even different countries. The gap between rich people and poor people is increasing.

An NGO in Taiyuan named Jiushan Social Work Service Centre aims to helping the poor people, especially financing the aged people. This organisation is supported by a local University and provides social work opportunities for its students.

An increasing number of cars in Taiyuan has caused traffic congestion seriously. Once one of the main road was being renovated, the whole city’s traffic system would collapse, thousands of vehicles would get stuck in traffic for hours. Consequently, the government has developed public transportation in a large scale with certain corporations’ support.

TRAFFIC

A woman takes a bicycle at a public bike rental station in Taiyuan. A city-wide bike sharing system has operated in Taiyuan since 2012. A total of 1120 rental stations with 35,000 bicycles are involved in this program by now. Nowadays, the public bicycle has become one of the most popular transportation for commuters.

This is a master plan of metro line in Taiyuan. Among these 8 lines, number 1-6 lines connect different inside districts in Taiyuan, 7and 8 lines are responsible for intercity commuting. It is predicted that several line can be put into use in 2020.

Good governance need joint effort from all sectors in society, including the formal government, the civil community and the market, to increase government’s transparency and accountability. While the formal government should be a leader in the process of urban governance. Only by doing so, could a better life for local people be available.

1. Source: Bloomberg News Photograph by Natalie Behring http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/unidentified-emissions-from-a-coalfired-power-plant- escape-into-the-picture-id94628460

2. Source: Taiyuan government official website http://www.taiyuan.gov.cn/contentCollect.jspx3. Source: China.org.cn. Building a clean and beautiful Taiyuan http://www.china.org.cn/environment/news/2009-02/06/content_17235041_2.htm 4. Source: Shanxi Daily. A shabby house supported by rotten wood http://www.sxrb.com/wb/news_13/sx_0/3168291.shtml 5. Source: Sina Blog. Hengda community in Taiyuan http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6f8b13830102w6ht.html 6. Source: Weibo Shanxi Jiushan Social Work Service Centre http://weibo.com/u/5571208773#!/u/5571208773?is_all=1

Reference

7. Source: TIEXUE Net. The renovation of Taiyuan has caused serious traffic congestion

http://bbs.tiexue.net/post_6737622_1.html 8. Source: City-wide bike sharing system operates in Taiyuan, Xinhua, May 27, 2014 http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20140527/00016c42b36b14ee73f204.jpg

9. Source: Sina Shanxi house. An introduction of 8 metro lines’ main functions in Taiyuan

http://shanxi.house.sina.com.cn/news/2016-06-03/11286144338614810892029.shtml?wt_source=news_zw_xgyd

http://imgbdb2.bendibao.com/tybdb/20147/15/2014715143153280.jpg 10. Source: Baidu Tieba. http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1672415971