China's dramatic economic growth over the past twenty years has been accompanied by unprecedented urbanization. The urban population has increased from less than 25 percent of the total in1985 to 46.5 percent in 2009. The Government expects 20 million people to migrate from the countryside to urban areas each year for the next 20 years. Rapid growth in urban areas combined with a restructuring of the economy has led to large and growing urban transport challenges.
Economic growth and urbanization have not occurred uniformly: a number of coastal cities and major regional economic centers (often the provincial capitals) have absorbed a large percentage of economic and urban growth, while smaller cities in the hinterland have developed more slowly.
In recent years, however, urban growth has picked up Western China, and many inland cities have started facing many of the challenges that major coastal city centers (e.g., Beijng, Shanghai) had experienced in the earlier phases of their rapid development. The most notable challenge is a rapid rise in motorization rates leading to increased congestion, deteriorated performance of public transport service, degraded air quality, and rising traffic accidents and fatalities.
World Bank. Author. Fang,Ke. Document Date 2011/11/22.Document Type: Project Information Document. Report Number: PIDA99. Country: China.Disclosure Date. 2011/11/22. Doc Name.Project Information Document (Appraisal Stage). Hubei Xiangyang Urban Transport.P119071. Language English. Rel.Proj ID. CN-Hubei Xiangyang Urban Transport. P119071
