With rising urban economic strength in China, the problem of balanced development should be given special consideration, according to some of the world's leading urban planning experts.

"Besides economic growth, diversity, good governance, a skilled workforce and physical renewal should become important standards to evaluate the urban development level in China," said Nicholas Brooke, president of the UK-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Brooke made the remark at the "Winning Cities Conference" forum in Beijing yesterday. It is the first forum being hosted in China for RICS, the world's largest organization for real estate professionals.

China's urban landscape, including a number of the world's leading skyscrapers and luxury mansions. City infrastructure developments have been improving rapidly, Brooke told China Daily.

But rising urban centres in China may face the similar problems which used to baffle major Western cities such as London and New York in the 1950s and 1960s.

For example, cultural facilities often give way to the development of commercial developments in some Chinese cities, leading to the removal of historic landmarks.

As well, many low-income urban residents have to move to remote suburban areas because they cannot afford the high prices associated with downtown housing, Brooke said.

Jones Lang LaSalle regional director Tim Bellman agreed.

He said that an example from London shows that moving low-income residents away from expensive downtown areas can have negative repercussions on local commerce and cultural diversity, while also affecting the employment structure of those being moved out.

(China Daily February 18, 2004)