Beijing outlines its urban overall plan for 2016 to 2030

The draft of the urban overall plan of Beijing for 2016 to 2030 has been completed under the guidance of Beijing authorities.

The plan is expected to treat and heal the megacity ailments of Beijing. It aims to limit the population at 23 million in 2020 and keep it at that level for the long term. Besides the restriction on population growth, the city also plans to shrink the land area for rural and urban construction to 2,760 square kilometers by 2030 while expanding its ecological control area.

More trees will be planted around Beijing. According to the draft, the forest coverage rate in Beijing will reach over 45 percent by 2030 and the “green space” of the city’s parks will be remarkably increased, with the area of “green space” for each citizen standing at 16.8 square meters in 2030.

The plan will stipulate an 80-percent green travel rate by 2030, with a minimum rate of 12.6 percent on bicycles. In 2020, the total length of the metro system in Beijing will reach 1,000 kilometers according to the plan.

It also requires the hospital bed-to-municipal population ratio to rise to 7-to-1,000 and has set a bottom number of 180,000 beds in nursing homes across the city by 2030.

The plan aims to cut the concentration of hazardous fine particle matter PM2.5 to 56 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020 and 35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2030, which means theair quality can meet the national standard by 2030.

People can make a reservation online on the Beijing Municipal Planning and Land Resources Management Committee website using an ID card or passport, and to pay a visit to the planning exhibition. It will be available from March 29 to April 27.