Beijing in need of proper urban planning

To focus on its role as China's capital and shift some non-capital functions from the city center, Beijing has decided to make its Tongzhou district a "subsidiary administrative center". Tongzhou, which has reportedly earmarked about 55 square kilometers to accommodate nearly 15 percent of Beijing's urban population by 2020, is also part of the national strategy of integrating the capital with neighboring Tianjin municipality and Hebei province.

But it is doubtful whether Tongzhou can prove to be a permanent cure for Beijing's "urban diseases", especially its dense population that is testing its urban infrastructure. Densely populated urban areas often signify inclusiveness and prosperity, while decreasing resident numbers presages recession.

What is really wrong with Beijing's urban planning is the lack of infrastructure, especially transport. Although it is home to at least 20 million people, Beijing has only about 527 kilometers of subways - way less than Tokyo's more than 2,500 km and New York's 3,342 km. As a constantly expanding metropolis, Beijing needs more than 2,000 km of subway lines and rapid bus transit lanes.