Curing urban diseases without bitter pills

Strengthening supply-side structural reform in the fields of urban infrastructure and public services can help us sustain economic growth, improve social harmony and maintain a healthy environment. But these three goals can be hardly achieved under an urban population control policy.

It is a myth that an increase in population necessarily means a proportionate increase in pollution levels and traffic jams. True, a drastic increase in urban population may give rise to many serious urban diseases. But statistics show that except for domestic waste water, urban pollution is more closely related to industrial development and economic growth than increased population. Studies also show that if the urban population in China doubles, it would increase public commuting time by just 2.23 minutes, because traffic jams in many cities can be attributed to urban topography, poor urban planning - for example, of residential communities and business districts - and the fast growth in the number of vehicles.

Moreover, the migration of people from rural to urban areas in search of better livelihood is conducive to alleviating poverty. So if the authorities take measures to control the urban population, the result will be an increasing income gap between urban and rural areas.