Coping with urbanization in China: The role of the sciences of human settlements and planning practice

The author is Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies , Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Director of both the Institute of Architectural and Urban Studies and the Center for Human Settlements, Tsinghua University. He is also a member and former President of the World Society for Ekistics (WSE). The text that follows is a slightly edited and revised version of a paper presented at the international symposion on "Globalization and Local Identity," organized jointly by the World Society for Ekistics and the University of Shiga Prefecture in Hikone, Japan, 19-24 September, 2005.