In light of the urbanization and rapid growth of cities in China, authorities have released a new policy on urban planning on Sunday to regulate the country's infrastructural expansion.

The new regulation stipulates that cities will no longer be permitted to expand beyond what their own natural resources can provide for. The new mandate released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council also prohibits odd shaped buildings.

Like Us on Facebook

The guideline comes following last year's Central Urban Work Conference - the first ever meeting held to tackle the issue since 1978 when only 18 percent of the Chinese population resided in cities. By the end of 2015, that number had grown to nearly 50 percent.

Severe traffic jams, thick smog and compromised security as well as overtaxed power distributions networks are some of the problems brought about by rapid urbanization. To address the situation, the new policy calls city legislative bodies to improve their guidance and implement stricter rules and sanctions if anyone contradicts the urban planning policies.

Under the new guidelines, absurd infrastructures will also be prohibited as they are not useful, economical and aesthetically pleasing or environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the authorities recommend frugal construction techniques like generating fewer waste and utilizing lesser resources, for instance, by using prefabricated buildings. The government anticipates that in the next decade, 30 percent of the new infrastructure in the country will be prefabricated.  

To avoid urban sprawling, the policy requires authorities to devise a number of ways to easily detect buildings that do not coincide with the new policy. Furthermore, a map of all illegal infrastructures across Chinese cities is set to be drawn up, and violators will be given sanctions.

Tagsrapid urbanization, urban sprawl, china, bizarre buildings