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change, in travel practices and behaviours in the city (drawing on De Certeau, 1984; De
Certeau, 2000; Thrift, 2004): 'If the city is a language spoken by walkers, then a post pedestrian
city not only has fallen silent but risks becoming a dead language, one whose colloquial
phrases, jokes, and curses will vanish, even if its formal grammar survives' (Solnit, 2000, p.
213). Hence travel can be fundamental to the experience of the city, realised differently by
different modes, and a move to increased motorisation will mean that the distinct vitality of
the urban areas suffers.
Vehicle ownership differs much by city, with Shanghai having a level of vehicle ownership
less than one third that of Beijing, and this is directly affected by the different policies
introduced in the two cities, as well as the income levels. In Beijing until recently, there were
no restrictions on car purchase or use, but the numbers of new vehicles in Shanghai have been
restricted by quotas and a bidding system (Xiaohong and Zhang, 2012). The trends in aggregate
transport CO2 emissions and emissions per capita also show much variation, with Beijing
experiencing high growth and aggregate transport CO2 emissions at just under 1,400 kg per
capita; Shanghai has much lower transport CO2 emissions at 600 kg per person. The level of
reduction in bicycle use over a short timescale is remarkable, from over 60 per cent to under
40 per cent of trips in Jinan (1998-2005), with similar levels in Beijing, and to a lesser extent
in Shanghai. Related to these trends is China's transition to a market economic system (post-
1978) and state-sponsored capitalism. This has been associated with enormous economic
growth, urban expansion and also changed travel behaviours. It has included cultural change,
including a less restrictive hukou system, 2 the breakup of the danwei system 3 and the long-
term land-leasing system. The result in terms of travel behaviour, for example, is that many
urban Chinese residents no longer live near to their workplaces, and this results in longer
commutes and other trip trips (Darido et al., 2009).
70%
2001/98
2006/05
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Beijing
Jinan
Shanghai
Figure 6.8 Change in mode share by city
Source : From Darido et al., 2009.
 
 
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