Guangzhou Science City (GSC; ) is a
technology center developed with support from the
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
government. It has emerged from the first-ever use of
strategic urban planning in China. It integrates industrial, urban residential and commercial areas, forming one of the sub-urban centres within the polycentric metropolis of Guangzhou.
The Guangzhou municipal government continues to invest in the city and advocates
R&D in
IT sector and
outsourcing industry.
Location
GSC is located in the west of
Huangpu District of Guangzhou, right above Guangzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone.
History
The reasons for the establishment of GSC go back all to way to the 1990s. During this time, China's political system became more decentralized, giving its cities more room to manoeuvre and engage in detailed decision making. Since local officials were evaluated on indicators such as economic growth, cities began to grow more competitive. Initiatives for developing urban centres explicitly designed as environments suitable to technology-intensive companies sprung up all over the country. Although the first national-level High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was started in Guangzhou in 1991, high-tech output remained insufficient throughout the 1990s. In an effort to draw in human capital and more advanced technologies, plans for the Guangzhou Science City were formally announced in the year 2000.
These plans for the GSC were part of the larger "Concept Plan" for Guangzhou.
As the old
modus operandi
A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
of urban master planning became increasingly unattractive and regarded as inefficient, strategic urban planning became the model of choice for the Guangzhou government. With its focus on
spatial planning
Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...
and
city marketing
City marketing (related to city branding) or Place Marketing is the promotion of a city, or a district within it, with the aim of encouraging certain activities to take place there.
Place marketing "refers to the application of mark ...
, the approach appeared more suited to solve the challenges of rapid urban growth and inter-city competition.
Although the "Concept Plan" was announced in 2000, the idea for the GSC had been in the making much longer. First conceived by the municipal government in 1992, the
State Scientific and Technological Commission only approved the project in 1995. While the first plan focused on mostly industrial areas, the second and third plans (1998 and 2000) emphasised the integration of living, commerce and business incubation areas. Construction began in 2000, but the municipal government adjusted the plan almost annually. In 2010, the emphasis had shifted mainly towards innovation and dynamic synergies between cluster members. Since then, the focus of the GSC has been on electronic information, biological, pharmaceutical and environmental industries.
References
Buildings and structures in Guangzhou
Science parks in China
{{Guangzhou-stub