The Impact Analysis of the Town and Country Planning Act on the Smart Growth of Chinese Small Cities: Case Study of Lianjiang Town's Master Planning

With the broadening and deepening of economic development, the urban growth of many small cities begins to present sprawl in China in the new century. Taking place of the original act of urban planning, the Town and Country Planning Act became effective last year. This paper compares the contents of the two acts, especially analyses the stipulations about urban land scale and spatial construction activities by the new one. Based on the introduction of the master plan of Lianjiang Town in Fujian Province, the paper holds that China can take advantage of the legal effect of the new act to strengthen the status of smart growth concept in small cities' master planning, as well as to promote the popularity of smart growth concept in small cities.