Policies and policy implications

Policies

During the 1960s, dramatic industrialization and export growth encouraged urbanization. By the 1970s, population had gravitated to two regional poles: the North (with Taipei as the regional centre) and the South (with Kaohsiung as the regional centre). In the prosperous North and South, housing and public facilities were strained by increasing demand. The social costs attributed to traffic congestion, air and water pollution, and the improper use of natural resources were increasing. In contrast, the less developed regions (the Centre and the East) experienced out-migration, a shrinking of the agricultural labour force, relatively low family income, poor public facilities, and deterioration in the living environment. In order to check this deterioration, the government emphasized the following policies.

Urban plans

Urban planning addresses the problem of urban growth and urbanization. The major objective is to promote better land use through adequate zoning control (including restrictions on construction and the siting of industrial estates), and to provide more public facilities, such as open spaces and green belts in urban areas. Urban plans are currently in force in 424 areas covering approximately 12.1 per cent of the island. The population in the planned urban areas accounts for 76.6 per cent of the total population.

Metropolitan plans

The intimate relationship between urban and rural areas, as well as between cities, has encouraged planners in Taiwan to seek another level of planning, which focuses on the metropolis and the region. A metropolitan plan is geared to meeting the needs of cities and new urban lifestyles. It aims to provide more sophisticated public facilities, planning for new towns, and the renewal of old sections of cities.

Regional plans

A regional plan considers the goals, policies, and priorities of regional growth. Major features include population distribution, economic activities, land-use patterns, transportation systems, and environmental conservation. Furthermore, to ensure effective implementation of such plans, growth centres such as new towns and growing towns are given priority within the context of the regional plan. Regional plans designate industrial sites to encourage the establishment of plants. More than 70 industrial areas have been developed in this way, promoting the balanced development of residential communities and industries.

Transportation programmes

During the period 1950-1970, transportation programmes included the expansion of the Keelung, Kaohsiung, and Hualien harbours, improvement of the highway system, construction of the north-south and the eastern railway systems, construction of the Taipei and Kaohsiung international airports, the development of inter-city road systems, and the improvement of rural roads. These programmes encouraged further dispersion of industrial establishments and contributed to a more even spread of regional population.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, the government implemented the Ten, the Twelve, and the Fourteen Major Construction Projects. These projects were transportation oriented and included the North-South Freeway, Suao Harbour, Taichung Harbour, railway electrification, the Taoyuan International Airport, the North-Link Railway, new cross-island highways, the Around-the-Island-Railway, widening the Pingtung-Oluanpi Highway, improving traffic flow in the Kaoping region, the undergrounding of Taipei's railway, the Second Trans-island Freeway, highway expansion (including expansion of the Binghei Highway and the Third Provincial Highway), and a mass-transit system in Taipei.

Table 6.30 Regional allocation of capital for major construction projects 1973 1990 (%)

Source: Construction and Planning Administration, Ministry of Interior, Study of Regional Development in Taiwan - Conference for National Construction, 1986.

With regard to capital for the three major construction programmes described above, about 32.9 per cent of the total capital allocated was for the Northern region, 26.7 per cent for the South, 10.5 per cent for the Centre, and less than 1 per cent for the East (table 6.30). These figures exclude capital for island-wide and inter-regional projects. It is obvious that the distribution of infrastructure investment in Taiwan has had a crucial impact on regional development and the formation of metropolitan areas and urban systems. This distribution illustrates why the Northern region has been the most developed and the most populated area, and why the Eastern region has been the least developed area and has experienced considerable out-migration.

Programmes for the improvement of social overhead capital

Prior to 1970, most libraries, museums, theatres, colleges, universities, and hospitals were located in Taipei and Kaohsiung. To achieve a better distribution of social overhead capital and to improve the overall level of social welfare and promote balanced regional development, the government has launched the following projects:

(1) Cultural Centre Development Projects: each city or prefecture is required to construct a cultural centre, including a library, a museum, and a music hall.

(2) New Colleges Development Projects: new colleges or universities are planned for construction in the Central or Southern regions. (3) Medical Care Development Projects: medical services will be made available in each "living perimeter."

The implementation of these social overhead capital improvement programmes is expected significantly to reduce the concentration of population in Taiwan.

Agricultural and rural community development programmes

A major impetus behind urbanization is the "push force." For that reason, improvement of the agricultural economy can help decelerate urbanization. When agriculture stagnated in the late 1960s, the government improved the agricultural infrastructure to reduce agricultural production costs. And to raise farmers' income, improve the rural quality of life, and foster agricultural growth the government has carried out rural construction and infrastructural development programmes since 1973.

Implications

The following conclusions can be made regarding the implications of these policies for population deconcentration.

Zoning control, restrictions on construction, industrial estates, green belts, and the provision of more open space have reduced urban sprawl and alleviated the problem of squatting. On the other hand, better job opportunities and facilities in urban areas have continued to attract people to the cities, increasing their population.

Transportation programmes associated with industrial estates (in the regional plans) have promoted the development of medium-sized cities, which has eased in-migration pressure on the big cities and prevented the formation of a primate city.

Programmes to improve social overhead capital have narrowed quality-of-life differences between big and medium-sized cities, helping to balance population distribution.

Improvements in agricultural infrastructure have reduced farm costs, but attempts to increase farm income have been less successful. Programmes for the development of agriculture and rural communities continue to have an impact on urbanization.

Because of a lack of coordination among civil authorities, plans to slow the pace of urbanization have achieved only limited success.