Decoding Large-Scale Land Disposal for Strategic Land Development
Emerging from Mainland China in late 1970s, large-scale land disposal has become a transformative urban development strategy. This coordinated, full-lifecycle approach revolutionizes how cities plan, integrate and accelerate growth, creating more efficient and sustainable urban environments.
Known as Piàn Qū Kāi Fā (片区开发) – this model began as local pilot programs to revitalize underutilized land. Over the decades, it has matured into a comprehensive framework for urban growth, playing a crucial role in China’s ongoing urbanization and quality development initiatives through a ‘district development’ or ‘area development’ approach.
Four pillars of large-scale land disposal
Large-scale land disposal refers to the systematic planning, integration and construction of land within a defined geographic area. Typically undertaken through public-private partnerships, it involves developing infrastructure, industrial layout, public services, and preserving the ecological environment.
Guided by four key pillars — stakeholder coordination, spatial integration, policy innovation and program acceleration — this urban development approach aims to enhance regional functionality, generate economic value, and support sustainable development.
Common models of large-scale land disposal
Given the variability in economic conditions, regulatory requirements, and project scale, developers can select from a range of models for large-scale land disposal. This flexibility enables tailored approaches that not only meet compliance standards but also enhance cost-effectiveness.
Advantages of large-scale land disposal
Compared to the traditional land development approach, large-scale land disposal method leverages synergies to speed up development and enhance economic density and land-use efficiency, thereby increasing the long-term attractiveness of the area.
It is important to note that large-scale land disposal has certain limitations, such as over-reliance on policy incentives, which may lead to policy arbitrage risks; and conflicting interests among diverse stakeholders that can increase project costs. Balancing the needs of different parties is essential to ensure the sustainability and fairness of this approach.
Our approach in practice
“Our ‘district development’ planning philosophy adopts an urban operations approach—integrating all project lifecycle phases from day one. By proactively addressing critical requirements at each stage early on, we establish a streamlined implementation roadmap that synchronizes execution, saves valuable time and accelerates project delivery.”
Len Ren, Lee, Vice President, Master Planning, Urbanism + Planning, Asia
In recent years, AECOM has participated in hundreds of large-scale land disposal projects in Mainland China as a key advisor in urban strategy and consultancy. We bring together multidisciplinary expertise and collaboration model to deliver services throughout the project lifecycle, thereby accelerating project delivery.
At its core, large-scale land disposal is a test of a city’s capacity for operational governance. It serves as a systematic tool to address urban development challenges, where decision makers, developers and planners must adopt a full lifecycle mindset to balance regulatory controls with adaptive flexibility. Only by deeply integrating planning expertise, policy tools, and governance capabilities can we accelerate the delivery of large-scale land disposal and unlock its structural benefits.