China’s Urbanization Plans Are Going Wrong. What the Bay Area can learn.

Plan Bay Area, a 25 year plan for urbanization of the Bay Area draws heavily from the China model. Smart growth as envisaged by Plan Bay Area planners, requires massive central planning and controls of transportation, housing and industry.  The Bay Area Council has been meeting with Chinese delegations for years to learn how they implement their plans.  We are sold on the environmental benefits of Plan Bay Area but the ultimate effect is that power and resources become concentrated in a small minority.  It is not an exaggeration to call Plan Bay Area -"socialism lite".