ABSTRACT
With the death of Mao in 1976, China launched reform in 1978, which triggered economic liberalization and urban development. The urban population in Beijing increased from 4.43 million in 1975 to 5.21 million in 1980 (Table 2). However, the return of urban youth and the rapid population growth also placed a great burden on Beijing, which was suffering from the shortage of urban services and the poor infrastructure that were common to Chinese cities in the early 1980s. In 1980, Beijing had a built-up area of 346 km2, while the living space per capita was only 4.55 m2 (China Economy, 2008).
