CONTENTS 1 Research Theme, Design and Methods 1 1.1 Subject and background 1 1.2 Urban development and water related problems in China 3 1.3 Urban planning and water management in China 4 1.4 Research objective and the challenges 6 1.5 Research questions . 8 1.6 Research design 9 1.6.1 Research framework 9 1.6.2 The case studies 10 1.7 Research methods 13 1.7.1 Data collection 14 1.7.2 Data analysis 15 1.8 Outline of thesis 16 2 Spatial Planning and Surface Water Systems 17 2.1 Evolving spatial planning approaches 17 2.1.1 Spatial planning debates at a glance 17 2.1.2 Paradigm shifts in spatial planning 21 2.2 The hydrologic process and the water issues in urban region 29 2.2.1 The features of the hydrologic cycle 30 2.2.2 Water-land relationships in the watershed 32 2.2 3 Damage to surface water systems by urban development 34 2.3 Summary 38 3 Integrating Surface Water Systems in Spatial Planning 39 3.1 Functions and spatial implication of surface water systems 39 3.2 Spatial considerations for surface water management 43 3.3 Spatial planning approaches for surface water management 44 3.4 Institutional development for spatial surface water policy 49 3.5 Conceptual model development 52 4 Context and Study Area 55 4.1 Chinese spatial planning in general review 55 4.2 Chinese water management in general review 60 4.3 Background of study area of Wuhan 63 4.4 Urban development process of Wuhan 65 4.4.1 Historical review 66 4.4.2 The process of urban expansion after 1990s 69 4.5 Characteristics of surface water systems in Wuhan 71 4.6 Urban planning development in Wuhan 77 4.7 Current water management policy and institutional transformation in Wuhan 82 4.8 Summary 85 5 Spatial Impact Analysis and Policy Response on Surface Water in Wuhan 87 5.1 Introduction of case study 87 5.1.1 Data sources for analysis on surface water 87 5.1.2 Locations and data sources for imperviousness analysis 89 5.2 Research methods 90 5.2.1 Classification of urban land use and water 90 5.2.2 Measuring land use conversion of water surfaces 2 5.2.3 Calculation of impervious ratio in the sample fields 93 5.2.4 Flowchart of analysis process 93 5.3 Results 94 5.3.1 Land use changes in surface water from 1993 to 2004 94 5.3.2 Land use changes within the riparian buffer zones of surface water from 1993 to 2004 99 5.3.3 Imperviousness 101 5.4 Discussion 105 5.4.1 Driving forces of urban expansion 105 5.4.2 Spatial features of urban expansion and their impacts on water systems 106 5.5 Policy responses 107 5.6 Conclusion 108 6 Spatial Planning and Water Management in the Netherlands and Possible Lessons for Wuhan 111 61 Principal features of spatial planning and land use planning in the Netherlands 111 6.2 The water management paradigm shift in the Netherlands. 117 6.2.1 An overview of water management 117 6.2.2 Institutional structure 118 6.2.3 New approach: integrated water management 119 6.3 Water as a prominent issue in national spatial planning 122 6.4 Spatial water policy implementation at the local level 124 6.4.1 Urban water plan: case study of Arnhem 125 6.4.2 Spatial water policy in a housing project: case study in Enschede 131 6.5 Possible lessons for Wuhan and China 136 7 Spatial Planning Options for Sustainable Surface Water Management in Wuhan 39 7.1 New trends and pressures from urban development planning 139 7.2 Integrated spatial plan-making model for surface water protection 147 7.3 Information support for integrating surface water protection in spatial planning 152 8 Conclusions and Discussion 155 8.1 Conclusions 155 8.1.1 Understanding the spatial concept of surface water systems in urban regions 155 8.1.2 Integration of surface water management and spatial planning 157 8.1.3 Information for planning support 159 8.2 Discussion 159 References 163 Appendix 181 Appendix A: Checklist of interview questions for Dutch Experts 173 Appendix B: Interview questions for Chinese experts 186 Appendix C: Hierarchical organization and interviewees concerning water management and spatial planning in the Netherlands and Wuhan, China 188 Appendix D: General conditions of the existing lakes within the urban core189 Appendix E: Land use conversion table B 191 Appendix F: Historical review of Dutch water management 195