The layout of the urban industries is a very troublesome issue in China. From the 13th Five-Year Plan to the current general planning of the city, all of them involve the industrial layout. Without the industries, any city would be a dead city; it would be lifeless and the people would be in discontentment, its streets would be quiet, its social issues abundant, and the city would be without vitality.
In this world, we see a lot of cities that have become dead and the security deteriorates after the original leading industries of these cities lose their vitality; almost every country faces problems of its own, Detroit and the Rust Belt in the United States would come to mind. In fact, many cities in the United States surrounding Manchester, Syracuse, and the Great Lakes share a similar fate. Nottingham is known as the most dangerous city in the UK, and the industries have become an "industrial heritage". In France, the areas not far from Paris are the havens of the poor and the unemployed, all of which are related to the failure of the industries.
Of course, the failure of the industries is related to the macroeconomy, the competition and renewal of the world's technology. Yet, the real problem is still in the industries itself, the answer should be found in the rules of industrial development. So, can industrial economics, which is already one of the pragmatic studies, provide an answer? The answer is "not necessarily". Industrial economics is to study the "industry" as an organic whole. Once this "boundary wall" is established, it would be more powerful than the "boundary walls" built by U.S. President Donald Trump. Basically, many issues are mainly about the relationship of industrial structure, changes in the organizational structure of enterprises within the industry, prices, costs, and so on; the solution of urban industrial layout cannot be found in all these.
It is precisely because these issues have been discussed a lot, and they have lasted for a long time, the pressure is getting more and more concentrated. Good industries are almost developed, and some are even moving towards deterioration. Because of this, many city leaders are troubled by such problems.
Even for authorities like the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, they merely follow the policies and the media. As for the so-called "reformer", they inherited the views before and after the reforms and often in disputes; they might be good in arguing, yet they are not practical enough and never designed any city. When it comes to the well-known academicians, they are more academic than being practical, while the financial investment community is constantly changing their directions in their investments. When major problems occur, no one would know what exactly should be done, not even the National Development and Reform Commission.
My suggestion is to go back to reality. The layout of the urban economy requires urban thinking. It should be done by the kind of person who does urban studies for a lifetime; such a person would have the ability to grasp the direction and determine the key points. Even the United Nations consulted people like Jane Jacobs, who has a sophisticated observation of the cities, rather than those urban planning gurus; the era of Le Corbusier has long since passed, and the intensive spread of urban concentrationism can be thought of as an economic joke. I am not an urban planning guru, but thinking from the basic logic of a city, more than a decade ago I have proposed that the population of the "ideal city" should be 3 million, as this figure is the most ideal for the density and traffic for the city. The same is true for the city's industries. What kind of relationship is there between the city and the industries? There must be new theories, new observations, new information, especially the understanding and observation of the direction of industrial development, in order to determine the urban industrial layout and future.
The real core issue is actually the "key market control power" of the industries. The core issue of the development of urban industries lies in the "key market control" of the industries. What is "key market control power"? The market is always very large. In the market segment, the dominant influence that can be formed by factors such as technology, service, customer, brand, resource, capital, price, and cost, are the key market control power. An industry, as long as it has this key market control power, is a sustainable and prosperous industry; the reverse would be equally true. Once we understand this "key market control power", it would be easier for us to understand and identify the future and prospects of an industry.
The market control power of an industry is equivalent to the core competitiveness of the enterprise. The enterprise emphasizes the core competitiveness, while the industry emphasizes the key market control power. The investors do not have the final say whether an industry is good, nor do the public opinion, scholars, and entrepreneurs; it is the market that has the final say. For the city, whether an industry can make money, it can pay taxes, continue to prosper, and lead the future support would be the key. The problem is that all of this is determined by the market. The question is, how can an industry make money, pay taxes, and achieve sustainable prosperity? The answer is very obvious. The competitiveness of an industry depends on its "key market control power". The industry's possible market share in the future, dominant position in the market competition, promising alternative technology, material supply, and the cost are all its key market control power that determines its capability. There may be many factors that measure the control of key market control power, but there is only one negative factor, which is the risk, and there is only one positive factor, which is the chance of success.
Nowadays, many companies can raise funds very easily. It is not difficult to get money through branding and competition. The problem is having the money is not much of use; while the capital investment is huge, it is easy to spend more money. What will happen after the money is all used up? Will this be like the failed case of bike-sharing enterprises? That would be like "bright prospects" disappearing and left only ruins. Therefore, the city's industries should grasp the "key market control power" when it comes to the layout, and the things would then be easier to handle. What may seem to be an inconspicuous industry now could be a big hit in the future, and a popular, huge industry that appears to be prospering might become passé. The key lies in something that many do not pay attention to, and that is the "key market control power".
Final analysis conclusion:
Key market control power is a major goal. It is through this major goal that measures and assess all industries that a city's industries can truly prosper and its economy can achieve sustainable development.
