中国的城镇化进程是一个复杂的过程，目标是提升生活水平，刺激内需，但实际上实施起来远比说起来困难。为了真正实现城镇化，需要建造大量住房，尤其是需要为大量农村迁徙到城市的农民工提供住所。

在城市，很多农民工只能挤在狭小的房间里，生活条件十分艰苦。更令人担忧的是，他们通常把孩子留在乡下，由年迈的祖父母照看。根据统计，中国有大约5800万这种被称为“留守儿童”的孩子。如果我们希望实现城镇化，这些孩子将需要进入城市生活，意味着必须建设更多的学校来容纳他们，提供更多的医疗设施让他们看病。

然而，问题不仅仅如此。以北京和上海等大城市为例，这些城市的人口已经达到了饱和状态。北京的例子尤其典型，1900年时，人口仅为不到一千万，但到了2010年，已经突破2000万。再来看交通，过去北京几乎没有汽车，而如今有超过500万辆汽车，这也导致了严重的空气污染，居民出门必须戴上口罩。

记者还提到，最近在中国地方当局执行“城中村清理政策”时，有报道称这些住房被标定为“非农业用地”，政府常常宣称这些地块不能作为商业用途，因此它们被重新收回，并归为“城市用地”，再以高价转卖给开发商。这种做法在社会上引起了广泛的争议，尤其是网上流传的“集装箱村”照片，给地方政府的形象带来了负面影响。为了尽快消除这种现象，地方政府正在加大清理力度。

与此同时，在上海召开的“中国城镇化高层国际论坛”上，国家发改委的一位官员表示，中国目前的城镇化模式依赖廉价劳动力和资源的粗放消耗，亟需转型。他指出，必须给土地的城镇化降温，并加快人口的城镇化步伐。同时，城镇化过程不能完全依赖政府的主导作用，市场和社会力量也应该发挥更大的作用。

中国国家发改委副主任徐宪平在论坛中提到，中国城镇化进程面临三个“不持续”的问题：一是依赖廉价劳动力推动城镇化的发展模式不可持续，二是依赖资源粗放消耗推动城镇化发展的模式不可持续，三是依赖均等化公共服务来降低成本推动城镇化的模式同样不可持续。

在这次论坛上，民间环保组织“绿色北京”的负责人温欣洲也发表了对中国城市扩建的看法。他指出，城镇化进程带来了巨大的环境污染和对居民财产权益的侵害。很多人早已意识到这种发展模式的不可持续性。“很多地方都提倡发展城市生活，但在这一过程中，往往忽视了城市扩张对环境带来的压力。”他补充道，“北京曾经是盲目扩张的，五环、六环的扩建就是一个典型的例子。这种扩张方式没有充分考虑到城市规划的科学性，幸好现在政府开始意识到这些问题。”

此外，中国国土部副部长胡存智也在上海的论坛上表示，在2000到2010年的城镇化过程中，土地的城镇化速度远超人口的城镇化。两者之间的巨大差距导致了社会问题的产生。他提出，要解决这一问题，一方面需要加快人口城镇化，另一方面则要控制城镇用地的过度扩张，并改革土地制度。

The urbanization process in China is a complex undertaking. The main goal is to improve living standards and stimulate domestic demand, but implementing it is much harder than it sounds. To truly achieve urbanization, a large number of houses need to be built, especially to provide housing for the vast number of migrant workers moving from rural areas to cities.

In the cities, many migrant workers are living in cramped conditions, often sharing small rooms. Life is tough for them. What’s worse is that they usually leave their children behind in rural areas to be cared for by their elderly parents. According to statistics, there are around 58 million children in China living in these "left-behind" situations. If urbanization is to be fully realized, these children will need to come to cities, which means more schools will need to be built to accommodate them, and additional healthcare facilities will be needed to ensure they have access to medical services.

However, the challenges don’t end there. In large cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the population has already reached critical levels. A prime example is Beijing. In 1900, the city had a population of just over 10 million, but by 2010, that number had grown to over 20 million. Looking at traffic, Beijing had very few cars in the past, but today, there are more than 5 million cars on the road, contributing to severe air pollution, and residents need to wear face masks when they go outside.

The Reuters report also highlighted that when local authorities in China implement policies to clear "urban villages," they often argue that these housing areas are built on non-agricultural land and cannot be used for commercial purposes. As a result, these areas are reclaimed by the government and re-designated as "urban land," which is then sold to developers at a high price. This practice has sparked controversy, particularly with the widespread circulation of images of "container villages," which have made local government officials look bad. In response, the government is working hard to clear these "container villages" in a short time.

At the “China Urbanization High-Level International Forum” held in Shanghai, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) stated that China’s current urbanization model, which relies on cheap labor and the extensive consumption of resources, is in urgent need of reform. The official emphasized the need to cool down the pace of land urbanization and speed up the urbanization of the population. The process of urbanization should not be entirely led by the government; the market and social forces should also play a more significant role.

NDRC Vice Chairman Xu Xianping described three "unsustainable" aspects of urbanization: first, the model of relying on cheap labor to drive urbanization is unsustainable; second, the model of relying on resource-intensive consumption to fuel urban growth is unsustainable; third, the model of driving urbanization through equalization of public services to reduce costs is also unsustainable.

Wen Xinzhu, head of the environmental NGO "Green Beijing," also weighed in on China’s years of urban expansion. He pointed out that this kind of urbanization has led to severe environmental pollution and infringements on the property rights of ordinary citizens. Many people are already aware of the unsustainability of this approach. “Many places promote urban living, but in the process, they fail to consider the pressure that urban expansion might put on the environment," he noted. “Take Beijing, for example—there has been blind expansion, like the expansion of the 5th and 6th ring roads, with little consideration for scientific urban planning. Fortunately, the government is starting to pay attention to these issues now."

Additionally, Hu Cunzhi, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources, also spoke at the forum in Shanghai, highlighting that from 2000 to 2010, the pace of land urbanization far outpaced the urbanization of the population. The large gap between the two has led to social problems. To solve the issue of rapid land urbanization, he emphasized the need to accelerate the urbanization of the population, control the excessive expansion of urban land, and reform the land system.