The combination of economic growth and urbanization has resulted in substantial environmental problems throughout China, but nowhere more so than in city clusters. A considerable part of China's GDP was achieved at the cost of over-consumption of energy and other natural resources. The Pearl River delta, for example, although accounting for only about 20% of Guangdong province, consumed 67% of the coal and 85% of the oil for the entire region. Due to the close proximity of the cities and the large number of emissions sources, ambient concentrations of SO2 and NO2 in the Pearl River delta region were 2–3 times the level found in other parts of the province (CESPKU and GIES 2004). Pollutants from various cities in the area tend to mix and spread over the entire region (Wang SL et al. 2005).
There is an urgent need to incorporate environmental issues into planning China's urban areas, in order to reduce the risks of further environmental degradation. This paper briefly describes the role of city clusters in China's economic development, and describes the regional air and watershed pollution that has developed as a result of the rapid economic growth within these city clusters. We also propose possible solutions to these environmental problems, taking into account the social and economic plans for medium- and long-term development in China.