The history of the contemporary city planning legislation for Taiwan in
the Japanese colonial age in this paper would be set up into two stages:
"Creation Stage" (1895-1937) and "consolidation Stage" after the "Taiwan City
Planning Order" (1937.4.1) and onwards. Contemporary urban policy of the early
colonial administration was focusing on urban public health and road
improvement, i.e. "City Reform". In the reform process, regulations of concern
were consequentially formulated and transferred into the legislation of "City
Area Plan" (City Planning). Major aspects in the legislation were: "Grand Lease"
elimination for land ownership to small tenants; landuse and ownership surrey;
ownership and exterior rights registration on property. The legislation created
land reform and foundation for urban modernization, i.e. compulsory acquisition
was importnt for "City Area Plan" implementation. The "Taiwan Sewer Regulation"
(Order No. 6) in April 1899 was the first decree for implementing "City Reform;
in November the same year" The Order no. 30' set up savero roetriction on change
of landuse and land form on the "Public Facility Land" which provided solid
legal basis for the implementation of "City Area Plan" latter. In May 1901 the
"Land Compulsory Acquisition Regulations in Taiwan" (Order No. 3) stabilized
land acquisition practice. Those three "Order" constituted as the piers of
planning legislation in the "Creation Stage". The implementation of the public
works in the early period of "City Reform" and "City Area Plan" required only
the "Approval" of the Governor, which indicated the centralization for planning
power under the colonial administration. In the "Creation Stage", the other
important aspect was the creation of examination and review system. At the
beginning, a "City Planning Committee" was created in each local authority. In
1910, "The City Planning Committee of the Taiwan Governor Office" was created
and then, directed all the city plans in the Island. In 1937, for the
implementation of "The City Planning Order for Taiwan" it was changed as "The
City Planning Committee of Taiwan". In 1940, it was further created as "The
Central Committee" and "Local Committee" for local authority. The two-tier
system for planning examination and evaluation with the other innovations of the
same stage had been consolidated in "The City Planning Order for Taiwan" of the
"Consolidation Stage", also further inherited by the Chinese Government (to be
presented in the follow-up of this Paper). Those innovations of the Creation
Stage had profound influence to the urban development in Taiwan.
