Density central to urban planning, Doctoroff says

And this is another point Doctoroff emphasized: city governments need sustainable funding sources.

"It is fairly inevitable that over time, China will have to develop a predictable source of revenue" that will enable local governments to better address the issue of migration. In New York's case, it is property tax, which is the city's largest revenue source.

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"A tax regime should enable the city to capture the value of additional visitors and business. Here in China, one of the major issues confronted is do you have property tax, and do you have a municipal bond market?" he said.

A stable revenue base explains why a virtuous cycle is critically important to a city.

Without robust growth that draws more people to move into a city, the city would not be able to generate additional revenue from these people that can be invested back into the quality of life, which then help to make the city more livable and attract more people. So city governments really have a stake in the number of people they attract.

He added there are several things that make that virtuous cycle work.

Growth, planning capability and tax regimes are indispensable ingredients, which have been talked about. Openness and public participation are also important.

"We've got to make sure that New York is a highly innovative place, that it can draw people from around the US and the world to pursue their dream. What makes that possible is a unique sense of openness and diversity," he said.

He also believes "taking into account the view of local population is always a good thing". In the PlaNYC's case, the government put together a coalition of 150 local groups that had interests in the physical environment of the city. It took 18 months for these groups to shake up the plan.

"We think the plan is better because of that input. And people who felt that they have been included in the process become important advocates of the plan, which is important to the execution," he said.

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