City-regionalism and (re)framing the urban question in China

Jonas, Andy; Li, Yi

Abstract

This paper situates the rise of city-regionalism in China in the context of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s approach to the urban question since 1949. From strictly controlling urbanization during the first two decades of socialist central planning, the Chinese state now promotes mega city-regionalization (literally in Chinese, city clusters) as a vehicle for internationalizing China’s economy. A reframed urban question in China today emerges from the ongoing tension between city-regional growth, on the one hand, and the emergence of new political interests in the urban living place around the collective provision of services, social and environmental inequalities, and citizen/resident representation in urban governance, on the other. The planetary scope of urbanization notwithstanding, differences in the national political context are crucial for explaining the full diversity of city-regional development processes and outcomes in different countries. The city-regional domain provides an exciting opportunity for urban scholars to examine the changing nature of the urban question in China in the context of an emergent ‘world of city-regionalisms’.

Citation

Jonas, A., & Li, Y. (in press). City-regionalism and (re)framing the urban question in China. Transactions in Planning and Urban Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/27541223221116062

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 7, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Sep 2, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 8, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 5, 2022
• Journal: Transactions in Planning and Urban Research
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/27541223221116062
• Keywords: The urban question; City-regionalism; Planning; Governance; China
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4025288