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Green industry development and urban sustainability transitions in China's latecomer cities: The case of Dezhou

Gibbs, David; Yu, Zhen

Authors

Zhen Yu



Contributors

Fangzhu Zhang
Editor

Fulong Wu
Editor

Abstract

Under the discourse of sustainability transitions, cities that lag in industrialization and urbanization face the dual challenge of economic development and decarbonization. Developing green industries has offered an ideal pathway for latecomer cities as it could bring both economic benefits and environmental wellbeing through local production and consumption of green innovations. Latecomer cities also enjoy several latecomer advantages with the opening of green windows of opportunity. The interest alignment between active green entrepreneurs and motivated local government has resulted in dozens of successful green industry development stories in China’s latecomer cities, accompanied by certain urban regime changes in many cases. However, green industry development is subject to changes in the external landscape, entrepreneurs’ strategies, and local supporting environments, leading to diverse development outcomes. To what extent and how green industry development can influence urban sustainability transitions remains an underexplored issue. Using the rise and fall of the solar water heater industry in Dezhou as a case, this chapter revisits the role of green entrepreneurs and local governments in green industry development and discusses the dynamic relationship between green industry development and urban sustainability transitions in China’s context.

Citation

Gibbs, D., & Yu, Z. (2023). Green industry development and urban sustainability transitions in China's latecomer cities: The case of Dezhou. In F. Zhang, & F. Wu (Eds.), Handbook on China's Urban Environmental Governance (355-368). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803922041.00032

Online Publication Date Dec 14, 2023
Publication Date Nov 24, 2023
Deposit Date Jan 23, 2024
Publicly Available Date May 25, 2024
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing
Pages 355-368
Series Title Handbooks of Research on Contemporary China
Book Title Handbook on China's Urban Environmental Governance
Chapter Number 22
ISBN 9781803922034
DOI https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803922041.00032
Keywords Green industry; Urban sustainability transitions; Latecomer cities; Interest alignment
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4523162
Contract Date May 16, 2023

Files

Accepted manuscript (452 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This is a draft chapter/article. The final version is available in Handbook on China’s Urban Environmental Governance edited by Fangzhu Zhang and Fulong Wu, published in 2023, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781803922041.00032

The material cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher, and is for private use only.




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