This book examines the nature and internal dynamics of China’s urban construction land (UCL) development, drawing insights from the recently developed theory of regional political ecology. Based on the author’s original research, it identifies two different types of UCL development in China, namely top-down, formal development in the legal and regulated domain, and spontaneous and informal, bottom-up development in the semi-legal, poorly regulated gray domain. Presenting a systematic analysis and comparison, it reveals a scale and speed of informal land development no less significant than that of formal land development, although informal land development tends to be scattered, pervasive, difficult to track, and largely overlooked in research and policy formation. Contrary to the popular perception of the peasantry as passive victims of land development, this book uncovers an intriguing dynamic in which the peasantry has played an increasingly (pro)active role in developing their rural land for urban uses in informal markets. Further, based on an investigation of UCL development in Beijing and Shenzhen, it shows an interesting trajectory in which the uneven growth and utilization of UCL are contingent upon the various developmental milieus in different places. China’s land institutions, based on an urban–rural dual land system, are not conducive to the ultimate goal of saving and efficiently utilizing land. Accordingly, an urban–rural integrated land market and management system is highly advisable. The theoretical and empirical enquiry presented challenges the perceived notion of China’s UCL development as the outcome of market demand and state supply. Further, it argues for an inclusive treatment of the informality that has characterized urbanization in many developing countries, and for a reassessment of the role played by the peasantry in land-based urbanization.

This dissertation, "Understanding the Development of China's Urban Construction Land: the State, Market, and Peasantry in Action" by Tao, Liu, 劉濤, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: China's phenomenal urbanization in recent decades has been characterized by not only a rapid growth of its urban population but also a massive expansion and development of its Urban Construction Land (hereafter UCL). The existing literature on China's urbanization is preoccupied by concerns over the growth of the urban population and rural-urban migration. Little work has been done to document and explain the growth dynamics of China's UCL. This thesis makes an original and significant effort to fill the gap existing in the studies of China's urbanization. Development of China's UCL is described in the existing literature as a combined outcome of the increasing market demand of the urban economy and the popular land-centered strategy practiced by the local states. With few exceptions, the peasantry as original land owners were either neglected or treated as passive victims in the process of UCL development. Drawing insights from the recently developed theory of regional political ecology, this thesis examines the nature and internal dynamics of China's UCL development. My original research has identified two different types of UCL development in China, namely formal development in the legal and regulated domain top down and informal development in the semi-legal, poorly regulated, and grey domain spontaneously bottom-up. My systematic analysis and comparison have found a scale and speed of informal land development no less significant than that of formal land development although informal land development tends to be scattered, pervasive, difficult to track, and usually overlooked in research and policy formation. Contrary to the popular perception of the peasantry as passive victims of land development, this thesis has revealed an intriguing dynamic in which the peasantry has played an increasingly (pro)active in developing their rural land for urban uses in informal markets. My further investigation of UCL development in Beijing and Shenzhen has uncovered an interesting trajectory in which the uneven growth and utilization of UCL are contingent upon the different developmental milieus existing in different places. UCL in Shenzhen is characterized by high rapidity, efficiency, a stronger land market, better-organized peasantry, and relatively weak state intervention. By contrast, the development of UCL in Beijing under strong state controls with poorly organized peasantry is dominated by the formal track with low efficiency. Ironically, the central state's policy objective of efficient land utilization has failed in Beijing where central land policies were well implemented but has been better achieved in Shenzhen where UCL is developed with limited intervention of central policies. China's land institutions based on an urban-rural dual land system are contradictory to the ultimate goal of land saving and efficient utilization. An urban-rural integrated land market and management system is thus highly recommended. The theoretical and empirical enquiry in this thesis challenges the perceived notion of China's UCL development as the outcome of market demand and state supply. My study of UCL development in China has called for an inclusive treatment of the informality that has characterized urbanization of many developing countries and a reassessment of the role played by the peasantry in land-based urbanization. Subjects: Urbanization - Chi

As China is transformed, relations between society, the state, and the city have become central. The Great Urban Transformation investigates what is happening in cities, the urban edges, and the rural fringe in order to explain these relations. In the inner city of major metropolitan centers, municipal governments battle high-ranking state agencies to secure land rents from redevelopment projects, while residents mobilize to assert property and residential rights. At the urban edge, as metropolitan governments seek to extend control over their rural hinterland through massive-scale development projects, villagers strategize to profit from the encroaching property market. At the rural fringe, township leaders become brokers of power and property between the state bureaucracy and villages, while large numbers of peasants are dispossessed, dispersed, and deterritorialized, and their mobilizational capacity is consequently undermined. The Great Urban Transformation explores these issues, and provides an integrated analysis of the city and the countryside, elite politics and grassroots activism, legal-economic and socio-political issues of property rights, and the role of the state and the market in the property market.

In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce. With China’s urban population projected to rise to about one billion – or close to 70 percent of the country’s population – by 2030, China’s leaders are seeking a more coordinated urbanization process. Urban China is a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council which was established to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in China and to help China forge a new model of urbanization. The report takes as its point of departure the conviction that China's urbanization can become more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. However, it stresses that achieving this vision will require strong support from both government and the markets for policy reforms in a number of area. The report proposes six main areas for reform: first, amending land management institutions to foster more efficient land use, denser cities, modernized agriculture, and more equitable wealth distribution; second, adjusting the hukou household registration system to increase labor mobility and provide urban migrant workers equal access to a common standard of public services; third, placing urban finances on a more sustainable footing while fostering financial discipline among local governments; fourth, improving urban planning to enhance connectivity and encourage scale and agglomeration economies; fifth, reducing environmental pressures through more efficient resource management; and sixth, improving governance at the local level.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent development of Chinese cities. It discusses a broad range of subjects of urban planning, including environmental planning, transportation planning, historical preservation, economic development, geographic information systems (GIS) and other technological applications. China, the most populous country in the world, has experienced unprecedented urbanization in a relatively short period. During the past decades, urbanization in China has centered on land development through industrialization and investment, but it has largely ignored the prosperity and well-being of the people. Livable cities are not just those with magnificent buildings and infrastructure; they are great places where people want to live. China’s recently inaugurated leaders have proposed a new model to actively and prudently enhance the quality of urbanization through compact, intelligent, and low-carbon development. It symbolizes the departure from land-centered urban development to a form of people-oriented urbanization, as China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, has advocated. This new model offers a platform for planning researchers and practitioners to tackle urbanization challenges, such as social equity, environment, energy, ecological and historic preservation, affordable housing, and externalities of mega cities. Furthermore, people-oriented urbanization calls for public participation and stakeholder engagement in the planning process. This book brings together planners, designers, scholars, scientists, and government officials from China and all over the world to exchange ideas on urban regeneration.

This book aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of China’s Poverty Alleviation resettlement (PAR) particularly under the Link Policy, and further analysing the impacts of PAR on China’s rural transformation from multiple scales (regional and individual) and perspectives (social-economic development, urban-rural interactions and landscape changes), with a combination of multiple approaches including systematic literature review, content analysis, econometrical methods, spatial analysis, Cellular Automata modelling etc. Policy suggestions will also be provided to improve farmers’ sustainable livelihood and resilience coping with the changes of lifestyles due to the resettlement. This book contributes to inspiring and provoking thought among policymakers, researchers, and individuals worldwide grappling with the pressing issue of poverty and its eradication. Understanding the Chinese experience may yield valuable insights that can be adapted and applied in diverse contexts around the globe.