Post-reform urban restructuring in China: the case of Hangzhou 1990-2010

Qian, Zhu

Town Planning Review (2012), 83, (4), 431–456.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2012.26
Language: English
Pages: 26

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, Chinese cities have experienced a shift from industrialism to urbanism in political legitimacy and policy discourse. This article examines Hangzhou's urban restructuring with a focus on its development zones and Qianjiang new city. It analyses the evolving dynamics among urban spatial restructuring, urban governance and local policy interventions between 1990 and 2010. The study demonstrates how local government has approached urban restructuring to realise gains from the property market boom, restructure urban space and strengthen urban governing capacity. Land-related socioeconomic consequences are investigated to illuminate changing power dynamics, policy rhetoric and their implications.

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