Chinese urbanization and development before and after economic reform: A comparative reappraisal

Abstract

This paper analyzes the recent process and consequences of China's urbanization by weighing the short-term policies and long-term strategies concerning national development and urban growth against the objective material conditions and competing group interests in Chinese society. Comparative insights are drawn from the experiences of other late-developing countries where the effects of political decisions concerning urban growth have been fundamentally modified by social and economic forces. Thus China's urbanization is examined here in terms of the four major aspects of Third World urbanization: overurbanization; urban bias and the parasitic versus generative nature of cities; rural development and the role of small urban places; and interregional balance in urbanization and development. The rapid and complex process of urbanization certainly helps boost the dynamic of the post-Mao Chinese economy, but not without the problematic symptoms of congestion and inequality.