Configuring growth coalitions among the projects of urban aggrandizement in Kunming, Southwest China

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we examine two urban projects in Kunming, Southwest China, one a massive scheme to build a new city center on rural land outside the city, and the other, an act of urban restructuring involving the rebuilding of an old Hui (Muslim) neighborhood in the old city center. We analyze the coalition of forces configured to undertake these large-scale projects; we underline the role of specially formed city-building organizations and the support provided by the state-owned institutions that dominate the city’s political economy; and we draw attention to the caution with which the city government handled resistance to urban restructuring among Hui residents. We argue that urban growth projects in inland cities like Kunming are marked by certain features that distinguish them from similar projects in Eastern Chinese cities but maintain that nonetheless the drive for profit maximization at the expense of residents is unchanged.