Farewell to Villages: Forced Urbanization in Rural China

Abstract

With rapid urbanization in China, settlement patterns are changing dramatically. While there is a large body of research on changes in Chinese cities, we know relatively little about the countryside despite the profound transformation that is taking place in rural China. At the turn of the 21st century, the traditional rural Chinese settlement—natural villages—are being systematically demolished, and villagers are being resettled into apartments and urban communities at an astonishing scale and speed. Unprecedented forced urbanization with profound socioeconomic and spatial transformation is taking place in much of rural China. This chapter aims to understand the dynamics and impact of the rapid urbanization of rural China by taking rural Jiangsu Province as a case study. The author argues that local governments’ thirst for more construction land for economic development under the strict land use management system and land-based revenue system is the root cause for this forced urbanization in rural China, which is further driven by the central government’s call for developing the socialist new countryside. While villagers may benefit from the improved housing conditions, they suffer serious social and economic consequences. This forced urbanization is especially detrimental to the elderly and the poor, which overshadows the campaign for a modern countryside and a harmonious society.