Spatial restructuring of pollution-intensive enterprises in Foshan China: Effects of the changing role of environmental regulation

Abstract

This paper examines the drivers of distribution of pollution-intensive enterprises (PIEs) at the intraurban level that are less studied. Employing the complete spatial database of PIEs obtained from the National Economic Census of 2004, 2008, and 2013, the paper analyses the spatial restructuring of PIEs within Foshan, China, a typical manufacturing city in transition. We find that the changing role of environmental regulation induced by the environmental policy regime transformation has resulted in the siting strategy shift of PIEs, and both the ‘Pollution Haven Hypothesis’ and the ‘Porter Hypothesis’ have been overly simplified in the research conducted at the regional or global level. Based on the Foshan case, we further conceptualize the pattern of spatial restructuring of PIEs that would help to understand the fast green economy transition taking place in Chinese cities, followed by some policy and research implications.