The assemblage and making of suburbs in post-reform China: the case of Guangzhou

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the modality of recent suburbanization in post-reform China. Most of the existing literature focuses on individual cases or quantitative measurements; there is ashortage of panoramic views to identify the actors and processes related to suburbanization in post-reform China. We fill this gap by applying assemblage thinking to decipher the modality of suburbanization in Guangzhou, one of China’s largest cities. We identify the making of three types of suburban spaces– new enclaves, new towns, and suburban villages based on the fieldwork over the last decade. With assemblage thinking, we focus on the process of spatial production and articulate the interactions of various actors such as market, state and society. Differing from the classic Anglo-American model of homogeneous middle-class suburbia, suburbanization in post-reform China is marked by the production of variegated social spaces as well as the ongoing interactions of state, market and societal forces. Abbreviation: Pearl River Delta, (PRD)