The Suburb as a Space of Capital Accumulation: The Development of New Towns in Shanghai, China

Jie Shen,Fulong Wu

doi:10.1111/anti.12302

Abstract

AbstractDrawing attention to the governing role of capital accumulation and its interaction with the state, this study examines the dynamics of the new wave of suburbanization in China, which is characterized by the development of new towns. New towns essentially function as a spatial fix in China's contemporary accumulation regime. Rather than resulting from capital switching from the primary to the secondary circuits, new towns help to collect funds for the leverage of industrial capital and thus simultaneously sustain both circuits. Meanwhile, the development of new towns is also a process of territorial development, in which municipal governments expand the space of accumulation under strengthened fiscal and land controls and develop a metropolitan structure. Underlying the specific form and dynamics, however, is the worldwide trend of capital switching from declining manufacturing industries in developed countries to the new investment frontier in developing countries.

Highlights

Chinese suburbanization, immediately after economic reform, was largely a result of land use change following the establishment of the land market, and was dominated by government-sponsored residential and industrial relocation (Zhou and Ma 2000)
Based on a detailed case study of the new town project in Shanghai, we aim to investigate the complex mechanisms of suburban growth in China
Since 2000, major Chinese cities have adopted a new spatial form of suburban development, that is, the new town characterized by mixed-use clustered development (Hsing 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Immediately after economic reform, was largely a result of land use change following the establishment of the land market, and was dominated by government-sponsored residential and industrial relocation (Zhou and Ma 2000). In contrast to earlier expansion and exclusively industrial or residential uses, the new strategy has involved the development of multifunctional new towns and the creation of a polycentric metropolitan region (Wu and Zhang 2007). This new feature of suburbanization is referred to as a “polycentric structure” (Feng et al 2009) or “post-suburbia” (Wu and Phelps 2011)

Objectives

Methods

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Conclusion