Abstract
Through a brief review of urban studies by international scholars, the chapter recognizes that cities are playing major roles in modern economic development in the world, as well as in China although China is a socialist economy. The chapter then reviews the development of the Chinese economy in the context of economic globalization and regionalization . The chapter recognizes the role played by Chinese cities in the past 30 years. Then a study framework is proposed that puts the focus on six selected mainland Chinese coastal cities—the pioneers of opening and economic development in China—and Hong Kong to investigate thoroughly the crucial role of these coastal cities in economic development, the problems and challenges in urban and regional development, and the structural change in development strategy and policies for sustainable development. The specific focuses are on the themes of planning and governance. The experiences of these coastal cities provide useful lessons for other Chinese cities, both coastal and inland.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For example, in 2000, Seoul, Bangkok, and Tokyo accounted for 23, 43, and 18 % of their national GDP respectively (Yeung 2000a).
- 2.
Among these Chinese cities, Hong Kong and Taipei are included.
- 3.
Although the then mainland China was the hometown of many overseas Chinese entrepreneurs and investment could be made via their family ties and social networks, they were unfamiliar with their hometowns and the business environment and had no confident in the new/evolving market systems and the communist political regime.
- 4.
Sanlai yibu refers to the commissioned intermediate processing with the supply of raw materials, components, or samples by Hong Kong manufacturers and the compensation trade (Maruya 1998, p. 79). Sanzi refers to three types of foreign invested enterprises and they are joint venture, sole ownership, and technical cooperation.
- 5.
As an important issue directing the future development of the country, both the central government and the CPC under the leadership of Xi Jinping pay special attention to urbanization. For example, it was a key topic in the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-11/12/c_118113455.htm). The CPC also held a special work meeting for urbanization in December 2013 (http://www.gov.cn/ldhd/2013-12/14/content_2547880.htm).
- 6.
This is the number of population in urban districts only.
- 7.
The area size of all cities (urban districts only in brackets) in Eastern, Central, and Western China are 1045 thousand sq km (201 thousand sq km), 1510 thousand sq km (199 thousand sq km), and 2225 thousand sq km (273 thousand sq km) respectively. The respective population density are 479 persons/sq km (973), 295 (563), and 149 (389).
- 8.
A key criterion proposed is the minimum size of each megalopolitan system, which the author set at 25 million inhabitants.
- 9.
Among the top 25 cities in terms of GDP, Shanghai was ranked 3rd, Beijing 5th, Shenzhen 10th, Tianjin 11th, Chongqing 17th, Guangzhou 19th, and Hong Kong 25th. All are coastal cities except Chongqing. The list of top cities in terms of GDP growth included 16 Chinese cities, including Taipei. Only Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Xi’an are not coastal cities.
- 10.
In the 17th report of the Global Financial Centres Index in 2015, Hong Kong was ranked third, Shanghai 16th, Shenzhen 22nd, and Beijing 29th (Z/Yen Group 2015). In the study of Worldwide Centers of Commerce, Hong Kong was ranked 6th, Shanghai 24th, Beijing 57th, and Shenzhen 60th, with Chengdu 72nd and Chongqing 73rd in 2008 (MasterCard Worldwide 2008).
- 11.
- 12.
Such as traffic congestion, hukou hindrance, land acquisition and land use conflicts, and the immature housing system. They are not the problems limited to coastal cities and can also be found in inland cities.
References
Adams, W. M. (2006). The future of sustainability: Re-thinking environment and development in the twenty-first century. Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 29–31 January 2006. http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_future_of_sustanability.pdf.
Bernard, M., & Ravenhill, J. (1995). Beyond product cycles and flying geese: Regionalization, hierarchy, and the industrialization of East Asia. World Politics, 47(2), 171–209.
Brenner, N. (1998). Global cities, glocal states: Global city formation and state territorial restructuring in contemporary Europe. Review of International Political Economy, 5(1), 1–37.
Choe, S. (1998). Urban corridors in Pacific Asia. In F. Lo & Y. Yeung (Eds.), Globalization and the world of large cities (pp. 155–173). Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Derudder, B., Taylor, P., Ni, P., De Vos, A., Hoyler, M., Hanssens, H., et al. (2010). Pathways of changes: Shifting connectivities in the world city network, 2000–08. Urban Studies, 47(9), 1861–1877.
Drover, G., Johnson, G., & Tao Lai, P. J. (Eds.). (2001). Regionalism and subregionalism in East Asia: The dynamics of China. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc.
Dunning, J. H. (1995). The global economy and regimes of national and supranational governance. Business and the Contemporary World, 7, 124–136.
Duranton, G. (2000). Urbanization, urban structure, and growth. In J. Huriot & J. Thisse (Eds.), Economics of cities: Theoretical perspectives (pp. 290–317). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012). Hot spots: Benchmarking global city competitiveness. http://www.citigroup.com/citi/citiforcities/pdfs/hotspots.pdf.
Ekman, A. (2011). The eastward shift: Rising role and new positioning of East Asian cities in the global economy. In F. Gipouloux (Ed.), Gateways to globalisation: Asia’s international trading and finance centres (pp. 177–190). Camberley: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Elkin, S. L. (1987). City and regime in the American Republic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Etingoff, K. (Ed.). (2016). Urban development for the twenty-first century: Managing resources and creating infrastructure. Waretown, NJ: Apple Academic Press.
Fang, C., Song, J., & Lin, X. (2010). Zhongguo chengshiqun kechixu fazhan lilun yu shijian [Megalopolis in China: Theories and practices of sustainable development]. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.
Fang, C., Yao, S., & Liu, S. (2011). 2010 Zhognguo chengshiqun fazhan baogao [2010 development report of megalopolis in China]. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.
Fei, X. (2004). Zhizai fumin [To get people rich]. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe.
Friedmann, J. (1986). The world city hypothesis. Development and Change, 17(1), 69–83.
Friedmann, J., & Wolff, G. (1982). World city formation: An agenda for research and action. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 6(3), 309–344.
Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the globalized world in the twenty-first century. London: Allen Lane.
Fu, Q., Zhuang, G., Wang, J., Xu, C., Huang, K., Li, J., et al. (2008). Mechanism of formation of the heaviest pollution episode ever recorded in the Yangtze River Delta, China. Atmospheric Environment, 42(9), 2023–2036.
Ginsburg, N. S. (1955). The great city in Southeast Asia. American Journal of Sociology, 60(5), 455–462.
Gottman, J. (1976). Megalopolitan systems around the world. Ekistics, 41(243), 109–113.
Grether, J.-M., & Mathys, N. A. (2010). Is the world’s economic centre of gravity already in Asia? Area, 42(1), 47–50.
Hall, P. (1984). The world cities (3rd ed.). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Hall, P. (1999). Planning for the mega-city: A new eastern Asian urban form? In J. Brotchie, P. Newton, & P. Hall (Eds.), East west perspectives on 21st century urban development: Sustainable eastern and western Cities in the new millennium (pp. 3–36). Aldershot: Ashgate.
Hall, P. (2004). World cities, mega-cities and global mega-city-regions. GaWc annual lecture 2004. http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/al6.html.
Hall, P., & Pain, K. (Eds.). (2006). The polycentric metropolis: Learning from mega-city-regions in Europe. London: Earthscan.
Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Horsman, M., & Marshall, A. (1994). After the nation state: Citizens, tribalism and the new world disorder. London: HarperCollins.
Johnston, R. J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G., & Watts, M. (Eds.). (2000). The dictionary of human geography (4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Liao, H. F., & Chan, R. C. K. (2011). Industrial relocation of Hong Kong manufacturing firms: Towards an expanding industrial space beyond the Pearl River Delta. GeoJournal, 76(6), 623–639.
Lin, G. C. S. (1994). Changing theoretical perspectives on urbanisation in Asian developing countries. Third World Planning Review, 16(1), 1–23.
Lin, G. C. S. (1997). Red capitalism in South China: Growth and development of the Pearl River Delta. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Lo, F.-C., & Yeung, Y. M. (Eds.). (1996). Emerging world cities in Pacific Asia. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Lo, F.-C., & Yeung, Y. M. (Eds.). (1998). Globalization and the world of large cities. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Luo, X., & Shen, J. (2012). The making of new regionalism in the cross-boundary metropolis of Hong Kong-Shenzhen, China. Habitat International, 36(1), 126–135.
Ma, L. J. C. (2002). Urban transformation in China, 1949–2000: A review and research agenda. Environment and Planning A, 34(9), 1545–1569.
Macleod, G., & Goodwin, M. (1999). Space, scale and state strategy: Rethinking urban and regional governance. Progress in Human Geography, 23(4), 503–527.
Maruya, T. (1998). The economy. In Y. M. Yeung & D. K. Y. Chu (Eds.), Guangdong: Survey of a province undergoing rapid change (2nd ed., pp. 63–86). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
MasterCard Worldwide. (2008). Worldwide centers of commerce index 2008. http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights/pdfs/2008/MCWW_WCoC-Report_2008.pdf.
McGee, T. G. (1967). The Southeast Asian city: A social geography of the primate cities of Southeast Asia. London: Bell.
McGee, T. G. (1991). The emergence of desakota regions in Asia: Expanding a hypothesis. In N. Ginsburg, B. Koppel, & T. G. McGee (Eds.), The extended metropolis: Settlement transition in Asia (pp. 3–25). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
McGee, T. G. (2002). Reconstructing ‘the Southeast Asian city’ in an era of volatile globalization. In T. Bunnell, L. B. W. Drummond, & K.-C. Ho (Eds.), Critical reflections on cities in Southeast Asia (pp. 31–53). Singapore: Times Academic Press.
McGee, T. G. (2004). Preface. In Y. M. Yeung (Ed.), Asia-Pacific cities under globalization (pp. iii–iv). Beijing: Science Press.
McKinsey Global Institute. (2009). Preparing for China’s urban billion. http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Urbanization/Preparing_for_urban_billion_in_China.
McKinsey Global Institute. (2011). Urban world: Mapping the economic power of cities. http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Urbanization/Urban_world.
McKinsey Global Institute. (2012). Urban world: Cities and the rise of the consuming class. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/urbanization/urban_world_cities_and_the_rise_of_the_consuming_class.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2012). 2011 nian woguo renkou zongliang ji jiegou bianhua qingkuang [2011 national population volume and the structural changes]. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjfx/jdfx/t20120118_402779722.htm.
National Development and Reform Commission. (2010). Changjiang sanjiaozhou diqu quyu guihua [Yangtze River Delta regional planning]. http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2010-06/22/content_1633868.htm.
Ni, P., Hou, Q., Jiang, M., & Chen, G. (Eds.). (2003). Blue book of city competitiveness: Annual report on urban competitiveness No. 1. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.
Ni, P., Hou, Q., Li, Z., Wang, Y., Shen, J., Lin, Z., et al. (Eds.). (2015). Blue book of urban competitiveness: Annual report on urban competitiveness No. 13. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.
Ni, P., Hou, Q., Liang, H., Chen, X., Shen, J., Lin, Z., et al. (Eds.). (2011). Blue book of urban competitiveness: Annual report on urban competitiveness No. 9. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.
Ohmae, K. (1990). The borderless world: Power and strategy in the interlinked economy. New York: HarperBusiness.
Ohmae, K. (1995a). The end of the nation state: The rise of regional economies. New York: Free Press.
Ohmae, K. (Ed.). (1995b). The evolving global economy: Making sense of the new world order. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Organization of Urban Socio-Economic Survey. (2001). China city statistical yearbook 2000. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Organization of Urban Socio-Economic Survey. (2011). China city statistical yearbook 2010. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Organization of Urban Socio-Economic Survey. (2014). China city statistical yearbook 2014. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Pierre, J. (1999). Models of urban governance: The institutional dimension of urban politics. Urban Affairs Review, 34(3), 372–396.
Pierre, J. (2011). The politics of urban governance. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Polèse, M. (2005). Cities and national economic growth: A reappraisal. Urban Studies, 42(8), 1429–1451.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2009). UK economic outlook (November 2009). http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/Media-Library/Global-city-GDP-rankings-2008-2025-61a.aspx.
Quah, D. (2010). The global economy’s shifting centre of gravity. http://econ.lse.ac.uk/~dquah/p/GE_Shifting_CG-DQ.pdf.
Sassen, S. (2001). The global city: New York, London, Tokyo (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Scott, A. J. (Ed.). (2001). Global city-regions: Trends, theory, policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shen, J. (2004a). Urban competitiveness and urban governance in the globalizing world. Asian Geographer, 23(1&2), 19–36.
Shen, J. (2004b). Cross-border urban governance in Hong Kong: The role of state in a globalizing city-region. The Professional Geographer, 56(4), 530–543.
Shen, J. (2005). Space, scale and the state: Re-organizing urban space in China. In J. C. M. Ma & F. Wu (Eds.), Restructuring the Chinese city: Changing society, economy and space (pp. 39–58). London: Routledge.
Shen, J. (2007). Scale, state and the city: Urban transformation in post-reform China. Habitat International, 31(3/4), 303–316.
Shen, J., Feng, Z., & Wong, K. (2006). Dual-track urbanization in a transitional economy: The case of Pearl River Delta in South China. Habitat International, 30(3), 690–705.
Sit, V. F. S. (1985). Introduction: Urbanization and city development in the People’s Republic of China. In V. F. S. Sit (Ed.), Chinese cities: The growth of the metropolis since 1949 (pp. 1–66). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sit, V. F. S. (2005). China’s extended metropolitan regions—Formation and delimitation. IDPR, 27(3), 297–331.
Sit, V. F. S., & Yang, C. (1997). Foreign-investment-induced exo-urbanisation in the Pearl River Delta, China. Urban Studies, 34(4), 647–677.
State Intellectual Property Office. (2015a). 2014 nian woguo faming zhuanli shouguanliang chengshi paiming [2014 ranking of patents granted by city]. http://www.sipo.gov.cn/twzb/2014fmzlsqqkfbh/bjzl/201502/t20150210_1074395.html.
State Intellectual Property Office. (2015b). 2014 nian woguo faming zhuanli shouguanliang shengshi paiming [2014 ranking of patents granted by province]. http://www.sipo.gov.cn/twzb/2014fmzlsqqkfbh/bjzl/201502/t20150210_1074393.html.
Sum, N.-L. (2001a). A temporal-spatial approach on cross-border subregions: Time-space envelopes and governance. In G. Drover, G. Johnson, & J. P.-W. Tao Lai (Eds.), Regionalism and subregionalism in East Asia: The dynamics of China (pp. 29–44). Huntington, NY: Nova Science.
Sum, N.-L. (2001b). Time-space envelopes, governance and the subregion of ‘Greater China’. In G. Drover, G. Johnson, & J. P.-W. Tao Lai (Eds.), Regionalism and subregionalism in East Asia: The dynamics of China (pp. 83–109). Huntington, NY: Nova Science.
Sum, N.-L. (2002). Globalization, regionalization and cross-border modes of growth in East Asia: The (re)constitution of time-space governance. In M. Perkmann & N.-L. Sum (Eds.), Globalization, regionalization and cross-border regions (pp. 50–76). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Taylor, P. J., Ni, P., Derudder, B., Hoyler, M., Huang, J., & Witlox, F. (Eds.). (2011). Global urban analysis: A survey of cities in globalization. London: Earthscan.
United Nations. (1991). World urbanization prospects 1990. New York: United Nations.
Wan, J.-M., Lin, M., Chan, C.-Y., Zhang, Z.-S., Engling, G., Wang, X.-M., et al. (2011). Change of air quality and its impact on atmospheric visibility in central-western Pearl River Delta. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 172, 339–351.
Wang, B., Xu, W., & Yu, Y. (2014). A study on Chinese city network from the value chain-producer service perspective. World Regional Studies, 23(4), 77–84. (in Chinese).
Wang, T., Poon, C. N., Kwok, Y. H., & Li, Y. S. (2003). Characterizing the temporal variability and emission patterns of pollution plumes in the Pearl River Delta of China. Atmospheric Environment, 37(25), 3539–3550.
Wei, Y. D. (2001). Decentralization, marketization and globalisation: The triple processes underlying regional development in China. Asian Geographer, 20(1/2), 7–23.
World Bank. (2009). World development report 2009: Reshaping economic geography. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yao, S., Chen, Z., & Zhu, Y. (2006). Zhongguo chengshiqun [The urban agglomerations of China] (3rd ed.). Hefei: Zhongguo kexue jishu daxue chubanshe.
Ye, Y. (Ed.). (2007). Zhongguo kechixu fazhan zonggang: Zhongguo chengshihua yu kechixu fazhan [The overview of China’s sustainable development: Urbanization and sustainable development in China]. Beijing: Kexue chubanshe.
Yeh, A. G. O., Sit, V. F. S., Chen, G., & Zhou, Y. (Eds.). (2006). Developing a competitive Pearl River Delta in south China under one country two systems. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Yeh, A. G. O., & Xu, J. (2008). Regional cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta: A formulaic aspiration or a new imagination? Built Environment, 34(4), 408–426.
Yeung, H. W. (1998). Capital, state and space: Contesting the borderless world. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 23(3), 291–309.
Yeung, Y. (2000a). Globalization and the new urban challenge. Hong Kong: Occasional Paper No. 109, HKIAPS, CUHK.
Yeung, Y. (2000b). Globalization and networked societies: Urban-regional change in Pacific Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Yeung, Y. (2007). World cities and mega-urban regions in Pacific Asia: Recent trends and future outlook. Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(4), 1–15.
Yeung, Y., Lee, J., & Kee, G. (2009). China’s special economic zones at 30. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 50(2), 222–240.
Yeung, Y., & Lo, F. (1996). Global restructuring and emerging urban corridors in Pacific Asia. In F. Lo & Y. M. Yeung (Eds.), Emerging world cities in Pacific Asia (pp. 17–47). Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Zhang, T. (2002). Urban development and a socialist pro-growth coalition in Shanghai. Urban Affairs Review, 37(4), 475–499.
Zhang, X. (2006). Changjiang Sanjiaozhou juxing chengshiqu tezheng fenxi [Characteristics of the Yangtze River Delta mega-city region]. Acta Geographica Sinica, 61(10), 1025–1036.
Zhao, H., Yin, C., Chen, M., Wang, W., Chris, J., & Shan, B. (2009). Size distribution and diffuse pollution impacts of PAHs in street dust in urban streams in the Yangtze River Delta. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 21(2), 162–167.
Zhou, Y. (1991). The metropolitan interlocking region in China: A preliminary hypothesis. In N. Ginsburg, B. Koppel, & T. G. McGee (Eds.), The extended metropolis: Settlement transition in Asia (pp. 89–111). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Zhu, J. (1999). Local growth coalition: The context and implications of China’s gradualist urban land reforms. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 23(3), 534–548.
Z/Yen Group (2015). Global financial centres index 17. http://www.zyen.com/research/gfci.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shen, J., Kee, G. (2017). Introduction. In: Development and Planning in Seven Major Coastal Cities in Southern and Eastern China. GeoJournal Library, vol 120. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46421-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46421-3_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46420-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46421-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)