The concentration dilemma: Urban-rural transition in metropolitan area of Chengdu since early 2000s
Ting Chen
During the last one and half decade in China, a policy of spatial concentration of rural settlements is widely favored to manage the urbanization of the countryside. And yet, many of the projects developed under this policy have triggered radical and disruptive changes in the social and morphological structure of the countryside, without necessarily delivering the continuous social harmony or economic growth originally envisioned. This paper focuses on this misalignment of policy goals and effects, what we call the “concentration dilemma”, and also some emerging alternative development strategies. Drawing on case studies supported by first‐hand interviews, innovative mapping techniques and archival documents, the paper assesses both state‐led policy and bottom‐up alternatives in terms of short‐ and long‐term socio‐economic, community and environmental criteria. In the end, it concludes towards a discussion on the potential of developing more site‐specific policies for a more resilient and sustainable scenario for urban‐rural transition.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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