Urbanizing China: Mechanisms and Impacts

Keywords: Urbanization, Migration, China
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 63

Abstract

This paper reviews the process and trajectories of China’s nationwide urbanization campaign since the 2000s and its impacts on Chinese society. China’s urbanization has been carried out through the expropriation of rural land for industrial and commercial projects. A large number of landless farmers and rural-to-urban migrant workers have been introduced to urban life during this process, exposing the key mechanisms of urbanization of Chinese countryside. These include four related aspects: 1) land expropriation, 2) rural-to-urban migration, 3) “village-to-(urban) community” transition and 4) the so-called “new citizen” campaign. This paper also analyzes the impacts of urbanization on both Chinese rural society and urban society. It examines the significant impacts of urbanization on 1) land politics and village economy, 2) population management and governance in the cities, 3) gender, family and social relations, and 4) state-society relations. It highlights the complicated interactions between marketization, urbanization and the Party-state in redefining the boundaries associated with China’s long-existing rural-urban divide. Through analysis of existing literature and fieldwork data, I aim to provide a comprehensive summary and review on China’s urbanization process in the past two decades as well as discussing the implications for future studies in relevant fields, such as political sciences, sociology, urban studies and gender studies.