This book sheds light on the mega-city region development in China as a new form of urbanization which plays a crucial role in the economic development of the country. It examines the challenges faced by the mega-city regions and opens up avenues for debates and further research. Economic reform of 1978 has led to an unprecedented growth in the population and economic development of China. A large portion of this increased urban population and the corresponding economic growth has been concentrated in the mega-city regions, such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD). These three mega-city regions have less land but more people and thus higher economy, resulting in various issues and challenges faced by these regions. These challenges pertain to the socio-economic development, transport, environment, governance and development strategy, which this book explores through case studies of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Wuhan. This book also explains and analyses the economy, migration processes, transport development, environmental conditions and governance of the mega-city regions of China. With an overview of China’s rapid urbanisation and the consequent economic growth, this book provides an essential understanding of related issues in order to establish appropriate strategies and policies to sustain the process of mega-city region development.

This book sheds light on the mega-city region development in China as a new form of urbanization which plays a crucial role in the economic development of the country. It examines the challenges faced by the mega-city regions and opens up avenues for debates and further research. Economic reform of 1978 has led to an unprecedented growth in the population and economic development of China. A large portion of this increased urban population and the corresponding economic growth has been concentrated in the mega-city regions, such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD). These three mega-city regions have less land but more people and thus higher economy, resulting in various issues and challenges faced by these regions. These challenges pertain to the socio-economic development, transport, environment, governance and development strategy, which this book explores through case studies of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Wuhan. This book also explains and analyses the economy, migration processes, transport development, environmental conditions and governance of the mega-city regions of China. With an overview of China’s rapid urbanisation and the consequent economic growth, this book provides an essential understanding of related issues in order to establish appropriate strategies and policies to sustain the process of mega-city region development.

This book examines a range of issues related to the mega-city phenomenon. Part one deals with the growth of mega-cities and explores demographic issues, labour force change in the big cities of Asia, the effect of macroeconomic forces on the world city system, and the relations between technology and the city. In part two, the discussion focuses on the economic and social consequences of mega-city growth. Part three looks at the crucial issue of the management of mega-cities, taking up such issues as infrastructure financing, land and shelter needs, transportation, and environmental management. The final chapter examines priority urban management issues in developing countries and derives a research agenda for the 1990s. (Adapté du résumé de l'éditeur).

This book answers the call for New Urbanization, and proposes a “5+9+6” national spatial layout plan for the urbanization of the 770 major cities in China. This macro pattern is based on a few major metropolises at the center, and other cities supporting and benefitting from these metropolises to form a pyramid-like urban hierarchical system. The book also presents a comprehensive regionalization plan for China’s New Urbanization and strategic approaches to improving the quality of this New Urbanization. Currently, China is aggressively promoting a so-called New Urbanization, which has been regarded as one of the primary ways to build a moderately prosperous society, to address critical issues related to agriculture, rural regions and farmers, to expand domestic demand and promote industrial innovation, and to realize the China Dream. From a systematic perspective and using recently released urban data, the authors analyze the current status of New Urbanization in China and also investigate the various potential problems and obstacles to its concrete implementation. Based on the analyses and investigations, the authors propose strategic directions, paths and basic principles for China’s New Urbanization. In addition, they clearly identify the three different modes of New Urbanization, namely, the general mode, differentiated mode, and gradual mode. Today, many scholars argue that China’s urban regions are experiencing a highly unsustainable mode of development. Chinese cities are heavily burdened by the so-called “urban diseases,” which are characterized e.g. by congested traffic, polluted water and air, and a lack of open and green spaces. Traditional urbanization, which primarily focuses on economic development, must be fundamentally reformed. New Urbanization, which focuses on integrated economic development, social integration and space/environmental sustainability, or simply put, on the quality of urbanization, has been called for to provide a potential “cure” for these urban diseases. Due to the vastness of China’s population and its rapidly growing economic, political and cultural relationships with the rest of the world, the book demonstrates that the success of this New Urbanization is critical not only to the future of urban China, but also the future of urbanization worldwide. The book offers a valuable reference work for all researchers, graduate student and policy makers interested in China’s urban development.

Provides a comparative treatment and examination of how new approaches in governance and planning are reshaping mega-city regions around the world. The contributors highlight how European mega-city regions are evolving and strategic intervention redefined to enable the integration of urban qualities in a multi-level governance environment, how traditional federal countries in North America and Australia see the promise of major policies and development initiatives finally moving ahead to herald a more strategic intervention at national and regional scales, and how transitional economies in China witness the rise of state strategies to control the articulation of scales and to reassert the functional importance of state in a growing diffused power context.

The achievements of China’s urbanization should not be evaluated solely in terms of adequate infrastructures, but also in their ability to implement sound governance practices to ensure social, environmental and economic development. This book addresses several key challenges faced by Chinese cities, based on the most recent policies and experiments adopted by central and local governments. The contributors offer an interdisciplinary analysis of the urbanization process in China, and examine the following key topics: the institutional foundations of Chinese cities, the legal status of the land, the rural to urban migration, the preservation of the urban heritage and the creation of urban community, and the competitiveness of Chinese cities. They define the current issues and challenges emerging from China’s urbanization. Students and academics of urban studies and related subjects will find the strong theoretical backgrounds to be of use to their research. Policy-makers and other practitioners will benefit from the practical advice and recommendations.

"China's Greater Bay Area (GBA) - previously referred to as the Pearl River Delta - is one of the world's largest megacity regions, and China's foremost technological, economic, social and cultural node. Patchell integrates agglomeration concepts with the GBA's conditions to explain the region's rise, innovativeness, and resilience. He reveals how the GBA works as differentiated and semi-interdependent systems, providing a window into the GBA and China, while also providing the basis for a comparative approach to megacities and mega regions. Key topics discussed in the book include: - the early development of the GBA, its mix of indigenous and exogenous investments and expertise, and the forces that compelled its upgrading from process manufacturing - the regional strengths in clusters, transportation networks, and the regional innovation system - the role of multi-level governance in balancing national directives, municipal autonomy and regional complementarities - consequences of the GBA's agglomeration for social structure and mobility, communities, sustainable development and resilience for the future. Written in an accessible and rigorous manner, this textbook is ideal for a course on this important region, for comparative courses on agglomeration and largescale urban development, and for people wanting greater understanding of urban processes and China"--

This book serves as a solid ground for seeking strategies to build the compact city that situated in a specific local area, based on the systematic examination of the effects of spatial planning system on urbanization control. Furthermore, the critical problems in the urban planning process are revealed, and the possible approaches to improve the local planning system toward effectively promoting more compact development are discussed. This book also provides a comprehensive picture for understanding the mutual influences between the planning, its implementation, and urban developments, particularly in the context of cities of western China, while these cities are experiencing dramatic urban growth in recent years but walking into a quite different development path comparing to the eastern mega cities. In nearly two decades, government officials, professional planners, scholars of urban studies, citizens who concern sustainable development are talking about the compact city, a promising vision for sustaining our growing or shrinking cities. Abundance of debates fall on the images, measurement and strengths of the compact city, while the substantializing of the vision in a specific city has been barely explored.

China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) – previously referred to as the Pearl River Delta – is one of the world’s largest mega-city regions and China’s foremost technological, economic, social and cultural node. Patchell integrates agglomeration concepts with the GBA’s distinctive features to explain the region’s rise, innovativeness, and resilience. He reveals how the GBA works as differentiated and interdependent systems, providing a window into the GBA and China, while also providing the basis for a comparative approach to mega-cities and mega-regions. Key topics discussed in the book include: The early development of the GBA, its mix of indigenous and exogenous investments and expertise and the forces that compelled its upgrading from process manufacturing The regional strengths in clusters, transportation networks and regional innovation system The role of multi-level governance in balancing national directives, municipal autonomy and regional complementarities Consequences of the GBA’s agglomeration for land allocation, planning, social structure and mobility, communities, sustainable development and resilience for the future Written in an accessible yet rigorous manner, this textbook is ideal for a course on this important region, for comparative courses on agglomeration and large-scale urban development and for people wanting a greater understanding of urban processes and China.

Megacities of over 10 million inhabitants are unique entities in their own right, both challenging and supporting the policies, governance and cohesion of states. In developing and developed economies, the rise of megacities can be seen to have negative and positive effects; from exacerbating and deepening societal problems inherent in inequality and poverty, to increasing opportunities for innovation, education, interconnectivity and development.The Rise of Megacities takes a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to analysis of their growth. It examines both the major new challenges that the expansion of megacities brings for development at large, and the opportunities they might create for the public good. In addition, it shows how more established cities, such as Tokyo, New York or European examples can provide lessons for governance and development of rapidly urbanizing populations. Using case studies and academic theory it takes into account both the similarities and differences of megacities and gives a comprehensive study of them. This book is perfect for students and researchers of development economics, urban studies, international relations and the social sciences, as well as those interested in how the world economy is changing through globalization.