Maturing Megacities

This edited volume covers the multiple changes concerning urban governance in the course of the progressive transformation of the Pearl River Delta mega-urban region in China. Looking at the megacities Guangzhou and Shenzhen, it analyzes the maturing of socio-economic, political and spatial structures after the first waves of economic globalization, political transformation, and their rapid expansion and urbanization. The initial claim and starting point of the book is the existence of a profound multidimensional shift in the coastal mega-urban region with a major tendency towards urban upgrading, economic restructuring and a clearly observable consolidation of political institutions. For the first time since the beginning of the reform and opening up after 1978, this has led to a stronger bias toward urban regeneration, an adaptive re-use of the building stock and an establishment of post-industrial knowledge-based creative industries. The book investigates these changes as a set of mutually dependent developments that have to be understood and analyzed in connection with one another. Thus, the backgrounds and underlying forces that shape physical restructuring in the developed urban cores of the mega-urban region and the ways in which the relevant actors and institutions are trying to both cope with and to influence each other are introduced here.

Autorentext

Uwe Altrock has degrees in Mathematics as well as Urban & Regional Planning. He is now Professor for Urban Regeneration and Planning at the University of Kassel, Germany.
Sonia Schoon has studied Chinese language and culture at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. She obtained an MA in Chinese Studies, European Anthropology and Public Law at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, and graduated with a Dr.Phil. in Chinese Studies at the same institution.

Inhalt
Part I: Introduction.-The Pearl River Delta in Progressive Transformation.- Part II: Transforming into Megacities.- Second Metamorphosis? Urban Restructuring and Planning Responses in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the 21st Century.- The Influence of Regional Planning Administration on Local Development.- Cross-border Governance: The Merger of Guangzhou and Foshan.- Part III: The Reorientation Towards Urban Regeneration.- Three Olds: Experimental Urban Restructuring with Chinese Characteristics. Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Comparison.- Examining China's Urban Redevelopment: Land Types, Targeted Policies, and Public Participation.- Part IV: Economic Upgrading.- Maturing Governance Over Time. Groping for Economic Upgrading in Guangzhou's Zhongda Cloth Market.- Formal and Informal Economies in Guangzhou's Zhongda Cloth Market.- Regeneration of Derelict Industrial Sites in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.- Part V: The Evolution of Integrative Governance.- Gaming and Decision-making. Urbanized Village Redevelopment in Guangzhou.- Villagers' Participation in Mega-urban Upgrading. Liede Village: Guangzhou's Pioneer.- Elite Vision before People: State Entrepreneurialism and the Limits of Participation.- Part VI: Public Open Space between Appropriation and Marketing.- Parks as Soft Location Factors.- The Role of Public Space in the Upgrading of Industrial Sites.- The Role of Public Space in the Upgrading of Urbanized Villages.- Part VII: Conclusion.- Maturing Megacities: Lessons from the Pearl River Delta Experiences.

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