Urbanization of the PRC: From Megacities to Supercities
https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2024.03.05
Abstract
In the middle of the last century, the French geopolitician Jean Gottman developed the concept of a me- galopolis (supercity) in relation to a large agglomeration of the northeastern coast of the United States. In the last decade, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has also seen the growth of large urban agglo- meration associations chengshiqun (城市 群), the article is devoted to the largest of them: Yangzi River Delta (YRD), Greater Bay Area (GBA) and JingJingJi. The essence of the Chinese agglomeration urban formations, which are considered in this study, is close to the concept of megalo- polis, however, the formation of Chinese mega-clusters with a population of 80 to 200 million or more people is taking place with the active and direct role of the state. They far exceed the boundaries of the megalopolis described by J. Gottman in terms of population size and degree of integration, thus marking a fundamentally new stage of urbanization. Since the PRC launched its reform and Open Door Policy in 1978, industrialization and urbanization have been at the forefront of China’s rapid economic development. There has been unprecedented internal migration, with more than half a billion people moving from rural to urban areas, resulting in the largest agglomerations in history. The creation of nineteen urban mega-clusters is included in the Fourteenth (2021-2025) Five-Year Development Plan of the PRC as a priority for urbanization and deve- lopment in general. The participation of the state in the historical process of the formation of supra-agglomeration associations of chengshiqun in the PRC leads to the accelerated creation of megalopolises throughout the country. This practice has no analogues in the world, and in the process of “new urbanization” the world leadership will undoubtedly belong to the PRC.
About the Author
V. V. Petushkova
Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAN)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Vlada V. PETUSHKOVA, PhD (Econ.), Senior Researcher at the Department of Economics
Nakhimovsky Avenue, 51/21, Moscow, 117418
References
1. Beyond a Megacity… (2023). Beyond a Megacity: Investing China’s Mega City Cluster. S. l.: Dezan Shira & Associates, 66 pp. Available at: https://admin.cacac.com.cn/profile/2023/08/03/720f3c8e-a2224164-8968-b3434a75025d.pdf, accessed 31.01.2024.
2. Chubarov I.G. (2013). Geographical Features of the Formation of Global Cities of the People’s Republic of China. Thesis of Dissertation. Moscow: Lomonosov Moscow State Univesity, 23 pp. (in Russian).
3. Chubarov I.G. (2018). Historical Background of the Emergence of Global Cities in China. In: China: Politics, History, Culture. Moscow: Sinosphere, pp. 216–229 (in Russian).
4. Chubarov I.G. (2022). Development of Chinese cities within the framework of the state program “Urbanization of a new type”. Far Eastern Affairs. No. 1, pp. 139–148 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31857/S013128120017798-8.
5. Chubarov I.G., Sluka N.A. (2012). The largest agglomerations of China within a system of global cities. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Series 5. Geography. No. 2, pp. 32–39 (in Russian).
6. Demographia… (2023). Demographia World Urban Areas (Built-Up Urban Areas or Urban Agglomerations). 19th annual edition. Demographia, 101 pp. Available at: https://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf, accessed 31.01.2024.
7. Gottmann J. (1990). Since Megalopolis: The Urban Writings of Jean Gottmann. Baltimore, London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 304 pp.
8. Mee Kam Ng (2008). Urban System Planing in China: The Case of the Pearl River Delta. United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Population Distribution, Urbanization, Internal Migration and Development. January 15, UN/POP/EGMURB/2008/15, 24 pp. Available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/unpd_egm_200801_urban_system_planning_in_china_the_case_of_the_pearl_river_delta_ng.pdf, accessed 31.01.2024.
9. Petushkova V.V. (2023). Features of the development of China’s megacities. Economic and Social Problems of Russia. No. 3, pp. 40–59 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31249/espr/2023.03.03.
10. Preen M. (2018). The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integration Plan. China Briefing. March 26. Available at: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/the-beijing-tianjin-hebei-integration-plan/, accessed 31.01.2024.
11. Salitskii A.I., Chubarov I.G. (2022). Urbanization and National Urban Policy in India and China: a Comparative Analysis. Outlines of Global Transformations: Politics, Economics, Law. Vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 107–132 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31249/kgt/2022.05.06.
12. Samburova E.N., Sluka N.A., Xue Ling (2009). Chinese People’s Republic on a way to “Urbanistic Revolution”. Regional Studies. No. 2 (23), pp. 51–58 (in Russian).
13. Sassen S. (2013). The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. S. l.: Princeton University Press, 480 pp.
14. Taylor J. (2019). Five years on: The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Asia Dialogue. March 15. Available at: https://theasiadialogue.com/2019/03/15/five-years-on-the-beijing-tianjin-hebei-urban-agglomeration/, accessed 31.01.2024.
15. The Emergence… (2022). Zheng D. et al. The Emergence of China’s Greater Bay Area. Investcorp. Available at: URL: https://www.investcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Emergence-of-China-Greater-Bay-Area-Nov-2022.pdf, accessed 12.06.2023.
16. Vulfovich R.M. (2007). Agglomeration. Megalopolis. Megacity. Correlation of concepts. Evrazijskaya integraciya. Ekonomika. Politika. Pravo. No. 2, pp. 91– 92 (in Russian).
17. Wong F.K.-H. (2019). China’s Hukou System: What it is and How it Works. China Brifing. January 17. Available at: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-hukou-system/, accessed 31.01.2024.
18. World Bank (2014). Urban China Toward Efficient, Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization. S. l.: The World Bank and the Development Research Center of the State Council, P.R. China, 547 pp.
19. Zhang Z. (2020). What does the Yangtze River Delta Integration Mean for Businesses in China? Сhina Briefing. September 17. Available at: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/yangtze-river-delta-integration-opportunities-incentives-for-businesses-in-china-dual-circulation-strategy/, accessed 31.01.2024.
20. Zhou Z. (2023). Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Industrial Convergence on The Regional Economy of The Yangtze River Delta. SHS Web Conf. Vol. 163, April 28. Available at: https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/abs/2023/12/shsconf_icssed2023_01023/shsconf_icssed2023_01023.html, accessed 31.01.2024.
Review
For citations:
Petushkova V.V. Urbanization of the PRC: From Megacities to Supercities. Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law. 2024;17(3):89–109. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2024.03.05
Views:
149
Email this article 