Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 1
·
May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
118
Chapter 1 starts by explaining the
different model of economic development
in China. Ren makes a courageous attempt
to assess China’s distinctiveness through a
broad range of development theories,
including ‘neoliberalism with Chinese
characteristics’ or the ‘Chinese ascent’
under history-specific conditions and
institutional innovations (p. 5). Citing
historical and statistical data, Ren
introduces the debate on the rise of China,
looking at urban demographic shifts and at
the historical evolution of the country’s
urban system. Ren then illustrates in
Chapter 2 the changing governing
structures and institutions, such as the
Communist Party, danwei, hukou,
community organization, government at
different levels and non-state actors.
Chapter 3 examines landscape changes,
discussing a variety of settlement types
found both at the center and on the
periphery of cities.
In Chapter 4, writing about the 221
million internal migrants in the urban areas
who, due to the hukou system, are not
entitled by the same citizen rights as local
residents, Ren argues that ‘the new
Chinese city has become a strategic site
where
citizen
rights
are
being
reformulated’ (p. xv). Ren pays special
attention to the formation of ViCs
(Villages-in-the-City) and to the factory
labor regime, labour protests and state
responses. In Chapter 5 she addresses
social and spatial inequality and highlights
the role of urban renewal in producing
both wealth and poverty. Chapter 6
introduces the cultural industry, looking at
examples of consumption and nightlife,
and the art districts. The discussion shows
how the urban cultural economy brings
both freedom and disempowerment, and
how the cultural industry has given rise to
new forms of state control and
intervention.
Methodologically, the book draws
on quantitative and qualitative sources, the
former originating mainly from the
National Statistics Bureau of China, which
is the only general and comprehensive
dataset that outsider scientists can access.
Unlike official literature that only pays
attention to the 10-15 largest cities, Ren
offers many examples from smaller cities,
towns and villages in order examine the
regional variations that have emerged from
her analysis of a massive amount of
literature, newspapers, online sources and
anthropological observations. Ren does not
provide a detailed description of how she
designed and implemented her research.
Instead, she vividly reports the stories
related to her own experience, which is
innovative and, to some extent, pioneering.
For instance, she tells us how her family
