Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 1
·
May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
119
developed urban space from state owned
apartments to four private properties
located both in the north and south China
(p. 65). Later, drawing vividly on the
experience of an old friend, she explores
the relationship between middle classes
and cultural economy in Beijing (p. 172).
Theoretically, the central theme
running though the book is ‘the changing
citizenship entailed in the urban process’,
and the various examples demonstrate how
‘the Chinese city has become a strategic
ground for reassembling citizen rights’ (p.
xix). However, despite her claim of a
‘comprehensive’ reading (p. xvii), Ren
fails to mention other important
dimensions of citizens’ rights in urban
society, such as religion, environmental
pollution, political participation and civil
society. This gap needs to be filled.
Moreover, the book does not offer
a detailed analysis of all the dimensions
under study, as it covers too many related
topics. Readers might want to refer to the
other readings on the topics treated in each
chapter. To cite a few, one would think of
works such as Chen et al’s (2001), Bray’s
(2005) and Whyte’s (2010).
The questions that it leaves
unanswered quite apart, this book does
succeed in raising the level of discourse
about urban China. It is a very timely book
which that offers most up-to-date
information. Notably, this is a book
published in March 2013 that contains data
updated to July 2012. As a general
introduction of urbanization in China, it
covers an interdisciplinary field ranging
from
geography
to
sociology,
anthropology and political science. This is
a must-read introductory book for all those
who wish to get a broader view of China’s
cities and for those who may want to gain
a deeper understanding of the different
dimensions of urban life.
References
Bray, D. (2005).
Social Space and
Governance in Urban China: The
Danwei System from Origins to Reform
.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Chen, N. N., Clark, C. D. Gottschang, S.
Z. and Jeffery, L.
(eds) (2001).
China
Urban: Ethnographies of Contemporary
Culture
. Durham N. C.: Duke University
Press.
Whyte, M. (2010).
Myth of the Social
Volcano: Perceptions of Inequality and
Distributive Injustice in Contemporary
China
. Stanford: Stanford University
Press.
Rumin Luo
Max Planck Institute for the Study of
Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany
