China’s urbanization in 1949–2015: Processes and driving forces

• Published in: Chinese geographical science Vol. 27; no. 6; pp. 847 - 859
• Main Authors: Gu, Chaolin, Hu, Lingqian, Cook, Ian G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Science Press 01.12.2017; Springer Nature B.V; School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China%School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA%School of Humanities and Social Science, Liverpool John Moores University,Liverpool L3 2AJ, UK
• Subjects: Africa; China; Chinese history; Developing countries; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic reform; Economics; Geography; Globalization; LDCs; Public policy; Urbanization; China; Africa; driving forces; urbanization; urbanization level; Contemporary China; public policies; urbanization process
• ISSN: 1002-0063; 1993-064X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11769-017-0911-9

The pace and scale of China’s contemporary urbanization are stunning. This paper reviews process and the underlying driving forces of China’s urbanization between 1949–2015. Contemporary China’s urbanization has experienced four stages, and each has had different driving forces: 1) economic re-construction and industrialization-led urbanization (1949–1977); 2) economic reform and market-led urbanization (1978–1995); 3) economic globalization and the global-local urbanization (1996–2010); and 4) the land-economy-led urbanization (2010–). These urbanization processes and driving forces will undoubtedly provide scientific reference and have significant implications for developing countries, especially African countries, to formulate their urbanization public policies.