TY - JOUR
T1 - Urban system planning in China
T2 - A case study of the Pearl River Delta
AU - Ng, Mee Kam
AU - TANG, Wing Shing
N1 - Funding Information:
1This research was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (HKU173/95H). Comments by the two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged. Any remaining faults are our own responsibilities. 2It is, however, necessary to take into consideration the cautionary notes sounded by Dutton (1992) and Sigley (1996) on the applicability of the governmentality concept to China, including the significance of the collective (rather than the individual self) and the passive role of the expertise. 3Unless specified otherwise, the contents are summarized from Construction Commission of Guangdong Province (1996).
PY - 1999/10/1
Y1 - 1999/10/1
N2 - This paper argues that before 1978, the Chinese state, a "police state" in the Foucauldian concept of governmentality, aimed at total administration of the economy and society. Central investments determined local spatial development. Economic reforms and administrative decentralization after 1978 allowed local authorities to pursue their own development, leading to many planning problems. To regain control over spatial development, the state now employs urban system planning to regulate development in city regions. The Pearl River Delta Urban System Plan (PRDUSP) is a case in point. To overcome myopic regional development and environmental issues, the PRDUSP lays out a development strategy in which cities are organized into hierarchies around three metropolitan areas, have different functions, and are connected by development and growth axes. Various measures and policies also are recommended. All these suggest that the Provincial Government of Guangdong is searching for a new way of regional governance.
AB - This paper argues that before 1978, the Chinese state, a "police state" in the Foucauldian concept of governmentality, aimed at total administration of the economy and society. Central investments determined local spatial development. Economic reforms and administrative decentralization after 1978 allowed local authorities to pursue their own development, leading to many planning problems. To regain control over spatial development, the state now employs urban system planning to regulate development in city regions. The Pearl River Delta Urban System Plan (PRDUSP) is a case in point. To overcome myopic regional development and environmental issues, the PRDUSP lays out a development strategy in which cities are organized into hierarchies around three metropolitan areas, have different functions, and are connected by development and growth axes. Various measures and policies also are recommended. All these suggest that the Provincial Government of Guangdong is searching for a new way of regional governance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033364038&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2747/0272-3638.20.7.591
DO - 10.2747/0272-3638.20.7.591
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:0033364038
SN - 0272-3638
VL - 20
SP - 591
EP - 616
JO - Urban Geography
JF - Urban Geography
IS - 7
ER -
