Spatial Strategies of Urban Development: Rescaling and Territorialization in Post Reform China

Abstract

This paper considers the urban spatial changes in China as rescaling and territorialization processes. Decen- tralization has led to the emergence of localism in China, in a fashion similar to western cities but with unique features and context of a transitional economy. Acquiring urban status and expanding urban space have become a new strategy for lasting local development, resulting in a massive urban space re-organization in Chinese history. The case of China shows that the rescaling of the state and the city means relative changes in the roles of the central and local states. The central state continues to play an important role while the local states, the urban governments, actively engage in urban spatial changes for the local land, economic and financial interests.