Town and City: New Directions in Chinese Urbanization

Abstract

This chapter explores urbanization in China beginning with a brief discussion of the situation as revealed by the 1982 census and then turning to an assessment of policies introduced in the 1980s to affect urbanization levels and to transform the economic structure of the countryside. Particular attention is given to the position of small towns in these developments but these need to be seen within the broader context of the positions of cities of various size classes. Integral to these analyses is the role of various forms of population mobility and the transformation of the population from agricultural to nonagricultural workers. Some growth projections for Chinas towns and cities are included and the consequences of that growth are discussed. This article is reprinted from Chinese Urban Reform: What Model Now? Armonk New York M. E. Sharpe 1990 pp. 17-44. (EXCERPT)