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The Rise of Manufacturing Towns: Externally Driven Industrialization and Urban Development in the Pearl River Delta of China

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  • Irene Eng

Abstract

This paper examines the forces that are shaping recent urban development in the economically most prosperous region of China — the Pearl River Delta. It shows that economic reform since 1978 has accelerated the pace of industrialization in the region and thereby led to the rise of a growing number of new urban centers. While public policies of the government continue to play a central role in defining the patterns of urbanization, they are increasingly localized and heavily influenced by the imperative of promoting externally‐oriented economic growth. As a result, the prioritization of resource allocation for urban development is tilted toward the need of attracting and retaining foreign investment, and the formation of the emergent urban social space follows closely the interplay between the interests of dominant players in the increasingly marketized economic process. A major consequence of this is a segregation of urban life along the lines of international and domestic division of labor, where the benefits of urban development accrue differentially to various urban residents according to the relative scarcity of the economic factors that they possess. Cet article examine les forces qui façonnent le développement urbain récent dans la région la plus prospère de Chine — le delta de la rivière Pearl. Il démontre que la réforme économique depuis 1978 a accéléré le rythme de l’industrialisation dans la région et, de ce fait, a produit l’essor d’un nombre croissant de nouveaux centres urbains. Bien que la politique d’intérêt public du gouvernement continue à jouer un rôle central dans le choix des modèles d’industrialisation, ils sont de plus en plus localisés et fortement influencés par la nécessité de promouvoir la croissance économique orientée vers l’extérieur. Conséquemment, les priorités dans l’affectation des ressources pour le développement urbain sont influencées par le besoin d’attirer et de conserver les investissements étrangers, et la création d’un nouvel espace social urbain suit de près les effets réciproques des intérêts des partis dominants dans un processus économique de plus en plus commercialisé. Une conséquence importante est la ségrégation de la vie urbaine suivant une division du travail internationale et domestique, dans laquelle les avantages du développement urbain s’accroient différentiellement pour les résidents urbains selon leur manque relatif de facteurs économiques.

Suggested Citation

  • Irene Eng, 1997. "The Rise of Manufacturing Towns: Externally Driven Industrialization and Urban Development in the Pearl River Delta of China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 554-568, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:21:y:1997:i:4:p:554-568
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.00101
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    Cited by:

    1. Chun Yang & Haifeng Liao, 2010. "Industrial agglomeration of Hong Kong and Taiwanese manufacturing investment in China: a town-level analysis in Dongguan," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(3), pages 487-517, December.
    2. Eli D. Friedman, 2014. "Economic Development and Sectoral Unions in China," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 481-503, April.
    3. F Wu, 1999. "The ‘Game’ of Landed-Property Production and Capital Circulation in China's Transitional Economy, with Reference to Shanghai," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(10), pages 1757-1771, October.
    4. Laurence J C Ma, 2002. "Urban Transformation in China, 1949 – 2000: A Review and Research Agenda," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(9), pages 1545-1569, September.
    5. Karen C. Seto & Robert K. Kaufmann, 2003. "Modeling the Drivers of Urban Land Use Change in the Pearl River Delta, China: Integrating Remote Sensing with Socioeconomic Data," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 79(1), pages 106-121.
    6. Fulong Wu, 2001. "Housing Provision under Globalisation: A Case Study of Shanghai," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(10), pages 1741-1764, October.
    7. Fulong Wu, 2000. "The Global and Local Dimensions of Place-making: Remaking Shanghai as a World City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(8), pages 1359-1377, July.
    8. Kam Wing Chan, 2010. "The Global Financial Crisis and Migrant Workers in China: ‘There is No Future as a Labourer; Returning to the Village has No Meaning’," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 659-677, September.
    9. Tom Goodfellow & Zhengli Huang, 2022. "Manufacturing urbanism: Improvising the urban–industrial nexus through Chinese economic zones in Africa," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(7), pages 1459-1480, May.
    10. Wenhua Yuan & Jianchun Li & Chengqing Liu & Ran Shang, 2022. "How to Realize the Integration of Urbanization and Rural Village Renewal Strategies in Rural Areas: The Case Study of Laizhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, November.
    11. Kai Huang & Desheng Xue, 2014. "Initial discrepancy and a dissimilar process become globalized: a case study of Guangzhou," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 31-48, March.

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