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Economic Development, Informal Land-Use Practices and Institutional Change in Dongguan, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yingmin Huang

    (School of Architecture and design, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China)

  • Desheng Xue

    (School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China)

  • Gengzhi Huang

    (School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
    Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China)

Abstract

This paper is engaged with the critical perspective that highlights the role of the state in the production of urban informality by examining the dynamics of informal land-use practices in Dongguan, China since 1978. Based on in-depth interviews and archival analysis, the relationship between informal land development, the state, and land institution change has been revealed. Our findings show that informal land development is practiced by village collectives from below in Dongguan as a response to the absence and limitation of the national land law. The local government handles the informality in a pragmatic way that serves the goal of economic development in different historical conditions by actions of encouraging, tolerating, and authorizing, suggesting that the definition of informality is not a neutral classification. It is argued that while informality represents people’s creativity in dealing with practical problems, when and to what extent it can be tolerated, formalized, and absorbed depends on the intention of the state in a specific historical context.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingmin Huang & Desheng Xue & Gengzhi Huang, 2021. "Economic Development, Informal Land-Use Practices and Institutional Change in Dongguan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2249-:d:502138
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gengzhi Huang & Desheng Xue & Yang Wang, 2019. "Governmentality and Spatial Strategies: Towards Formalization of Street Vendors in Guangzhou, China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 442-459, May.
    2. Pengjun Zhao & Mengzhu Zhang, 2016. "The Role of Villages and Townships in Informal Land Development in China: An Investigation on the City Fringe of Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Hsing, You-tien, 2010. "The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199568048.
    4. Jieming Zhu, 1999. "Local Growth Coalition: The Context and Implications of China’s Gradualist Urban Land Reforms," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 534-548, September.
    5. Gengzhi Huang & Desheng Xue & Bo Wang, 2020. "Integrating Theories on Informal Economies: An Examination of Causes of Urban Informal Economies in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Karita Kan, 2020. "The social politics of dispossession: Informal institutions and land expropriation in China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(16), pages 3331-3346, December.
    7. Giovanni Picker, 2019. "Sovereignty Beyond the State: Exception and Informality in a Western European City," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 576-581, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dong Chen & Rongrong Liu & Maoxian Zhou, 2023. "Delineation of Urban Growth Boundary Based on Habitat Quality and Carbon Storage: A Case Study of Weiyuan County in Gansu, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, May.

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