Full Description
This book analyses the urbanisation of rural China in the period of the country's reform and opening-up based on an investigation of five villages in the Pearl River Delta region, analysing progress, problems and future prospects in the light of long-term investigations on the ground and follow-up fieldwork.
Drawing on a vast body of data obtained from participation observation, interviews, archival documents, questionnaires and oral histories, the author charts the trajectory of urbanisation as rural landscapes, governance models, social structures and development dynamics have morphed into urban phenomena. Stimulated by outside capital and pro-growth policies, each of the five villages has undergone a distinct economic, social, institutional, cultural and demographic transformation while facing challenges and opportunities such as land requisition, residential areas with a strong concentration of migrants, changing power relations between state and local community, the influence of traditional lineage and clan structures and quandaries over identity.
The book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology and Chinese Studies as well as general readers interested in contemporary China and Chinese urbanisation.
Contents
1. From Village Autonomy to State-led the Urbanisation of Rural Areas: A Case Study of Daning Community of Humen Town 2. The Urbanisation of Rural Areas and Local Modernity: A Case Study of Minle in Xiqiao 3. Adaptation and Development of Land-requisitioned Villages: A Case Study of Beiting Village and the Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre 4. Social Development After VTR Reform: Shengfeng Community in Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City 5. Urbanisation and Clan Life: Continuity and Change in Fengdong Community, Shenzhen 6. Conclusion
