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| CHINA'S URBAN TRANSFORMATION: PATTERNS AND PROCESSES OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE IN BEIJING, SHANGHAI AND GUANGZHOU |
| Piper Gaubatz1, WANG Xiao-xiao1,2, WANG Nan1,2, LIN Dan-dan2 |
1. University of Massachusetts, Amherst of American;
2. Michigan State University of American |
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Abstract New urban and economic developments are transforming the fundamental nature and structure of China's cities. The distinctive patterns wrought by overlaying socialist ideals on the pre-1949 city are giving way to new forms reflecting the country's dynamic economic, social and political conditions. This article provides an analysis of the patterns and processes of change in urban form in contemporary Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, highlighting both the regional variation in urban development in China and the emergence of common trends in development and form. The article focuses on patterns of land-use specialization, circulation and building height, and processes of planning, urban renewal and privatization of the real estate market. The physical transformation of Chinese urban form is both a consequence of social and economic changes such as the restructuring of employment and investment patterns and a contributor to changes such as the growing need for transport and housing alternatives. The common patterns and processes of change in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have far-reaching implications for change in cities throughout China. The specialization of land use with multi-nucleation, district specialization and development zone planning, the reconfiguration of circulation systems, and the heightening and concentration of urban skylines are national trends produced, in part, through the processes of comprehensive urban planning and urban renewal, and the joint processes of privatization and investment. The overwhelming character of most urban landscapes in China today is the raw, unfinished look of demolition equipment and construction sites, piles of brick and new steel and the sounds of jackhammers, heavy trucks and shouted instructions. But the trends of the present point most clearly towards an increasing air of internationalism. Nonetheless, the weight and distinctiveness of Chinese culture, combined with the persistence of Chinese socialism, suggest that Chinese cities will remain distinctive well into the future.
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Received: 26 November 2007
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2009, Vol. 24 
