6 Urbanization and Economic Development
-
Jan Nijman
Abstract
This essay uses Robert Park’s The City as an inspiration for a comparison of urban America around 1915 with urban China a hundred years later. The focus is not so much on the social fabric of the city but rather on a comparison of the process of urbanization in relation to economic development in the US and China in their respective historical contexts. It is suggested that both American writings in urban studies in the early 20th century and Chinese writings in the early 21st century are decidedly inward-looking. In both instances, there was a strong correlation between urbanization and industrialization, but the paths start to diverge in terms of the effects of deindustrialization and the timing of the emergence of the digital economy. Demographically, too, there are important differences that suggest further divergence in the urban experience of China and the United States in the years ahead.
Abstract
This essay uses Robert Park’s The City as an inspiration for a comparison of urban America around 1915 with urban China a hundred years later. The focus is not so much on the social fabric of the city but rather on a comparison of the process of urbanization in relation to economic development in the US and China in their respective historical contexts. It is suggested that both American writings in urban studies in the early 20th century and Chinese writings in the early 21st century are decidedly inward-looking. In both instances, there was a strong correlation between urbanization and industrialization, but the paths start to diverge in terms of the effects of deindustrialization and the timing of the emergence of the digital economy. Demographically, too, there are important differences that suggest further divergence in the urban experience of China and the United States in the years ahead.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables and Figures v
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xii
- Preface xiii
- Robert Park in China 1
- “Bewitched by the History Behind the Walls” 17
- Moral Order in the Post-Socialist Chinese City 41
- Learning from Chicago (and LA)? 61
- From Chicago to Shenzhen, via Birmingham 81
- Urbanization and Economic Development 101
- The Handshake 302 Village Hack Residency 125
- Beijing Ring Roads and the Poetics of Excess and Ordinariness 141
- Pathways to Urban Residency and Subjective Well-Being in Beijing 157
- A Study of Socio-spatial Segregation of Rural Migrants in Shenzhen 185
- The Anxious Middle Class of Urban China 207
- Conclusion 231
- Index 247
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables and Figures v
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xii
- Preface xiii
- Robert Park in China 1
- “Bewitched by the History Behind the Walls” 17
- Moral Order in the Post-Socialist Chinese City 41
- Learning from Chicago (and LA)? 61
- From Chicago to Shenzhen, via Birmingham 81
- Urbanization and Economic Development 101
- The Handshake 302 Village Hack Residency 125
- Beijing Ring Roads and the Poetics of Excess and Ordinariness 141
- Pathways to Urban Residency and Subjective Well-Being in Beijing 157
- A Study of Socio-spatial Segregation of Rural Migrants in Shenzhen 185
- The Anxious Middle Class of Urban China 207
- Conclusion 231
- Index 247
