Who Builds Cities in China? How Urban Investment and Development Companies Have Transformed Shanghai

While there is general acceptance that urban governance in China is entrepreneurial in nature, little has been written about the precise ways in which Chinese cities implement entrepreneurial policies. In this article we argue that the primary agents of urban entrepreneurialism in China are urban investment and development companies (UIDCs), known in Chinese as chengtou for short. We start by defining UIDCs as a category of state‐owned enterprise, but one that is wholly owned by local (often city) governments. We note that in the literature UIDCs are generally recognized for their involvement in raising funds for projects and piling up hidden debts, but their multiple roles in urban development tend to be neglected. We introduce here four UIDCs that have been largely responsible for the transformation of Shanghai into a modern city spearheading Chinese state entrepreneurialism, and in doing so we delineate the full range of the activities of these urban business empires. We argue in particular that they represent a corporate involvement by the state in urban development—the state presenting itself in the guise of a market player, a corporate entity able to raise funds and act as if it were a private company. UIDCs are the driving force behind China's urban entrepreneurialism and are without a clear parallel elsewhere

‘Nice apartments, no jobs’: How former villagers experienced displacement and resettlement in the western suburbs of Shanghai

In this paper, we document the displacement and resettlement of over 11,000 villagers who were removed from their homes and relocated in modern apartment blocks to make way for the construction of a new business district in the western suburbs of Shanghai. We examine the expectations and concerns of displaced residents before and after their relocation. Our findings showed that while the former villagers recognised the improvement in their physical surroundings, they were deeply concerned about their loss of rental income resulting from the demolition of their former homes, in which they housed unregistered migrants. They felt unfairly treated by government throughout the relocation process and saw themselves as being decanted into a new village-in-the-city. These results paint a much more unequivocal picture of resident dissatisfaction than is found in some other recent research

Configuring growth coalitions among the projects of urban aggrandizement in Kunming, Southwest China

In this paper, we examine two urban projects in Kunming, Southwest China, one a massive scheme to build a new city center on rural land outside the city, and the other, an act of urban restructuring involving the rebuilding of an old Hui (Muslim) neighborhood in the old city center. We analyze the coalition of forces configured to undertake these large-scale projects; we underline the role of specially formed city-building organizations and the support provided by the state-owned institutions that dominate the city’s political economy; and we draw attention to the caution with which the city government handled resistance to urban restructuring among Hui residents. We argue that urban growth projects in inland cities like Kunming are marked by certain features that distinguish them from similar projects in Eastern Chinese cities but maintain that nonetheless the drive for profit maximization at the expense of residents is unchanged

The rise of corporate retailing and the impacts on small‐scale retailing: the survival strategies of Kirana stores and informal street vendors in Durgapur, India

In many developing world economies in recent years, the state has been seen to encourage neoliberal economic expansion policies. This has involved both large‐scale foreign corporations and sometimes large‐scale domestic corporations. Many studies have discussed the new landscapes of economic hardship and the impacts on small businesses. The aim of this paper is to argue that the impacts on small traders are in fact more complex and varied than usually appears in the literature. The research was conducted in the industrial city of Durgapur in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal, India. First it is argued that the impact has been greatest on the ‘kirana’ owners, operating small convenience type stores with legalized trading arrangements and fixed premises. On the other hand, the street vendors (often unlicensed and having no fixed premises) seem not to be affected in terms of customer loss and indeed could be seen to be doing well against the backcloth of neoliberal expansion. In fact we argue that the growth in the number of street vendors provides as much of a threat to future livelihoods for traditional kirana owners as the growth of large corporations itself

Developing markets as community hubs for inclusive economies: a best practice handbook for market operators

This best practice handbook is a practical guide for market operators on how to operate and develop traditional retail markets (TRMs) as community hubs for inclusive economies. Concerns about the gentrification of TRMs have increased in the UK in recent years, prompting many market operators to seek out advice and examples of how to avoid, minimise or balance it. This handbook provides a starting point for any market operator interested in pursuing an inclusive, community-oriented and holistic approach to operating and developing TRMs, drawing together a wide-range of innovative case studies from across the UK