CityReads | Ways of Urban Governance in China

楼市 2024-12-06 22:20 上海

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Ways of Urban Governance in China

Theorizing urban governance from China: state entrepreneurialism

WU, F. & Zhang, F.Z. (2024). Governing urban development in China: Critical urban studies. Routledge.

Sources:https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003355175/governing-urban-development-china-fulong-wu-fangzhu-zhang

https://www.routledge.com/Governing-Urban-Development-in-China-Critical-Urban-Studies/Wu-Zhang/p/book/9781032408965?srsltid=AfmBOopAZUnqBCMNviv-OlIni49ZGori6Bn-x1oa2sfIhfOQ_Yr6LL-i

Historically, China has always been a nation of farmers. In 1949, China's urbanization rate was only 10%; by 1978, it had slowly increased to 17.9%; it was not until the reform and opening-up era, over forty years ago, that China underwent an unprecedented urban revolution. In 2011, China's urbanization level surpassed the 50% threshold, transforming from a rural society to an urban nation. By the end of 2023, China's urban resident population reached 933 million, with an urbanization rate of 66%. The scale and speed of China's urbanization are unprecedented, and its urban governance presents a complex picture where national policies, the market, and social actions intertwine in everyday urban life.

Is China's urban development model unique? How are Chinese cities governed? What are the characteristics of urban governance in China? How can we go beyond the study of China's urban governance experiences and make theoretical contributions to 21st-century urban studies? A new book, Governing urban development in China: Critical urban studies, by Professors Wu Fulong and Zhang Fangzhu of University College London, seeks to answer these questions.

The book is open access and can be freely downloaded from the publisher's website (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003355175/governing-urban-development-china-fulong-wu-fangzhu-zhang). Professor Wu Fulong is a leading scholar in the fields of urban studies and Chinese studies, actively exploring the contribution of Chinese urban research to urban theory, and guiding the theoretical development at the forefront of urban studies (for details, refer to CityReads | How Urban China Studies Contribute to the Urban Theory Debates?).

Governing urban development in China is situated within the context of critical urban studies. Based on the governance practices of China's urban development, it focuses on the role of the state and engages in dialogue with concepts and theories related to critical urban studies, such as urban entrepreneurialism, neoliberal planning, financialization, real estate-driven urban renewal, regional innovation systems, and social-ecological restoration. Through case studies of China, the book enriches the meaning of these concepts and theorizes them from the perspective of China's urban governance practice.

The core question of the book is to answer what the logic of urban governance in China is. The central argument is that a key feature of urban governance in China is the significant role of the state in governing urban development, and the essence of China's urban governance is "State entrepreneurialism." This is the key concept to understanding China's urban governance and forms the overarching framework of the book.

Professor Zhou Xueguang's book, The Logic of Governance in China, focuses on the state bureaucracy to study the logic of state governance. Governing urban development in China explores the role of the state in urban governance, adopting a political economy perspective to examine the complex relationship between the state, market, and society in urban development. Urban governance especially focuses on the state's actions at the grassroots level, including negotiation and consultation, as well as the use of "zoning" techniques to govern national space. Professors Wu Fulong and Zhang Fangzhu note that while state entrepreneurialism emphasizes the centrality of the state, it is not a state-centered perspective, but rather a political economy perspective on urban processes. The analysis does not begin with the state, but rather aims to explain the emerging phenomena of urban governance.

This book elaborates on the logic behind contemporary urban governance in China—State Entrepreneurialism. Chapter 1 systematically reviews the concept of governance and different theoretical perspectives, highlighting the shift in theoretical perspectives in the study of urban governance in China. Chapter 2 discusses the historical process and characteristics of State Entrepreneurialism's formation in China, summarizing its defining features and governance model. Chapters 3 through 7 explore the diverse forms of State Entrepreneurialism in China's urban governance, including its manifestations in planning, financialization, urban renewal, innovation governance, and environmental governance.

Departing Point: Urban Entrepreneurialism

In 1989, David Harvey published his paper From Managerialism to Entrepreneurialism: The Transformation in Urban Governance in Late Capitalism, which initiated the study of urban governance.

Harvey was the first to notice the shift from managerialism to entrepreneurialism in urban governance in the UK and the US during the 1970s and 1980s: “the "managerial" approach so typical of the 1960s has steadily given way to initiatory and "entrepreneurial" forms of action in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years in particular, there seems to be a general consensus emerging throughout the advanced capitalist world that positive benefits are to be had by cities taking an entrepreneurial stance to economic development."

Faced with capital mobility, cities began competing with one another. Capital mobility granted more power to investors. Cities shifted their focus from welfare provision to wealth generation and economic development. Harvey discussed the characteristics and consequences of urban entrepreneurialism in his work, which became a classic starting point for subsequent studies of urban governance. Urban entrepreneurialism highlights the rising role of capital in late capitalism and is widely applicable to various contexts, including both developed and emerging market economies, such as China. Urban entrepreneurialism has also been used to explain the characteristics of urban governance in China, particularly during the early years of the reform and opening-up period, especially after China joined the WTO in 2001, up until the 2008 global financial crisis. As a result, urban entrepreneurialism serves as one of the theoretical starting points for this book.

From Urban Entrepreneurialism to State Entrepreneurialism

This book presents the governance approach of China's urban development as State Entrepreneurialism. State Entrepreneurialism refers to a series of entrepreneurial actions taken by the state to achieve its strategic intentions of maintaining economic growth, stability, and capital accumulation, and thereby enhancing its governance capacity.

On the surface, State Entrepreneurialism seems to contrast with Harvey's concept of "urban entrepreneurialism," which is a reactive policy to capital mobility and flexible accumulation. In reality, both reflect tactical responses to the contradictions inherent in globalization, geopolitics, and capital accumulation. The perspective of State Entrepreneurialism shares the same theoretical foundation as urban entrepreneurialism. Both reflect the actions of the state and government, but they differ in their specific modes of national governance.

State Entrepreneurialism is a particular form of governance that utilizes market mechanisms to implement political strategies benefiting specific class interests. It emphasizes the state's role in the market and the impossibility of market self-regulation.

State Entrepreneurialism describes the dialectical relationship between the state and the market. In China, the principle of the state being above the market prevails. However, since the reform and opening-up, the market has become increasingly important, replacing principles of reciprocity and redistribution to coordinate the economy and integrate society. Yet, the expansion of market rationality paradoxically reflects the principle of the state being above the market, rather than the opposite, because the state sets the boundaries for market exchanges to operate at specific historical moments. The expansion of market rationality often occurs in China when facing external threats and internal crises.

For example, the state uses the market and financial tools, actively involving quasi-governmental institutions (such as land reserve centers, urban construction and development investment companies) and state-owned enterprises in the market. While state-owned enterprises consider income, capital flow, and profits, they do not fully operate according to market or financial logic.

Professors Wu Fulong and Zhang Fangzhu note that State Entrepreneurialism, as a new governance technique—utilizing market tools, adapting institutional flexibility, and incorporating social forces—has greatly enhanced the resilience of the state.

Contribution of State Entrepreneurialism to Critical Urban Studies

Professors Wu Fulong and Zhang Fangzhu argue that emphasizing the role of the state in urban governance does not mean that China is an exception. On the contrary, Chinese urban governance shows similarities to Western urban and regional governance. State Entrepreneurialism, starting from the process of capital accumulation and its derived political strategies, understands this logic within the historical process and key moments of China's relationship with global geopolitics.

As a perspective, State Entrepreneurialism reveals the inner dynamics of the dialectical relationship between the state and capital. Although the Chinese state may seem strong, it is still deeply constrained by capital accumulation. As a model, State Entrepreneurialism reflects the central role of the state in governing urban development. The contribution of State Entrepreneurialism to critical urban studies lies in its emphasis on the role of the state.

State Entrepreneurialism embodies a governance logic that runs through the entire process of capital circulation. China's urban governance can be compared with other forms of urban governance, such as urban entrepreneurialism (Harvey, 1989), austerity urbanism (Peck, 2012), or municipal entrepreneurialism (Lauermann, 2018).

State Entrepreneurialism has diverse governance forms, reflecting a combination of "planning centrality and market instrumentality." Different chapters of this book analyze the various forms of State Entrepreneurialism. Professors Wu Fulong and Zhang Fangzhu explicitly point out the theoretical contribution of State Entrepreneurialism in the book: " the book provides an assessable narrative to explain the dynamics of city planning, urban development finance, urban redevelopment, local economic growth and innovation, and environmental governance. They are represented as versatile entrepreneurial statecraft. Although statecraft tends to use entrepreneurial means—either supporting market development or reforming public management through mimicking market operation—internalizing the market inside the state—the concept reflects more managerialism than entrepreneurialism. This is reflected in the intentionality of the state. That is, the statecraft combines capital accumulation and territorial politics. Statecraft is beyond capital accumulation and has multiple extra-economic objectives. These extra-economic objectives distinguish state entrepreneurialism from urban entrepreneurialism, as the former uses economic means to achieve its political intention—in China’s case, the legitimacy and stability of the party-state, while the latter often regards a reflection of business interests."

In short, the perspective of State Entrepreneurialism explains how the state deploys and mobilizes the market and society to achieve its strategic and extra-economic goals. The case of urban governance in China broadens the scope of research and enriches the concepts of critical urban studies, helping to present a more complete picture of urban governance in the 21st-century.

CityQuotes

1.“Divine intervention would surely be guaranteed in the main temple of Memphis, which Narmer also founded. Dedicated to the creator god Ptah and his lioness consort Sekhmet, its clergy claimed their temple had been built on the first land to emerge from the floods at the beginning of time. So it is most appropriate that the Memphis temple is the building after which the entire country is named. Known as the ‘House of Ptah’s Soul’ – Huwt-ka-Ptah, pronounced Aigyptos by later Greek settlers, it validates the claims of the Memphis clergy, who maintained that their temple was the very origin of everything…the origin of the modern name Egypt.”- Joann Fletcher, The Story of Egypt

2.“Bodily decoration is a hallmark of nomadic societies, among whom, in the absence of permanent structures, people display their wealth and status largely through their own bodies. Some of the earliest and most characteristic objects recovered from predynastic graves are cosmetic palettes – flat pieces of stone, often carved into geometric or animal shapes, that were used to grind up mineral pigments for make-up. Occasionally, traces of the pigments themselves have survived: deep green malachite, red and yellow ochre, white tin oxide and black galena. The custom of facial decoration continued long after the early Egyptians had settled in the Nile Valley. Throughout pharaonic history, whenever ancient Egyptians are depicted – for example, on the walls of tombs – they are shown wearing eye paint. Dark lines of make-up ring the eyes, ending in a ‘fishtail’ cosmetic line.” - Toby Wilkinson, Tutankhamun's Trumpet: Ancient Egypt in 100 Objects from the Boy-King's Tomb

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