Developing China Land, Politics and Social Conditions [Paperback]

In the first systematic documentation of the pattern and processes of land development taking place in China in the last two decades George C.S Lin advocates a fresh and innovative approach that goes beyond the privatization debate to probe directly into the social and political origins of land development. He demonstrates the special and paradoxical nature of Chinas land development and challenges the perceived notion of a causal relationship between property rights definition, efficient land use, and sustained economic growth.

In contrast to the existing literature in which changes in urban and rural land are treated separately, the rural-urban interface is shown to be the most significant and contentious locus of land development where competition for land has been intensified and social conflicts frequently erupted.

Theoretically provocative and empirically well-grounded, Developing Chinaprovides a systematic, insightful, and authoritative account of the enormous development of Chinas precious land resources. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars, students, and professional practitioners in the fields of development studies, political economy, regional political ecology, planning, economics, geography, land use management, and sustainable development with a special focus on contemporary China under market transition.

 

Part 1: Understanding Chinas Land Development Processes  1. Introduction: The Myths of Chinas Land Development  2. The Debate over Chinas Ambiguous Land Property Rights  3. Social and Political Origins of Land Development  Part 2: Land Development in Contemporary China  4. The Evolving Land System and Land Markets  5. Land Resource Base and its Changing Utilization  6. Re-utilizing Agricultural Land  7. Expansion of Construcl³.