Description
In 25 years China absorbed about 370 million immigrants into its cities. Along with the millions its cities have had to incorporate the burdens of development, including unemployment, environmental pressures and infrastructure problems, but have managed to do so largely without turning into perpetual disaster areas. This collection of eight papers describes China's experiences in the largest rural-to-urban migration in migration, describing the optimization of urban development, rural-urban inequality, the effects of the hukou (assignment of urban and rural personal designation and location) system, the impact of poverty and related vulnerability, financial provisions for cities, energy policies, water distribution and use, and the changing role of urban government. The figures and tables here are very well done and yield surprising insights into such questions as how satisfied citizens at a range of income levels are with their government and differences in water distribution by region. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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The key challenges facing China in the next two decades derive from the ongoing process of urbanization. China's urbanization rate in 2005 was about 43%. Over the next 10-15 years, it is expected to rise to well over 50%, adding an additional 200 million mainly rural migrants to the current urban population of 560 million. How China copes with such a large migration flow will strongly influence rural-urban inequality, the pace at which urban centers expand their economic performance, and the urban environment. The growing population will necessitate a big push strategy to maintain a high rate of investment in housing and the urban physical infrastructure and urban services. To finance such expansion will require a significant strengthening and diversification of China's financial system. Growing cities will greatly increase consumption of energy and water. Containing this without at the same time constraining the economic performance of cities or the improvement in the standards of living will call for enlightened policies, strategies, careful urban planning, and significant technological advances. This volume identifies the key developments to watch and discusses the policies which would affect the course as well as the fruitfulness of change.
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