*2016-2017 (Year Awarded)
Exploring
the inter-generational trends in daily travel behavior in Hong Kong and Shenzhen
Principle Investigator: Prof. Wang Donggen
Amount Awarded: HK$670,000
Abstract
Transport demand and travel behavior may vary not only from day to
day but from generation to generation. Until recently travel
behavior research has been more concerned about short-term travel
behavior variations than long-term changes and trends in travel
demand. While study on day-to-day variations of travel demand is
important for designing policies for managing the daily operations
of transport systems, investigation into the long-term trends in
travel behavior is crucial for strategic development of transport
systems and decisions about investment in transport infrastructures.
This is particularly important for countries like China, which are
rapidly developing and uncertain about future transport growth and
its environmental implications. A better understanding of past and
possible future trends in car ownership, car usage and long-term
transport developments are vital so that transport demand can be
assessed and catered for in an efficient and environmentally
sustainable way This research will investigate the possible changes
in travel behavior between generations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
The Shenzhen case will provide evidence on the change patterns in
car ownership, car usage and travel demand in a newly and fast
motorized society; the Hong Kong case will serve to answer the
question if individuals¡¦ demand for daily travel in a
public-transport dominated developed society has stabilized and why.
The study of both cases will contribute to the emerging literature
concerning the possible saturation of travel demand and the
so-called ¡¥peak car¡¦ or ¡¥peak travel¡¦ debate in travel behavior
research, by widening the existing study scope and applying a new
analytical and modeling approach through conducting empirical
studies in two neighboring cities at different development stages.
Overall, this research will advance knowledge of long-term changes
in activity-travel behavior. The outcomes of this research should be
highly relevant for developing transport policies that can
accommodate long-term changes in travel behavior and transport
demand.
Economic
geography of unplanned commercial establishments: An investigation of Shenzhen¡¦s
urban villages
Principle Investigator: Dr. Hao Pu
Amount Awarded: HK$488,500
Abstract
The built
environment of modern cities is largely shaped by urban planning
rather than spontaneous development. While whether planned urban
space adequately accommodates human needs remains heatedly debated,
the increasing complexity of urban development continues to
challenge the competence of planners and policy makers. In Chinese
cities, given the rigid control of land use and development,
planning generally goes undisputed. However, the distribution of
urban activities is increasingly redirected by market forces,
leading to unplanned development. Most commonly seen are various
commercial establishments that have emerged spontaneously within and
around the planned fabric of the urban environment, such as a
convenience store popping up at the corner façade, a hair salon
opened in the roadside garage and a studio concealed in an apartment
building. Despite the downsides of these establishments, they not
only meet market demand that is unheeded in city plans, but they
also facilitate entrepreneurial endeavours for individuals who
cannot afford regular premises. In general, unplanned commercial
establishments are distributed sporadically. However, such
establishments prevail in urban villages, which are migrant
settlements that have been transformed from rural villages engulfed
by urban expansion. In a state of quasi-urban jurisdiction where
rural collective land ownership remains, the construction and
utilization of buildings are beyond the control of planning or
building codes. The high level of autonomy allows for excess
commercial establishments to emerge in residential buildings and
non-residential buildings. This research explores the spatiality of
unplanned commercial establishments in Shenzhen¡¦s urban villages.
The configuration and distribution of unbridled commercial
development are examined with respect to the intrinsic structure of
the buildings and neighbourhoods that accommodate such activities as
well as the land, labour, consumption, and capital markets within
and beyond the neighbourhoods.
Grassroots Party Building in Urban China in the Reform Era
Principle Investigator: Dr. Kang YI
Amount Awarded: HK$1,251,332
Abstract
The Chinese Communist Party¡¦s (CCP¡¦s) efforts and strategies in
regard to grassroots party building in the past decade have been
well documented in scholarly literature, but empirical evidence
remains scattered and piecemeal. Little is known about the impact of
such endeavors. How are various strategies implemented? How
effective are they? Are primary party organizations (PPOs) able to
accomplish their intended goals and help strengthen the governing
capacity of the CCP in urban China? What is the popular perception
and reception of these organizations within target populations?
These questions regarding the long-term consequences of several
waves of grassroots party building in the reform era are as yet
unclear. Through systematically surveying and compiling cases of PPO
building in urban China, as well as examining the operation
conditions of a variety of PPOs in regard to handling concrete tasks
such as social stability maintenance and crisis management, this
proposed project aims to provide a broad and in-depth evaluation of
the actual effects of intensive and extensive grassroots party
building endeavors in urban China. With a focus on PPOs, this
project also addresses two distinct yet related themes: the party
state¡¦s institutional restructuring efforts and the development of
the non-state sector. Altogether, they allow us to tell a story of
the evolving micro-foundation of urban governance in contemporary
China. Two objectives are expected to have been accomplished at the
end of this project: First, a database of grassroots party building
since 2000 will have been constructed; second, in-depth case studies
from four regions of China will have been conducted, in order to
assess the actual effects of party building and identify the micro
processes and causal chains that have led to different development
trajectories.
*2015-2016 (Year Awarded)
Exploring and modelling the relationships between residential
environment, travel behavior and travel-related subjective wellbeing in
Shanghai, China
Principle Investigator: Prof. Wang Donggen
Amount Awarded: HK$793,300
Abstract
Transportation
research or more specifically travel behavior research is
experiencing a paradigm shift from focusing on the instrumental
aspect of travel (such as travel time and monetary costs) to also
consider the affective experience of and the cognitive satisfaction
with travel. Issues related to daily travel¡Vrelated subjective
wellbeing have recently received great research attention. Pleasure
seeking is considered in addition to time and/or money cost
minimization as important determinants of travel choices and
transport decisions. This new development of academic research has
the potential to help broaden the objectives of transport policies
from focusing on the provision of efficient and effective transport
services (i.e., facilitating the fast movements of people and
freight between different places) to also provide pleasant
experience of travel. Many studies have been conducted to examine
the factors determining individuals¡¦ satisfaction (or
dissatisfaction) and affective experience with their daily travel
and activities. Existing studies have revealed that travel
satisfaction varies significantly between transport models and trip
characteristics are important determinants of travel satisfaction.
However, the contribution of more policy related variables such as
the built environment of individuals¡¦ residential place has rarely
been studied. More importantly, notwithstanding the many studies of
travel satisfaction in North America and Europe, studies in other
parts of the world, where mobility, travel behavior and social norms
are quite different, are very scarce. This research project is
proposed to fill in these gaps. Based on the Principal
Investigator¡¦s long term research on built environment and travel
behavior and recent research on subjective wellbeing, this research
project is proposed to examine the influence of individuals¡¦
residential environment on their travel satisfaction and travel
affective experience, study the effects of travel wellbeing on
short-term activity-travel choices, and explore the possible impacts
of travel wellbeing in long-term mobility and residential location
decisions. The case study is proposed to be conducted in Shanghai,
China. This research will fill in an important gap in the travel
wellbeing literature with empirical evidences from a city of a
developing country and establish important linkages between travel
satisfaction, travel behavior and residential environment. The
outcomes of this research will be highly relevant for developing
transport policies acting on the non-instrumental aspect of travel
to manage travel demand and spatial policies to improve individuals¡¦
travel satisfaction and quality of life.
*2014-2015 (Year Awarded)
Residential Willingness to Pay for Reducing Carbon Emissions from
Electricity Generation in Hong Kong
Principle Investigator: Dr. Cheng Yuk-shing
Amount Awarded: HK$320.240
Abstract
In 2010, the HKSAR Government proposed a 2020
target of reducing the ratio of CO2 emissions to GDP by 50-60% of
the 2005 level. A major policy to achieve the target was to change
the fuel mix of electricity generation, which currently relies
heavily on coal. If implemented, the policy would substantially
increase the share of natural-gas-fired and nuclear power. However,
the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011 has sharply changed the
perception of nuclear-power safety, resulting in calls to revise the
government¡¦s proposed fuel mix change. Without nuclear power
imports, however, local natural-gas-fired generation becomes the
only practical, though more costly, supply-side alternative to meet
the government¡¦s target. The question thus arises as to the amount
that Hong Kong residents are willing to pay for reducing the
emissions from coal-fired generation. If their willingness-topay
(WTP) is substantially less than the increases in their electricity
bills triggered by the government¡¦s fuel mix proposal, the proposal
would have to be revised to gain public support, thus altering Hong
Kong¡¦s electricity future. This proposed project aims to estimate
the WTP of Hong Kong residents by the contingent valuation method
(CVM). It entails collecting consumer preference data via a
telephone survey and analyzing the survey responses via a regression
analysis.
School-to-Work Transition in Urban China: High School Students
from Urban Nanjing as a Case Study
Principle Investigator: Dr. Lai W.F. Gina
Amount Awarded: HK$479,000
Abstract
The study is part of a longitudinal project on life course
transitions of high school students in urban Nanjing.
It aims to (1) identify the pathways of the school-to-work
transition, (2) examine the effects of family origin, school, and
personal aspirations on the transition, and (3) assess the impacts
of transition pathways on personal well-being and social networks.
Findings are expected to contribute to the understanding of the
intergenerational transmission of social advantages, the impact of
school stratification on labor market attainment, and the
social-psychological consequences of the transition in urban China
as well as in other Chinese societies where opportunities to higher
education become increasingly available to young people but highly
stratified.
*2013-2014 (Year Awarded)
Modeling Car Ownership and Time Use in Urban China: A Household Time and Money Budget Allocation Approach
Principle Investigator: Prof. Donggen Wang
Amount Awarded: HK$771,840
Abstract
The economic miracles of countries such as China and Brazil have led to explosive growth of private car ownership. The rapid growth in motor vehicle fleets has resulted in serious problems like traffic congestion and air pollution. In response to these problems, the so-called plate-number-based traffic rationing policies, which restrict the usage of cars with certain plate numbers on specific days, have been implemented in Mexico City, Beijing and other cities. The existing literature on car ownership may help answer some of the problems faced by the developing countries. However, the scale of car ownership growth observed in China and other developing countries today and the types of response policies adopted deserve research efforts, which may improve our understanding about car ownership. Equally important, we think that the existing car ownership studies can be extended along a different direction. Existing studies mostly treat car ownership as questions of whether to own or how many to own; to our knowledge, hardly any study considers car ownership as a household expenditure commitment competing with other long term decisions such as employment commitments and housing choices. We believe that car ownership should be studied from the point of view of household time and money allocation. This research project is proposed to: a). Develop a household time and money allocation-based model to analyze households’ decision on car ownership. The model will incorporate households’ consideration of income earning, spending patterns and the time allocation of individual household members. Variables on government traffic rationing policies will be included in the model; b). Collect data on car ownership, car usage, time use and households’ socioeconomics to calibrate the model and study the features of households’ decision on and determinants of car ownership in urban China; and c). Study the impacts of plate-number-based traffic rationing policies on car ownership and the resulting time and budget allocation. This proposed research will contribute to the literature with a new perspective and a modeling approach that links car ownership decision with other household long run decisions. The study will also enrich the literature on determinants of car ownership with new evidences from China; a country that has recently entered the motorized era. Finally, this study will provide evidences on how the plate number–based traffic rationing policies impact on car ownership. Findings of this research will be of highly relevance for policy making.
Investigation of the Scale-adaptive Digital Terrain Analysis Method for Rainfallrunoff Process Modelling in the Aridzone of China
Principle Investigator: Prof. Qiming Zhou
Amount Awarded: HK$592,987
Abstract
The rapid growth of the world economy and population has created a great impact on the earth’s water cycle and water resources. Moreover, intensive human activities, such as the clearance of forests and expansion impermeable surfaces, have also made our living environment vulnerable and susceptible to extreme weather conditions. The hydrological cycle is a complex process. A better understanding of rainfall-runoff responses is a key issue for preventing and reducing natural disasters and for the better use of water resources. In an aridzone, runoff from mountainous region is essential for the survival of human settlements in the lower reaches. The rainfall-runoff often shows an unstable spatio-temporal pattern, largely due to variations in mountain topography. Because of water shortage and its influence on settlements, regional water resource studies often form a focus of hydrological modelling. Fewer investigations have looked at rainfall-runoff events, which may cause devastating consequences due to the poor water holding capability of the environment. As is common with geographical problems, an understanding of the rainfall-runoff process also closely relates to the investigation scale. This study, therefore, will investigate methods for multi-scale hydrological modelling that are suitable for aridzone applications in China’s west. A 3-dimensional terrain-based hydrological process model will be developed by integrating a multi-scale digital terrain model with a topological flow-path network model, which is capable of representing complex hydrological processes by a set of flow tubes perpendicular to contours at a given investigation scale. Thus, the water movement over a 3-dimensional surface can be simplified and modelled to one dimension. Then a conventional one-dimensional formula in fluvial hydraulics can be linked to the flow path segments for dynamic event-based simulations. A software platform will be developed to implement the proposed spatio-temporal models to establish a ‘test-bed’ for the analysis of impacts of environmental variables and scales, and for better understanding about the hydrological processes in the aridzone of western China. Answers will be sought for fundamental research questions in the aridzone hydrology including: (1) the topographic control on the spatio-temporal distribution of rainfall-runoff in the mountainous region, (2) the relationship between the runoff and other environmental variables in the aridzone, (3) the process of flow generation and convergence corresponding to rainfall events over a small catchment, and (4) the impact of scales of data and analysis on the hydrological modelling outcomes.
Trans-local Parenting: How the Intersection of Social Structure and Individual Agency Reconstructs Parenthood among Migrant Workers in South China
Principle Investigator: Dr. Yinni Peng
Amount Awarded: HK$492,025
Abstract
The proposed project investigates how the intersection of structural factors and agency of various actors in migrant families in South China reconstructs parenthood in a separated-family situation. Mass internal migration in China since the 1970s has given rise to the issue of left-behind children, who have become a serious social problem in Mainland China and attracted both public and academic attention. Previous studies on this topic have mostly focused on the behavioral and psychosocial problems of left-behind children caused by their physical separation from their parents. The agency of migrant parents and their parental practices in childrearing have not been discussed, although transnational parenting has become a fast-growing topic in the studies of international migration. Existing literature on transnational parenting focuses on maternal experiences. The role of migrant fathers and the collaboration between migrant parents and substitute caregivers of left-behind children in childrearing are understudied. Meanwhile, current discussions of Chinese parenthood concentrate on the impact of Confucian culture, the rural-urban divide and the increased education level of parents on parenthood construction. The influence of internal migration on parental practices has not been discussed, although migration greatly affects people’s lives in both urban cities and rural villages. In order to fill these gaps, this project will adopt a multi-sited and multi-voice design to investigate: (1) how the interaction among migrant parents, left-behind children and substitute caregivers of left-behind children reconstructs the meaning of parenthood for migrant workers in South China; (2) how the structural factors (migration, gender ideology, Chinese culture, the penetration of information and communication technologies) shape the process of trans-local parenting practices. This project will have the following contributions: (1) it deepens the theoretical discussion of parenthood by demonstrating how the interaction of various structural factors and the diversified agency of different actors in trans-border families shapes parental practices from afar; (2) it enriches the discussion of migrant parenting and trans-border families by investigating both migrant fathers and migrant mothers and examining both the care givers and the care receivers; (3) it enriches the discussions of the meaning of parenthood in Chinese societies by revealing how mass migration challenges traditional Chinese understanding of parenthood and provides new opportunities for migrant parents to reconstruct parenting ideologies; (4) the multi-sited and multi-voice research design will provide important methodological implications for studies of migration and trans-border families in both China and elsewhere.
*2012-2013 (Year Awarded)
China's Growth-Energy Nexus-Aggregate and Disaggregate
Principle Investigator: Dr. Yuk-shing Cheng
Amount Awarded: HK$205,514
Abstract
How economic growth and energy consumption affect each other (the so-called growth-energy nexus) has long been a subject of academic and policy interests. The importance of exploring this relationship is particularly timely and relevant for the case of China. The nation’s rapid economic growth and the accompanying rising energy demand have far-reaching economic and geopolitical impacts on the world. The phenomenon of global inflation in the past decade was driven up by the increase in energy prices, which was at least partly attributable to China’s competition for resources. The new geopolitics and energy security consideration have also led to drastic changes in international relations. The Chinese government has been aware of its economic expansion and growing energy need. It has made great efforts to achieve a more energy-saving and environment-friendly growth in recent years. Formulating sensible growth and energy policies, however, requires an in-depth understanding of the relations between growth and energy in China. Unfortunately, there is only limited understanding available from extant research. This project aims to provide analyses to improve this understanding, by applying state-of-the-art methodologies to new data sets of China. Specifically, a long series of data covering the period 1952-2010 will be used in the aggregate analysis. Moreover, a panel data set covering most provinces for the period of 1991-2010 will be used in the disaggregate analysis. The nature of the data sets allows us to discern whether there exist structural breaks over time and regional variations. We will start with an estimation of the output elasticity of energy, followed by various causality tests. Our research will contribute to energy economics and inform the formulation of China’s energy and economic growth policies in the next decade.
Managing Social Order in Maritime South China: Late-Ming (1550-1645) Judicial Court Experiences
Principle Investigator: Dr. Ka Chai Tam
Amount Awarded: HK$508,101
Abstract
This study explores how social order was maintained by the Ming regime (1368-1645) in south-east China during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, in the light of cases tried by local judges. By examining these documented legal cases, the study seeks to identify the security challenges, particularly the management of discriminated-against social groups such as mariners, foreigners, bondservants, prostitutes, homosexuals and wandering beggars, in the south-eastern provinces where international and domestic trade flourished. In doing so it also explores the conceptions of maintaining local security proposed by frontline officials in a rapidly-growing economy. Through a deep understanding of the crimes and realities of local communities in the late-Ming and early-Qing regimes on the south China coast, and by building an electronic database of all the available late-Ming court cases, the study aims to contribute to social and legal studies of traditional China, propose ideas for confronting similar problems in contemporary Chinese society, and contribute generally to research on problems of social control.
From Exports to Selling in China: Market Rebalancing of Transnational Corporations and Restructuring of the Export-led Development Mode
Principle Investigator: Dr. Chun Yang
Amount Awarded: HK$994,887
Abstract
The rise of China as the ‘world factory’ since the late 1970s has been attributed to the export-led development, driven by the cross-border investment of Transnational Corporations (TNCs). However, since the early 2000s, export-led path has encountered unprecedented challenges, owing to the changing business environment at global, national, regional and local levels. Transformation of the prevailing model towards a domestic consumption-driven development has been designated by the central government in China’s 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015). Rebalancing between exports and domestic market, especially embarking on domestic sales in China has been recognized as a viable strategy pursued by the export-oriented TNCs at the wake of the global financial crisis. Despite such a consensus, selling the products previously target for the Western markets in China has turned into a daunting and complex process, the study of which has been rare in the literature. Drawing upon the evolutionary perspective on global production networks (GPNs) approach and the notion of ‘strategic coupling’, the project investigates the changing interaction between local assets and GPNs and subsequent effects on urban and regional evolution in China and particularly the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a typical export-led city-region which has undergone dramatic restructuring. The process of market rebalancing engaged by export-oriented TNCs, particularly the emerging recouping with China’s domestic market over time and space, will be examined, based on a refined GPNs-inspired framework, which incorporates the dynamic GPNs, changing local assets and institutional transition in the contemporary economic globalization. Through intensive field investigation, in-depth interviews, firm-level survey and case study, the project offers an updated and systematic investigation of how the export-led production networks have been reconstructed in response to the rise of local market in the post-crisis globalization. The study is being constructed at an unprecedented junction, when the world, national and local economies are in flux. The study hopes to advance the theoretical debates on strategic coupling of regional evolution and GPNs, and enrich the literature on urban and regional restructuring primarily dominated by the cases in the western developed countries. As a pilot attempt at articulating host domestic market into the GPNs analytical framework and empirical application, the study ellucidates fundamental implications of evolving interactions among GPNs, institutional transition and market shift for reshaping urban and regional trajectories in the dynamic global-local interactions. Suggestions could be proposed for relevant governments and business to strategically tackle challenges and pursue opportunities arising from the onging restructuring process.
*2011-2012 (Year Awarded)
Urban Form Remaking, Car-Dependence and Traffic Congestion in Urban China
Principle Investigator: Prof. Donggen Wang
Amount Awarded: HK$781,755
Abstract
The significance of traffic congestion and air pollution in Chinese cities was highlighted during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The average speed of motor vehicles in the city centre at rush hour travel at 12-18 km per hour compared to 15 km per hour of a bicycle. Transport-related air pollutions account for about 23% of total air pollution in Beijing. Many attribute the problems to the rocket soaring car ownership and the increasing dependence on car for urban Chinese in their daily travel. More fundamental issues, however, have not yet received sufficient attention: apart from increased income, what other factors contribute to the growing demand for car? Apart from increased accessibility to car, what other factors contribute to the increased urban traffic? Based on our recent research on urban transportation in China, we hypothesise that urban form remaking, or spatial restructuring in Chinese cities, resulted from Danwei (or work unit), land, and housing reforms, has largely, if not fundamentally, changed the ways that urban Chinese use time and space and consequently their travel behaviour. This research is thus proposed to investigate the interrelations between urban form remaking, car-dependence and traffic congestion in Beijing. Specifically, we will collect first-hand data on individuals’ preference towards living environment and travel behaviour, actual activity-travel behaviour and socio-economic variables at two time points. Secondary data will be collected to characterise the built environment in which individuals live. Econometric models especially longitudinal modeling tools such as the two-wave structural equation models will be used to establish associations as well as cause-effect relations between built environment and activity-travel behaviour in terms of car ownership, the use of time and space, travel frequencies and duration, and shares of motorised and non-motorised transport modes. This proposed research has both great academic significance and policy relevance. It will enrich the current literature on the connections between built environment and activity-travel behaviour with empirical findings from a case outside North America and Europe. It will also greatly contribute to the understanding of congestion and air pollution problems related to urban traffic in Chinese cities and based on which appropriate remedy policies may be proposed.
Residential Inequalities in Urban China under Spatial Restructuring
Principle Investigator: Prof. Si-ming Li
Amount Awarded: HK$856,696
Abstract
Ever since the implementation of the paid transfer of land use rights in the late 1980s, China’s major cities have undergone immense spatial structuring. A coalition between municipal governments and real estate interests has emerged to exploit the huge rent gaps, arising largely from institutionalized segmentation of urban and rural land tenures. To counteract the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the Chinese government designated real estate and auto production as growth engines. Accompanying this was the ending of the welfare allocation of housing in 1998. Accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 implied the subjection to the full force of globalization, a consequence of which was world city formation. The world’s largest transnational corporations (TNCs) have since scrambled to set up regional headquarters in China’s leading metropolises. They are joined by China’s own emerging TNCs, primarily large state-owned enterprises corporatized under the enterprise reform. Typical of world cities are workforce polarization, growing income spreads, rapidly rising housing costs, and increased spatial segregation. In China the contrast between traditional work-unit compounds and gated commodity housing estates is particularly striking. Complicating the picture is the proliferation of migrant communities on urban-rural fringes. Growing economic and housing inequalities have brought widespread discontents, as testified by repeated efforts by the Chinese government to cool down the overheated housing market. The discontents are particularly severe among the urban poor, many of whom were forced to move to inaccessible suburban locations due to redevelopment programmes, and young professionals who were too young to benefit from the housing reform of the 1990s. The proposed study aims to conduct a multi-facet analysis of the changing nature of residential inequality in China cities under phenomenal spatial restructuring. More specifically, two major dimensions of residential inequality will be examined. The first concerns the extent and nature of housing inequality, especially after the 1998 housing reform and under increased workforce polarization. In relation to the above, the second concerns how this inequality is exacerbated by spatial segmentations in the housing and labour markets. Phenomenal suburbanization, massive investments in urban freeways, and rising car ownership have further enlarged the differences in mobility over space and hence accessibility to jobs, housing and other urban amenities between socioeconomic groups. Surveys conducted by the PI in Guangzhou will form the primary data source for the proposed work.
Spatial Strategy, Planning and State Governance in China
Principle Investigator: Dr Him Chung
Amount Awarded: HK$349,804
Abstract
This research will investigate a new form of state governance in China and its implication on the country’s central-local relationships. Unlike conventional discussions which concentrate on fiscal matters, personnel arrangement and institutional frameworks, this study seeks to examine how spaces – spatial planning and land – have been used for central regulation. Regional development strategies have been used as a tool to distribute resources and balance local powers since the first Five Year Plan. During the pre-reform period, it was a powerful technique as the central state was the only channel for resources. Economic reform since 1978 has increased new channels for resources and hence decreased the effectiveness of those strategies. In addition to the growing of local discretion and the formation of a fragmented governance landscape as a result of power decentralization, the need to develop a new spatial strategy is raised. In 2009, the introduction of eight regional plans by the State Council is a respond to such need. Focusing on the current practice of regional and urban planning in the Pearl River Delta, this research will investigate the central state’s new spatial strategy and its associated techniques. Specifically, this research investigates the Guangzhou-Foshan integration plan. It seeks: (a) to examine the governing reasons that lying behind the spatial strategy; (b) to investigate the relationships between regional planning and urban planning in the pursuit of spatial strategy; and (c) to examine the role of land in the process. It is expected that the spatial perspective will provide new understandings on China’s state governance and central-local relationships, an arena which has been dominated by political scientists. |