From Industrial Ruins to a Sustainable Future? Land Redevelopment and Urban Upgrading in the Pearl River Delta after the Crash

The Institute of East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley presents a discussion that will explore how land redevelopment in the Pearl River Delta

Speaker: Lan-chih Po, Associate Adjunct Professor, East Asian Language and Culture, University of California, Berkeley
Moderator: Pheng Cheah, Professor, Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley

Sponsors: Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), Center for Chinese Studies (CCS)

This research project will explore how land redevelopment in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region has been launched as a “spatial fix” to promote urban and industrial upgrades in the face of economic retreat in southern China. The closure of thousands of factories since the global financial crisis in 2008 has challenged the sustainability of the region’s development model. Decentralized development of towns and villages, although nurturing the rapid rural industrialization in the PRD since the 1970s, also created serious land use and environmental problems. Moreover, dispersed, low- density patterns of land use are associated with labor-intensive, exported-oriented, low value-added industries that have been hit hard by the global recession. Adopting the slogan “clear out the cage, change the birds,” the Guangdong Provincial government has been aggressive in forging new policies for urban upgrading, centering on the renewal of what they term the “three olds”: old towns, old factories, and old villages. Drawing on examples from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanhai and Dongguan, this research will show how conflict and negotiation among different stakeholders have reshaped local governance structures. Based on my research findings, I will also assess if this emerging land regime can help create a more sustainable future for the PRD region.