Regional Integration and Governance Reshuffling in the Making of China’s City-Regions (Urban Sustainability)

This book for the first time thoroughly investigates the extent of economic and institutional integrations and the underlying governance reshuffling process of China’s city-regionalism. By using the Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou sub-region (SDH) in southern China as an empirical case, this book provides convincing evidence that China’s city-regionalism is essentially a state-orchestrated and institution-based process. Perspectives from “market-industry-infrastructure” and multi-level governance (MLG) have been provided to systematically examine China’s city-regionalism. This book has essentially made a definitive contribution to China’s regional governance. Methodologically, it shows how China’s city-regionalism can be examined through a problem-solving and case-by-case paradigm, through building a bridge between an empirical slogan and an inclusive theoretical term for institutional integration and through MLG and its integrative approaches in China. Exhilarating findings are presented using extensive tables, graphs, and maps along with the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods. Undergraduates, graduates, and researchers who are interested in China’s city-regionalism and regional governance would be the readership of the book, and officers from different levels of government as well as policymakers will find the book inspiring. Acknowledgements About This Book Contents Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction: Background and Research Significance 1.1 Introduction 1.2 International Background: Globalization and Rescaling of City and State 1.3 China’s Regional Development: Market Economy and Governmental Intervention 1.4 Local Context: New Situations Emerging as a Result of the City-Regionalism of SDH 1.5 Research Aim and Research Questions 1.5.1 Research Aim 1.5.2 Research Questions 1.6 Research Significance and Research Scope 1.6.1 Research Significance 1.6.2 Research Scope 1.7 Structure of the Book References 2 Conceptual Background: The City-Region and Its Economic and Institutional Integration 2.1 Introduction 2.2 City-Region and City-Regional Integration 2.2.1 Concept of the City-Region and City-Regional Integration 2.2.2 Content of City-Regional Integration 2.3 Economic Integration of City-Region 2.3.1 Concept of Economic Integration of City-Region 2.3.2 Assessment of Economic Integration of City-Region 2.3.3 Research Gap 2.4 Institutional Integration of City-Region 2.4.1 Changing Concept of an Institution: Deploying the Organization-Embraced Approach 2.4.2 Rationale of MLG and Institutional Praxis in the EU Integration Context 2.4.3 Institutional Integration in China’s City-Regionalism: A Critical Review 2.4.4 Research Gap 2.5 Revisiting Governance Reshuffling Under the City-Regionalism of China: A Case-Specific Paradigm 2.5.1 Building the Integrative Governance Structure to Enable Cross-Boundary Economic Cooperation Zone 2.5.2 Inter-scalar Politics in the Large-Scale Infrastructure Project 2.5.3 Research Gap 2.6 Conclusions References 3 Empirical Background: Policies, Practices and Evolutions to City-Regional Integration in China 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Macro-context: City-Regional Integration in China Since 1978 3.2.1 First Phase, 1978–1990: Eastern Area—First Strategy Under the Eastern–Central–Western Spatial Layout 3.2.2 Second Phase, 1991–1998: The Opening Layout Centered on Three Megacity-Regions 3.2.3 Third Phase, 1999–2005: Four Plates to Enable Regional Coordinated Development Strategy 3.2.4 Fourth Phase, 2006–2013: Coordinated Regional Layout Through Development of City-Region 3.2.5 Fifth Phase, 2014 to Present: Three New National Strategies for Enhancement of Competitiveness and Regional Coordinated Development 3.2.6 Summary 3.3 Meso-context: Evolution of the PRD Integration and Making of Three Sub-regions 3.4 Micro-context: Industrial and Infrastructure Integrations Under the Integration-Oriented Institutional Arrangements of SDH 3.4.1 Institutional Arrangement in SDH: Toward Integrative Governance Structure 3.4.2 Industrial Integration in SDH: City-Based Crises in Industrial Development and Severe Industrial Isomorphism 3.4.3 Infrastructure Integration in SDH: Building Regional Infrastructure Network 3.4.4 Summary 3.5 Conclusions References 4 Analytical Framework and Research Method 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Analytical Framework 4.2.1 Assessing the Economic Integration of SDH 4.2.2 Assessing the Institutional Integration of SDH 4.2.3 Deciphering the Reshuffling Process of Governance Structure in Response to the Economic Integration of SDH 4.3 Research Method 4.3.1 Case Selection 4.3.2 Data Collection 4.3.3 Data Analysis 4.4 Conclusions References 5 The Assessment of Economic and Institutional Integrations of SDH 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Assessing Economic Integration of SDH 5.2.1 Assessing Market Integration of SDH 5.2.2 Assessing Industrial Integration of SDH 5.2.3 Assessing Infrastructure Integration of SDH 5.2.4 Summary 5.3 Assessing Institutional Integration of SDH 5.3.1 Assessing Institutional Integration of SDH from the Inter-scalar Relation 5.3.2 Assessing Institutional Integration of SDH from the Inter-City Relation 5.3.3 Assessing Institutional Integration of SDH from the State–Market–Civil Society Relation 5.3.4 Summary 5.4 Conclusions References 6 Exploring the Reshuffling Process of Governance Structure to Enable the Industrial Integration of SDH: A Case Study of SSSCZ 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Empirical Background: Integration-Oriented Policy and Industrial Transfer Parks Under PRD City-Regionalism 6.3 Negotiating the Construction of SSSCZ: Stable Allocation Mechanism of Benefits Across Inter-scalar and Inter-city Domains 6.3.1 Crises of Economic Development in Shenzhen and Shanwei 6.3.2 Industrial Transfer Parks as Crisis-Management Strategy: From Shenzhen–Dongguan Cooperation to Shenzhen–Shanwei Cooperation 6.4 Legitimatizing SSSCZ: Land and Planning Politics Across Inter-scalar and Inter-city Domains 6.4.1 Land Politics in SSSCZ 6.4.2 Planning Politics in SSSCZ 6.5 Daily Operation of SSSCZ: Co-producing an Integrated Administrative System Between Shenzhen and Shanwei 6.5.1 Devolution from Province to Municipality 6.5.2 Integration Between Shenzhen and Shanwei 6.6 Industrial Development of SSSCZ: Shenzhen-Led Re-territorization Strategy 6.6.1 Industrial System and Economic Performance of SSSCZ 6.6.2 Re-territorization Strategy Initiated by the Shenzhen Municipal Government 6.6.3 Hesitation of Enterprises for the Future of SSSCZ 6.7 Findings and Discussions 6.7.1 Major Findings 6.7.2 Discussion 6.8 Conclusions References 7 Exploring the Reshuffling of the Governance Structure to Enable the Infrastructure Integration of SDH: A Case Study of SGSIR 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Empirical Background: The Project of an Inter-city Railway Network Under PRD City-Regionalism 7.3 Planning Approval Process and Negotiation of Operation Mode: Changing Inter-scalar Politics 7.3.1 Planning Approval Process (2000–2005): Collaboration Between the Ministry of Railways and the Guangdong Provincial Government 7.3.2 Negotiation of Operation Model: From Ministerial–Provincial–Local Cooperation to Provincial–Local Cooperation 7.3.3 Summary 7.4 Site Selection for the Railway Station: Peri-Urban Locations for the SGSIR Stations Under Inter-scalar Politics 7.4.1 Inter-scalar Politics for Site Selection Under Ministerial–Provincial–Local Cooperation 7.4.2 Inter-scalar Politics for Site Selection of SGSIR Under Provincial–Local Cooperation 7.4.3 Summary 7.5 Financial Crisis Under the Peri-Urban Location of SGSIR 7.5.1 Financial Crisis on the Operation Deficit of SGSIR 7.5.2 Hollowing-Out of Financial Power for the Guangdong Provincial Government 7.6 Local Land Development: Reconfiguring the Inter-scalar Relations 7.6.1 Power Integration Across Provincial Departments 7.6.2 Power Recentralization from Local Government to Provincial Governments 7.6.3 Summary 7.7 Discussion 7.7.1 Changes in Regional Governance: Evolution of Inter-scalar Relations of SGSIR 7.7.2 Positioning the Changing Regional Governance: Beyond State Rescaling 7.8 Conclusions References 8 Conclusions 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Summary of Major Findings 8.2.1 Extent of Economic Integration of SDH 8.2.2 Extent of Institutional Integration of SDH 8.2.3 Reshuffling Process of Governance Structure in Response to the Industrial Integration of SDH 8.2.4 Reshuffling Process of Governance Structure in Response to the Infrastructure Integration of SDH 8.2.5 Overall Regional Integration and Governance Reshuffling of SDH 8.3 Policy and Institutional Implications and Recommendations 8.4 Contribution to the Literature 8.5 Limitations and Future Research Directions 8.6 Conclusions References Appendix Uncited References