Urban China in Transition

These essays on recent Chinese urban developments--particularly trends in migration, labor economics, housing, economic and sociospatial inequality, and governance--offer macro and micro perspectives through analysis of nationwide patterns or developments in specific cities, thus capturing the regional diversity and types of cities in China. Editor Logan is careful not to present the Chinese instance as exceptional, but to situate it within a wider context through comparative analysis. He pairs up scholars from different disciplines and areas for each essay in order to set up comparison between Chinese urban developments and those in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Logan asked the contributors to view their data through four theoretical lenses: modernization (Simon Kuznet's model), dependency/world system, developmental state, and market transition. By doing so, contributors discover meaningful differences that reveal trends unique to the Chinese context. On the whole, this collection offers undergraduates an accessible introduction to contemporary urban developments in China and to a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analyses commonly used in the social sciences. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. -- L. Teh, University of Chicago (Choice, February 2009)