Institutions, Culture and the Chinese City

This informative book explores China’s culture and institutions to discuss their impact on Chinese urbanisation in the post-1949 period. It reflects on the evolution of cities and highlights the role of party leaders and government ideology in shaping modern China.

Sun Sheng Han and Ning Yan explore the mechanisms that have disrupted or enabled Chinese modernisation, including personal differences between leaders and inherent tensions in the political system. They assess how rational decision-making, inclusive institutions, land finance, and growth incentives lead to progress, and how the misalignment of these elements results in stagnation. Ultimately, the book reconstructs prominent urbanisation models to provide readers with a systematic and critical analysis of Chinese institutions, cultures, and cities whilst looking ahead to the future.

Examining the development and myths of Chinese urbanisation, this book is a crucial read for scholars and students of urban studies, human geography, urban planning and China studies.