BOOK REVIEWS

Andrew M. Marton, China’s Spatial Economic Development. Restless Landscapes in the Lower Yangzi Delta

This book by Andrew M. Marton, a geographer at Nottingham University’s Institute of Chinese Studies, provides a high quality contribution to understanding the mechanisms of the spatial transformation of the Chinese countryside in general following the death of Mao Zedong, with particular focus on the Yangtse delta area. He combines two complementary approaches—one theoretical, the other empirical.

The first and last chapters thus form a well documented inventory of the theoretical debates on the geography of development, as well as the justification for employing certain recent concepts. Focusing on the Lower Yangtse region, and more particularly on the city of Kunshan, Marton sets out to apply the new concept of “mega-urbanisation” (or “mega-urban regions”, T. McGee, I. M. Robinson, 1995), that was initially conceived to cater for the peri-metropolitan areas of Southeast Asia. According to the originators of this concept, mega-urbanisation denotes a new type of urban area that includes a vast ring of outer suburbs (known as an “extended metropolitan area” or desakota, N. Ginsburg, 1991) which are characterised by high density development and an intermingling of rural housing and industrial premises. So as to broaden our knowledge of this type of area, the author takes up the idea of “transactional environment” that was put forward by Preston (1975) and later expanded by Rondinelli (1983) and Unwin (1989). The “transactions” embody all the interactions and inter-relationships that link urban and rural environments—the flows of raw materials and energy, of manufactured goods, of services, of people, of information and of capital. The particularly dense nature of these flows in the countryside of the Lower Yangtse region leads the author to declare that the distinction between urban and rural no longer applies to that region. Marton systematically summarises this theoretical approach along with its application to the workings of the distinctive land of the Kunshan region in the form of a final organisation chart (Fig. 7-1, p. 188).

The empirical approach, supported by hitherto unpublished written sources as well as numerous interviews, questionnaires and surveys carried out in the field, forms the core of the book. Following a general introduction (mainly statistical) to the Lower Yangtse region, Marton devotes nearly one hundred pages to the study of the changes that have taken place in the city of Kunshan (pp. 86-180). Disappointed by macro-economic studies on China’s transition, the author reveals the full complexity of local development mechanisms. Without neglecting the role of exogenous factors, he steadfastly inscribes his words in the framework of endogenous development theories. His analysis of this area, situated between Shanghai (55 km) and Suzhou (36 km), highlights the specific roles of the various parties involved in development (local government, businesses, urban markets, investors and workers). It is viewed on two complementary scales in turn—beginning with Kunshan city as a whole, and followed by more localised case studies (Dianshanhu town, Tongxin village, special development zones).

The viewpoints opened up by Marton’s book call for further research. The subtitle, based on the dynamic landscape of the Lower Yangtse, may be misleading. The reader will find neither cartographic study nor qualitative description of the changes in land usage on the scale of the Lower Yangtse delta or even that of Kunshan. Only a cartographic approach on a very detailed scale, difficult to undertake admittedly in China’s current situation, could enable the idea of the disappearance of the distinction between rural and urban to be truly shown, and to make headway in the analysis of this truly unique phenomenon of desakota. Further studies should try to elaborate upon the typology of these rural areas so as to bring out the spatial differentiation at a detailed level. There is also cause to wonder about how representative Kunshan, which in just 15 years has become a real mushroom city thanks to the vast number of Taiwanese companies that have established themselves there, really is, as from now on, it is a matter of a “Kunshan-style model”. This external supply of capital brings into context the idea of a prevailing endogeny in the process of local development. Beyond the specific case of the Lower Yangtse, the new concept of mega-urbanisation forms a stimulating conceptual tool, but it also raises questions. The neologism of mega-urbanisation that is put forward does not command total support. Besides, while it is true that the Chinese landscape contains various forms of industrialisation in rural locations, the actual rate of urbanisation remains very low. It seems to be more a matter of “peri-metropolitan areas”, in the specific context of overpopulated, over-industrialised regions and people with insufficient means of transport. The internal spatial zoning of such a region should be explained by analysing the specific links between the exogenous and endogenous forms of development for each Chinese megalopolis.

These comments do not in any way call into question the overall value of this book, which hinges on its rigorous methodology, its conceptual emphasis and its familiarity with the subject matter. It demonstrates, if need be, the relevance and the requirement for a geographic rather than a purely economic approach to matters of development in China. The transition process from a planned economy to a market economy affects all macro-economic aggregates and social indicators, but here it applies to a continent-like country that is exceptionally diverse. The transition is therefore not only economic, but also spatial, on several levels.

Translated from the French original by Bernie Mahapatra