Urbanization in China: Processes and policies

Given recent extensive studies broadly titled "urban China research," what additional insight can be offered by this collection of papers? This introduction aims to distil concrete examples examined by the articles in this special issue of The China Review, summarize their major findings and highlight some suggestions for future research. The papers in this issue were originally presented at a conference organized at Nanjing University by Chaolin Gu, from 18th to 20th December 2005, and have since been substantially updated and revised. The authors include estab lished scholars based in the West as well as promising Chinese researchers who conducted extensive policy studies inside China. There fore, they represent a mix of multiple perspectives rather than a singular explanation of the complexity of Chinese urbanization. Urbanization is a complex and multifaceted process involving popu lation migration from rural to urban areas, rural and urban land conver sions, spatial reconfiguration of settlements, and changing governance