China’s ‘Ghost Cities’the roles of the government and citizens

Max D. WoodworthDepartment of Geography

Presentation for MIT, May 4, 2016

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“Spacious avenues that begin in nothing, and lead nowhere; streets, mile long, that only want houses, roads, and inhabitants; public buildings that need but a public to be complete; and ornaments of great thoroughfares, which only lack great thoroughfares to ornament – are its leading features.”

- Charles Dickens, describing Washington, DC in American Notes for General Circulation, 1842

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Kangbashi New District, Ordos

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Dongsheng District, Ordos

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Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, Tianjin

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Tianjin

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Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou

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Zhengzhou

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Chenggong New District, Kunming

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Kunming

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• Urbanization rate 18% in 1978, now ~53% (~600mn people added)• 1980-2010, urban built up area grew from 8,800km2 to 41,768km2

• 2000-2010, urban growth consumed 23,600km2 of land• China accounts for 2/3 of East Asia urban physical expansion since

2000 (World Bank, 2015)

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• Rural-urban transition: Lewis model of migration and urban growth• Capitalist transition: mobilization of capital, creation of labor force, pro-

growth regimes, production of cities (Walker & Buck 2008)

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•State-led urbanization – Wu 2004, 2015; Ma 2005•Urbanization of the local state – Hsing 2010

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Ghost cities(?)Generic picture of ghostly landscape

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Epidemic of over-supplyIn 2014, 50 mn empty homesNational average of 22.4% vacancy

18.4% in tier-1 cities27.5% & 27.6% in tier-2 and tier-3 cities

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Nanjing Hexi New District

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Chi et al. “Ghost Cities analysis based on positioning data in China,” 2015

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A. RushanB. Dongsheng TiexiC. KangbashiD. BinhaiE. RugaoF. DongyingG. XinghuaH. YijinhuoluoI. Dongling

Chi et al. “Ghost Cities analysis based on positioning data in China,” 2015

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Urban mega-projects

New districts (xinqu 新区 )est. 100+; 17 nat’l

level

Eco-cities (shengtai cheng 生态城市 )est. 200+

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Select examples• Chongqing Liangjiang New

District: 1200km2 (50km2)• Lanzhou New District: 800km2

(65km2)• Gui’an New District: 1795km2

(95km2)• Kangbashi New District: 150km2

(35km2)• Wanfang Eco-Smart City: 30km2

• Wuxi Eco-City: 150km2

• Suzhou Western Ecological City: 300km2

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Hey, what’s the big idea?• Peri-urban property development schemes of gigantic scale that proclaim

to resolve practical problems of urban functionality• Advanced through land-centered urban entrepreneurialism and private

speculative investments in built environment

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Datong Yudong New District; museum under construction

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Mega projects and urban frontiersMega-projects• “Projects which transform landscapes rapidly, intentionally, and

profoundly in very visible ways, and require coordinated applications of corporate and state power.” – Gellert & Lynch, 2002

• Size, cost, speed, and the deliberately disruptive transformations

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Yan’an New District

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Mega projects and urban frontiersUrban frontiers• New districts and eco-cities built in peri-urban areas• Not just making spaces, but proposing total transformation• “Projects in making geographical and temporal experiences,” A. Tsing, 2003

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Kangbashi development plan

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Unpacking peri-urban mega-projects

Land-centered urban entrepreneurialism• Mandarins• Modules• MonumentsSpectacular accumulation• Money• Mansions

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Land-centered urban entrepreneurialism• Mandarins – or, state-led urbanism

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Land-centered urban entrepreneurialism• Mandarins• Modules – policy and formal isomorphism

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3 Planning schemes, rugao, dongying, chenggong

ZhengdongNew District

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Land-centered urban entrepreneurialism• Mandarins• Modules• Monuments – urban gigantism

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Tianjin Binhai train station

Tiexi New District Stadium

Ordos Museum

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Spectacular accumulation• Money – property as financial asset

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Spectacular accumulation• Money• Mansions – high-end urbanism

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Ghost citiesDepartment of Geography

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Conclusion

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Thank you!