This presentation argues that the prevailing view of China from outside the country is that the urbanization-development trajectory is imitating that of the developed countries. At the same time it is generally accepted that this process will cause many environmental problems particularly as it they are occurring at a time of significant environmental change.
In contrast to this view this presentation argues that the urbanization development strategies that China is following exhibits distinctive features such as the efforts to build rural-urban linkages as an important component of the process and the significant role of various levels of government that gives grounds for greater optimism concerning a sustainable urban future.
The presentation is divided into four parts.
a) Analysis of the Chinese urbanization process
b) Theoretical Approaches
c) Processes shaping urban space
d) The Challenge of Sustainability. A Case Study of the Zhejiang Delta in the context of the Extended Mega-Urban Region of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou
