Urban Space in Contemporary China: The Potential for Autonomy and Community in Post-Mao China (review)

376 China Review International: Vol. 4, No. 2, Fall 1997 ÌE.^ì&m." Another one is on page 211, line 22, where the name ofthe noted statesman "^PÎÎfî." is wrongly printed as "fôÎïfi." Wen-yu Cheng Marietta College, Ohio Wen-yu Cheng is Emeritus Professor ofEconomics and Senior Distinguished Professor ofthe College. mm Deborah S. Davis, Richard Kraus, Barry Naughton, and Elizabeth Perry, editors. Urban Space in Contemporary China: The Potentialfor Autonomy and Community in Post-Mao China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. ix, 449 pp. Hardcover $59.95, isbn 0-521-47410-8. Paperback $18.95, ISBN 0-521-47943-6. It is important to read the subtitle of this book together with the main title; the "space" here refers to the division of political spheres, not the geographic or physical space that one might assume. Accepting the general assumption that as China adopts a market economy the capitalist mode ofproduction will lead to social diversification, and ultimately to democracy, Urban Space in Contemporary China follows the recently adopted analytical framework of state and society for the study of society and politics in contemporary China. The main theme of the book is "a broad overview of city life after 1979 to explore the many ways in which shifting boundaries between public and private, and between state and society, have created the conditions for an emergent public sphere" (p. 10). It assesses the extent of the increase of the social sphere in an urban setting. The fifteen chapters by eighteen authors include an introduction and a conclusion framing thirteen chapters that are grouped into three parts dealing, respectively , with urban space, urban culture and identity, and urban associations. Each part is in turn provided with an introduction by one of the editors. The introductory chapter by Deborah Davis, apart from defining the theme and key research questions, explains the significance of the city in post-Mao urban developnim ,i, T1 ¦ u ment and summarizes the contents of the chapters that follow.© 1997 by Universityr ofHawai'i PressPart 1> on urDan space, begins with Barry Naughton's introduction, where he points out that the subsequent chapters discuss "the economic and political forces tiiat structure urban life, and the way those forces produce specific urban land- Reviews 377 scape and ways oflife" (p. 23). The chapter on urban development by Piper Rae Gaubatz discusses how planning responds to spatial problems and activities, such as inner city transportation, downtown retail and business centers, new residential -district development zones, and foreign enclaves—all brought about by economic reform. These new spatial requirements have fundamentally changed the cityscape from a Maoist "generalized"-district pattern to a post-Maoist "specialization "-district urban pattern. Naughton's own chapter on the economic system is a historical analysis of the effects of a state-managed economy and its institutions —the work unit in particular—on the pattern of urbanization. Under Mao, cities developed industry at the expense of services because cities were regarded as "cash cows" for the government. Economic reform has since allowed for industrialization in the rural areas and for greater economic freedom and diversity in the cities. This has encouraged suburbanization on the urban periphery, causing the formation ofa gray "desakota" region between the city and the countryside. Vivienne Shue reports her findings on one small city, Xinji, in Hebei province . While there is greater personal freedom and a larger community life, this city has also witnessed substantial growth in local state government. The nonstate social sphere has expanded somewhat as well, and decontrol has provided opportunities for fraud, malpractice, theft, and other crimes. These social realities give the state reason to expand its resources and control. Part 1 closes with Dorothy Solinger's investigation of the floating population. Rural migrants in the cities display all the traits of their Third World counterparts . The dual hukou system is a rigid barrier to the integration ofthe new arrivals ; the scornful attitude ofthe receiving society enforces inequality and exploitation , and reinforces the immigrants' need for guanxi with the gatekeepers to upward mobility. Richard Kraus' introduction to part 2, on urban culture and identities, states that this section examines the changing role ofurban culture, in particular the role...