China Planning Research Group Seminar: China’s extended urbanisation driven by the consumption city

Zoom Meeting Id: 926 1165 8033

This presentation makes a theoretical proposal that links two separate and contradictory perspectives, financialization and ecological civilization, through the increasing role of consumption in China today’s transition to an upgraded domestic economy. We posit that the quality of the built and ‘natural’ environment is becoming more important as households as residents, consumers and investors have become more mobile. This leads to a view of urban development that goes beyond the “production city” model, in which the city is seen as an agglomeration of export activities (of goods and services). As inhabitants are more mobile, spillover effects of productive export activities are reduced since they are no longer necessarily spending or investing their income locally. This makes urban development more complex, and places attractiveness at the forefront of the “consumption city” both as a living environment and a place of consumption, as well as a place of investment which circuits have been gradually financialized and organized at a national scale. These reflections are based on ongoing research on the development of Chongli and Yanqing regions as sites for hosting the 2022 Beijing Olympics.