Controlled urbanization in China, 1949-1989

Controlled urbanization is a socialist method of planning in which there is no intervention by market forces in the economic system and where the greater part of production activity is determined top-down from an administrative hierarchical body or central agency. This method of planning has been used by the Chinese government since 1949, both as an approach as well as a process in the planning of national development and in the implementation of various programs and planning policies according to the Communist Party objectives along ideological lines that were introduced by Soviet advisors.;The objectives of this study are to examine the role which controlled urbanization played in shaping Chinese urban policies and in influencing the development of Chinese cities, and to assess the impact which different policies had on the rate of Chinese urban population growth between 1949 and 1989.;The study area, about 9.6 million square kilometers, covers mainland China and Hainan Island. The data sources included communist leaders' speeches, government statements, press releases, orders and decisions of the Chinese Communist Party, laws and regulations pertaining to urban and regional administration, statistical reports and census publications, and research findings of Chinese scholars. The method employed in analyzing the data comprised simple descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis.;Controlled urbanization had its ideological roots in Marxism and Chinese agrarianism. The fusion of these two ideologies led to a conflict which resulted in two interlocking consequences: rural-urban dichotomy and experimental strategies. These two consequences had direct bearing on controlled urbanization as well as in defining the dimension and framework of change which caused several chain reactions among strategies, rural-urban interaction, level of urbanization and industrialization.;Controlled urbanization had different repercussions on the various groups of policies that were aimed at: (1) the flow of population between cities and the countryside, (2) the development of cities, (3) the development of the countryside and (4) the regional location of industries. While most of these policies over time were amended, overhauled and reformulated to comply with important strategic changes, those that controlled rural-urban migration and the growth of large cities were implemented and continued.;Prior to 1978, the main policy variables that influenced and affected Chinese urbanization were administrative forces and planned industrialization. After 1978, the growth of Chinese cities was hastened and stimulated by economic liberalization. As a consequence of these policy impacts, Chinese urbanization fluctuated. These fluctuations over time changed the regional and hierarchical distribution patterns of Chinese cities.;Controlled urbanization has been and probably will continue to be an important aspect of China's development. In order for China to keep pace with modernization, controlled urbanization needs to be modified so that market forces can play a bigger role in the decision-making process. Understanding the interaction of the social, economic and political forces in the urbanization process is thus not only essential but also vital to the effective formulation of innovative and progressive policies for China's development.