Changing Urbanization Processes and In Situ Rural-Urban Transformation: Reflections on China's Settlement Definitions

Abstract

China's urbanization has experienced tremendous changes since the 1980s. This chapter begins with a brief account of urban definitions before the reform era. It presents the review of China's urbanization process since the early 1980s, and of the relevant definitional and policy changes. The chapter examines the process of in situ urbanization in more detail, and focuses on various dimensions of the new rural-urban transformation pattern and the blurring of the rural-urban distinction. The term 'in situ urbanization' is closely related to the more widely used term 'reclassification' in the sense that both concern the transformation of settlements from rural to urban. The chapter discusses the implications of the changes for the modification of settlement definitions and for ways of monitoring settlement evolution. It suggests that some ways in which China’s settlement definitions could be modified and thereby permits the more accurate monitoring and analysis of urbanization and urban change.