Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing

Through a framework drawn from Karl Polanyi's substantivist theorization of economic practices, this paper evaluates the quest for equitable urbanization in Chongqing, a major city-region in south-western China. Illuminating the tensions arising from two interrelated reforms, namely the ambitio...

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Main Author: Lim, Kean Fan
Format: Article
Published: Routledge 2014
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28264/
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author Lim, Kean Fan
author_facet Lim, Kean Fan
author_sort Lim, Kean Fan
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Through a framework drawn from Karl Polanyi's substantivist theorization of economic practices, this paper evaluates the quest for equitable urbanization in Chongqing, a major city-region in south-western China. Illuminating the tensions arising from two interrelated reforms, namely the ambitious attempt to construct 40 million m² of public rental housing between 2010 and 2012, and the large-scale drive to ensure peasant migrants enjoy equal access to social benefits as current urban residents, the paper explains how the quest for equitable urbanization magnifies two nationwide dimensions of institutionalized uneven development, namely 1) the caste-like categorization of populations according to �urban� and �rural�; and 2) the coastal bias in national economic development. The paper concludes that this state-driven pursuit of spatial egalitarianism in Chongqing expresses the dialecticism of economic development in China: it is a social �counter-movement� against the effects of an uneven spatiality that was instituted to drive and deepen the marketization of Chinese society.
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spelling nottingham-282642020-05-04T16:52:41Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28264/ Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing Lim, Kean Fan Through a framework drawn from Karl Polanyi's substantivist theorization of economic practices, this paper evaluates the quest for equitable urbanization in Chongqing, a major city-region in south-western China. Illuminating the tensions arising from two interrelated reforms, namely the ambitious attempt to construct 40 million m² of public rental housing between 2010 and 2012, and the large-scale drive to ensure peasant migrants enjoy equal access to social benefits as current urban residents, the paper explains how the quest for equitable urbanization magnifies two nationwide dimensions of institutionalized uneven development, namely 1) the caste-like categorization of populations according to �urban� and �rural�; and 2) the coastal bias in national economic development. The paper concludes that this state-driven pursuit of spatial egalitarianism in Chongqing expresses the dialecticism of economic development in China: it is a social �counter-movement� against the effects of an uneven spatiality that was instituted to drive and deepen the marketization of Chinese society. Routledge 2014-08-08 Article PeerReviewed Lim, Kean Fan (2014) Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing. Economy and Society, 43 (3). pp. 455-493. ISSN 0308-5147 Spatial Egalitarianism Urban�Rural Integration Hukou Double Movement State�Market Relations Chongqing China http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085147.2014.883797 doi:10.1080/03085147.2014.883797 doi:10.1080/03085147.2014.883797
spellingShingle Spatial Egalitarianism
Urban�Rural Integration
Hukou
Double Movement
State�Market Relations
Chongqing
China
Lim, Kean Fan
Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title_full Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title_fullStr Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title_full_unstemmed Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title_short Spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing
title_sort spatial egalitarianism as a social �counter-movement': on socio-economic reforms in chongqing
topic Spatial Egalitarianism
Urban�Rural Integration
Hukou
Double Movement
State�Market Relations
Chongqing
China
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28264/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28264/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28264/