Notes from Chinese Urban Cultural Studies

This just in from Robin Visser at the U of North Carolina, Chapel HIll:

As for upcoming events and resources in Chinese urban cultural studies I can tell you about the following:

Urban China listserv: URBAN-CHINA@jiscmail.ac.uk

Mar 30, 2012
Workshop on “Cosmology, Isomorphism, and Sustainability in Chinese Urban Forms” (organized by UNC-Chapel Hill for the China Triangle Forum): contact Stephanie Nelson, Carolina Asia Center, nelsonsc@email.unc.edu

Environmental Narratives and Urban Change in China
Piper Gaubatz, Professor of Geography, University of Massachusetts Amherst
“New Cities” and the “Virtual Rural” in Twenty-first Century China
Robin Visser, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The “New Socialist Countryside”: A Case Study in Sichuan Province
Yan Song, Associate Professor of Urban Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

May 11-12, 2012
Workshop (organized by Duke University) and Forthcoming Publication:
Development and Displacement: China and its Global Footprint, Carlos Rojas and Ralph Litzinger, eds.

Forthcoming Publication:
New book: The Chinese City
By Weiping Wu<http://www.routledge.com/books/search/author/weiping_wu/>, Piper Gaubatz<http://www.routledge.com/books/search/author/piper_gaubatz/>
To Be Published July 30th 2012 by Routledge
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415575751/

China’s cities are home to 10 per cent of the world’s population today. They display unprecedented dynamism under the country’s surging economic power, and they challenge conventional urban theories and experiences of cities elsewhere. Their remarkable transformation builds on immense traditions, having lived through feudal dynasties, semi-colonialism, and socialist commands. Studying them offers a lens into both the complex character of the changing city and the Chinese economy, society, and environment.

This text is anchored in the spatial sciences to offer a comprehensive survey of the evolving urban landscape in China. It is divided into four parts with 13 chapters that can be read together or as stand alone material. Part I sets the context, describing the geographical setting, China’s historical urban system, and traditional urban forms. Part II covers the urban system since 1949, the rural-urban divide and migration, and interactions with the global economy. Part III outlines the specific sectors of urban development, including economic restructuring, social-spatial transformation, urban infrastructure, and urban land and housing. Finally, Part IV showcases urbanism through the lens of the urban environment, lifestyle and social change, and urban governance.

The Chinese City offers a critical understanding of China’s urbanization. This comprehensive book contains a wealth of up to date statistical information, case studies, and suggested further reading to demonstrate the diversity of urban life in China.