Chinese Cities

The Courses

Here is a detailed overview of what will be discussed during the courses

1 / Tuesday 27 January 2026

城市 - from the ancient to the new

We introduce the general spatial organization of China, some major urban and architectural traditions with example of ancient housing typologies for a few major cities. We also examine the successive generations of planning imaginaries that lead China's urbanization since the last century.

Main Reading : Wu, Fulong. "Introduction: leaving the soil" in _Creating Chinese Urbanism: Urban Revolution and Governance Changes._ (p.1-21) London: UCL Press, 2022\.
Additional readings :
  • Graezer Bideau, Florence. "Planning: From Model to Modules." in Realtime: Making Digital China (p. 41-59), EPFL Press 2020.
  • Ang, Yuen Yuen. How China Escaped the Poverty Trap. Cornell University Press, 2016. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1zgwm1j.
  • "Neville Mars - The Chinese Dream: A Society Under Construction"
  • "Brendan McGetrick & Jiang Jun - Urban China Work in Progress"

View the slides


2 / Tuesday 3 February 2026

地 - Land: governance and territorial reforms

We dive into China's governance models and land reform policies, particularly focusing on Local Government Financing Vehicles. We see the role played by land property development in the urbanization of China, and how it relates to the administration of cities.

Main Reading : Ong, Lynette H. “State-Led Urbanization in China: Skyscrapers, Land Revenue and ‘Concentrated Villages.’” The China Quarterly 217 (March 2014): 162–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741014000010.
Additional readings :
  • "Chen, Ting. 2017. State Beyond the State: Shenzhen and the Transformation of Urban China. Rotterdam: nai010 publishers."
  • "Wu, Fulong. “The Long Shadow of the State: Financializing the Chinese City.” Urban Geography 44, no. 1 (January 2, 2023): 37–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2021.1959779."
  • "Documentary: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chinese_Mayor"
  • Tomba, Luigi. 2014. Chapter 2 “Micro-Governing the Urban Crisis”. The Government Next Door: Neighborhood Politics in Urban China. Ithaca; London, Cornell University Press.
  • Hsing, You-tien. 2006. "Land and Territorial Politics in Urban China." The China Quarterly (187):575-591
  • Wang, June, and George S. M. Li. 2017. “State territorialization, neoliberal governmentality: the remaking of Dafen oil painting village, Shenzhen, China.” Urban Geography 38(5):708- 728.

View the slides


3 / Tuesday 10 February 2026

网 - Infrastructure and Planning Networks

We explore regional planning and infrastructure networks in China shapes national and regional development, including transportation systems (high-speed rail, metro, bike-sharing, Didi). We examine the case study of the Pearl River Delta to understand regional approaches to urban planning

Main Reading : Rippa, Alessandro and Tim Oakes. "Infrastructural Thinking in China: A Research Agenda." The China Quarterly 255 (2023): 547-559. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/infrastructural-thinking-in-china-a-research-agenda/C956D2B5DE1D60A1540AB8C1BA21A4E9.
Additional readings :
  • Oakes, Tim. "Geographies of infrastructure III: Infrastructure with Chinese characteristics." Progress in Human Geography 46, no. 4 (2022): 1009-1020. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03091325211033652.
  • Hilgefort, Jason. "Belt and Road initiative: infrastructure as foreign policy." Domus, March 7, 2019. https://www.domusweb.it/en/speciali/guest-editor/winy-maas/gallery/2019/03/07/infrastructure-as-foreign-policy.html.
  • Plantin, J-C. "WeChat as infrastructure." LSE, 2018. https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/91520/1/Plantin_WeChat-as-infrastructure.pdf.
  • "Xiao, Zhongxian. "Conceiving Chinese Speed: Sociotechnical Imaginaries of High-Speed Rail in Post-1978 China." Made in China Journal (blog), December 22, 2023. https://madeinchinajournal.com/2023/12/22/conceiving-chinese-speed-sociotechnical-imaginaries-of-high-speed-rail-in-post-1978-china/."
  • Al, Stefan. Factory Towns of South China. Edited by Stefan Al. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012. https://hkupress.hku.hk/pro/261.php.
  • "Hilgefort and Li in Realtime: Making Digital China. Lausanne: EPFL Press, 2020."
  • China Made Project Briefs. https://chinamadeproject.net/china-made-briefs/.

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4 / Tuesday 17 February 2026

造 - Technology Manufacturing: Huaqiangbei and Hardware

We explore contemporary tech manufacturing in China, focusing on the Huaqiangbei electronics district, shanzhai culture, hardware supply chains, and electronics manufacturing. This lecture examines the 'Made in China' manufacturing ecosystem and its role in global technology production.

Main Reading : "O'Donnell, Mary Ann. "From Bamboo Curtain to the Silicon Valley of Hardware." E-Flux, August 2020. https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/software/337686/from-bamboo-curtain-to-the-silicon-valley-of-hardware"
Additional readings :

5 / Tuesday 24 February 2026

家 - Family: the aging city

We will look into how the spatial transformations of China have profoundly reshaped the way family and generations live together. We will see where and how in the city elderly people, kids, infants and workers usually evolves and the life of families that does not under the same roof anymore. This course will also give us the opportunity to interrogate gender representations and in Chinese cities.

Main Reading : Yu, Hongyan, Ann Veeck, and Fang (Grace) Yu. “Family Meals and Identity in Urban China.” Edited by Dr. Yuri Seo, Dr. Angela Gracia B. Cruz, Prof. Kim-Shyan Fam. Journal of Consumer Marketing 32, no. 7 (November 9, 2015): 505–19. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2014-1146.
Additional readings :
  • Rochot, Justine. “‘Our Generation’: The Making of Collective Identifications in China and Taiwan.” China Perspectives, no. 2022/1 (March 1, 2022): 3–7. https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.13469.
  • Rochot, Justine. “New Perspectives on Aging in Contemporary China… and Beyond.” Gis Asie (blog). Accessed January 21, 2025. https://www.gis-reseau-asie.org/en/article/new-perspectives-aging-contemporary-china-and-beyond.
  • Hanser, Amy. 2005. “The Gendered Rice Bowl: The Sexual Politics of Service Work in Urban China.” Gender and Society 19(5):581-600.

6 / Tuesday 10 March 2026

移 - Migrations: becoming urban

We analyse China's historical and contemporary migration patterns, focusing on the hukou system and the experiences of urbanization for hundred of millions of people. We also investigate the formation of urban villages and the absorbtion of the rural within Chinese urban areas.

Main Reading : - "Documentary: Last Train Home (Directed by Fan Lixin, 2011)"
Additional readings :
  • "Franceschini, Ivan. “The Urbanisation of People: A Conversation with Eli Friedman.” Made in China Journal (blog), June 13, 2022. https://madeinchinajournal.com/2022/06/13/the-urbanisation-of-people/"
  • Liu, Tao, and Qiujie Shi. 2020. "Acquiring a Beijing hukou: Who Is Eligible and Who Is Successful?" The China Quarterly 243: 855-868.
  • "Movie « 6th generation » movie directors : Jia Zhangke - 24 City / Jia Zhangke - the world /Wang Xiaoshuai - Chinese Portrait"
  • [ChengZhongCun, in-formality](https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chengzhongcun_(China)"
  • "Bach, Jonathan P. G. “Shenzhen: From Exception to Rule.” In Learning from Shenzhen: China’s Post-Mao Experiment from Special Zone to Model City, edited by Mary Ann O’Donnell and Winnie Won Yin Wong. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2017. DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226401263.003.0002."
  • "O’Donnell, Mary Ann. “The End of an Era? Two Decades of Shenzhen Urban Villages.” Made in China Journal (blog), December 1, 2021. https://madeinchinajournal.com/2021/12/01/the-end-of-an-era-two-decades-of-shenzhen-urban-villages/."

7 / Tuesday 17 March 2026

创 - Planning for Innovation

We examine China's planning systems for innovation, including 5-year plans, science & technology policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the evolution from imitation to indigenous innovation. We explore Made in China 2025, innovation districts, and how cities plan for technology development.

Main Reading : TBD
Additional readings :
  • TBD

8 / Tuesday 24 March 2026

层 - The Folded City: Social Stratification and Inequality

We examine social stratification through urban design examples, showing actual places where different kinds of people live - gated communities, urban villages, luxury vs. affordable housing. We explore how city services (education, healthcare) vary by neighborhood, revealing the spatial inequality and 'folded' nature of Chinese cities where the same city contains vastly different worlds.

Main Reading : TBD
Additional readings :
  • TBD

10 / Tuesday 31 March 2026

闹 - Activism: the right to the city

China's urban development have encountered countless issues and complex situations, leading to frequent protests and sometimes even large unrests. We discuss the various forms of activism in Chinese cities, from environmental protests, heritage preservation, and houseowners strikes.

Main Reading : "Ho, Peter. “Embedded Activism and Political Change in a Semiauthoritarian Context.” China Information 21, no. 2 (July 1, 2007): 187–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/0920203X07079643."
Additional readings :
  • Wang, J., and S.M and Li. “State Territorialization, Neoliberal Governmentality: The Remaking of Dafen Oil Painting Village, Shenzhen, China.” Urban Geography 38, no. 5 (May 28, 2017): 708–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1139409.
  • "Ning, Ou. Utopia in Practice: Bishan Project and Rural Reconstruction. Contemporary East Asian Visual Cultures, Societies and Politics. Singapore: Springer, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5791-0."
  • Amar, Nathanel. “‘We Come from the Underground’: Grounding Chinese Punk in Beijing and Wuhan.” Popular Music 41, no. 2 (2022): 170–93.
  • "Documentary: Under the dome"

9 / Tuesday 31 March 2026

网 - Places of the Chinese Internet

We explore the history of the Chinese internet through key places and locations. We examine digital platforms and everyday urban life (WeChat, Alipay, delivery platforms), and the main digital corporations (Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, ByteDance) - their corporate cultures, headquarters, and urban impacts.

Main Reading : TBD
Additional readings :
  • TBD

11 / Tuesday 7 April 2026

保 - Hazards: sustainability and environmental challenges

An overview of China's natural harzards and risks, as well as environmental concerns and challenges in urban development in general. It dwelves into political concepts such as 'ecological civilization' used by central and local planners, and presents several case studies in various localities.

Main Reading : Chen, Jia-Ching. “Social-Environmental Dilemmas of Planning an ‘Ecological Civilisation’ in China.” In The Routledge Companion to Planning in the Global South. Routledge, 2017.
Additional readings :
  • "Stéphanie Monjon, Léa Boudinet, Clémence Pèlegrin, Understanding “Ecological Civilization” According to China, Sep 2021, 4-5."
  • "Schrag, Jacque. “How Does Water Security Affect China’s Development?” ChinaPower Project (blog), February 25, 2020. https://chinapower.csis.org/china-water-security/."
  • "Prater, Wanyuan Song, Xiaoying You, Kerry Cleaver, Tom Pearson, Tom. “Glossary: Decoding How China Talks about Energy and Climate Change.” Carbon Brief, March 27, 2025. https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/glossary/china/."

12 / Tuesday 21 April 2026

外 - Abroad: The export of the Chinese city

Exploration of Chinese urban influence globally, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Main Reading : Huang, Zhengli, and Andrea Pollio. “Between Highways and Fintech Platforms: Global China and Africa’s Infrastructure State.” Geoforum 147 (December 1, 2023): 103876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103876.
Additional readings :
  • "Bunnell, Tim. “China at Large, Chinas for Comparative Conversation: A Commentary on ‘Urbanizing Dynamics of Global China.’” Urban Geography 43, no. 10 (November 26, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2022.2140968."
  • "Jordan, Austin. “Setting the Record Straight on China’s Overseas Infrastructure Investments – Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.” Accessed April 14, 2025. https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/research/blog/setting-the-record-straight-on-chinas-overseas-infrastructure-investments/."
  • "https://www.nai010.com/en/product/progress-prosperity/"

12 / Tuesday 21 April 2026

Students presentations

Final presentations