Mapping China: Urbanisation - 4 The Transforming Cities: Transformation of the Industrial Urban Areas

An important category in China’s urban renewal practice, the transformation of industrial urban areas has become one of the municipal governments’ most important responsibilities.

In the last century, urbanisation in China was accompanied by an almost radical process of industrialisation. This led to large-scale manufacturing facilities being planted in the city centre or on the outskirts. As a result of the economic, demographic and social transformations taking place at this moment, these representatives of Fordism are to be removed in order to give way to the emerging industries of the 21st century. The Shanghai EXPO2010 plan showcased a feasible mechanism for such an operation. The industrial giants are usually state-owned; thus the local authority is in most cases a leading character in the projects for transformation, using revised land-use plans as one tool and a platform for public-private partnerships as another.

The Eastern Forward Movement of Chengdu is an example of such a government-initiated project. Between 2001 and 2010, a group of 169 factory enterprises were moved out of the east suburb of Chengdu. In 2007, the city government further established a plan to renovate some of the factory buildings that remained in better condition. The Chengdu Media Corporation then took over the area to accommodate musical and entertainment events, turning it into a cultural landmark and a tourist destination.