ABSTRACT
The pace of urbanization in China has been rapid since 1979. According to official estimates, the urbanization level increased from 19.4 percent in 1980 to 52 percent in 2012. China is now predominately urban for the first time in its history. As urban and rural categories have long defined state policy and administrative practices, this shift has far-reaching implications. For instance, under the banner of “urban-rural coordination,” a national policy regime announced in 2003, many local governments have launched policy and planning initiatives designed to re-engineer the urban-rural relationship. These efforts have only made the urban-rural relationship more central to the process of transformation.
