ABSTRACT

Dynamic urbanization in Guangzhou has led to the emergence and proliferation of “urban village” or “villages in the city”. The urban area has expanded markedly in the past 30 years, and consequently, a great number of villages at the fringes of the city have been swallowed up by urban development. Urban villages are created when agricultural land is used for urban development while village settlements remain untouched in order to avoid costly compensation and relocation programmes. This chapter explores the relationships between urban development and the dynamics of urban villages in Guangzhou. It analyzes the proximity between urban villages and urban areas in contemporary Guangzhou. In 1984, Guangzhou was designated as one of the 14 coastal open cities.