ABSTRACT
Establishing a market institution in a non-market society is not an easy task. It essentially requires the commodification of a set of social relations. To create a market system of urban development is even more challenging – this demands the commodification of 'space production’. China's stunning urban growth, characterized by fast suburban expansion and dramatic renewal of the central areas of cities, is a triumph of the dynamic market mechanism. However, the development of a land and housing market is far more than a spontaneous evolution from planning-based allocation to competitive market operation. This is not driven simply by 'state retreat’. To unshackle the shackles, the development of the market has had to be nurtured by the state. However, through transforming the production of space, the state has transformed itself into a market agent. Market-oriented development has created a series of new urban spaces and driven the restructuring of the Chinese city. The significance of space in the overall dynamics is far more than a product of the built environment – the production of space is an integral part of changing state and market relations, opening up a new venue for making market-oriented development possible.
