Urban Spaces in Contemporary China: The Potential for Autonomy and Community in Post-Mao China(Woodrow Wilson Center Press)

The post-Mao urban reforms of the last decade have physically and psychologically transformed China's cities. These essays explore how the character of city life shifted after the political-economic restructuring intensified in 1984, and how this shift affected the creation of new physical, economic and cultural space in urban China. The authors draw on a wide range of backgrounds, including anthropology, comparative literature, economics, art history, law, political science and sociology, as well as their own experiences of living and working in Chinese cities to provide insight into lesser known dimensions of urban Chinese life: China's large 'floating populations', avant-garde art, labor movements, and leisure.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: Urban China Deborah S. Davis; Part II. Urban Space: Introduction Barry Naughton; 2. Urban transformations in post-Mao China: impacts of the reform era on China's urban form Piper Rae Gaubatz; 3. Cities in the Chinese economic system: changing roles and conditions for autonomy Barry Naughton; 4. State sprawl: the regulatory state and social life in a small Chinese city Vivienne Shue; 5. The floating population in the cities: chances for assimilation? Dorothy J. Solinger; Part III. Urban Culture and Identities: Introduction Richard Kraus; 6. The politics of private time: changing leisure patterns in urban China Shaoguang Wang; 7. China's artists between plan and market Richard Kraus; 8. Velvet prisons and the political economy of Chinese film making Paul G. Pickowitz; 9. The avant-garde's challenge to official art Julia F. Andrews and Gao Minglu; 10. The disintegration of the poetic 'Berlin Wall' Su Wei and Wendy Larson; Part IV. Urban Associations: Introduction Elizabeth J. Perry; 11. Labour's battle for political space: the role of worker associations in contemporary China Elizabeth J. Perry; 12. Dissident and liberal legal scholars and organisations in Beijing and the Chinese state in the 1980s Mark Sidel; 13. Urban spaces and experiences of qigong Nancy N. Chen; 14. Student associations and mass movements Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom and Liu Xinyong; 15. Conclusion: historical perspectives David Strand; List of editors and contributors; Index.

Review :
"...the diversity of subjects and approaches make this book an informative and interesting read...It contributes to the literature on the state-society divide in Deng Xiaoping's China by providing detailed discussions on various subjects. Readers of this volume, regardless of their interests, will not be disappointed, and, like conference attendees, will certainly find fascinating material in at least some of the offerings here. For those who are concerned with the process of China's socialist transformation, this will be a welcome addition to their libraries. I am grateful to retain my to retain my review copy." Reginald Yin-Wang Kwok, China Review International