The geography and governance of new town development through public-private partnerships in China

Abstract

The overall goal of the study is to explore the geography and governance of new town development through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in China. New town development through PPPs or urban comprehensive development (UCD) is a development model that utilizes PPPs and involves land development through services provided by the private sector.

To achieve research goal and address gaps in the literature, this study follows existing frameworks of geographical research (e.g., Chen et al., 2022; Healey & Ilbery, 1990; Lin, 2009, 2021; Tu & Long, 2017; Y. Wu, 2018), and explores three research questions in turn: (1) What are the spatial patterns of the new town development model through PPP in China? (2) How does this model involve stakeholders from various sectors and at multiple spatial scales, and whether it could more readily facilitate the pursuit of non-local interests? (3) How are local governance and finance restructured in this model of new town development?

This study employs a methodological framework developed by Lin (2009, 2021) that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses and organizes empirical studies around hypotheses. It addresses each of the three questions with an empirical study. The first empirical study addresses the first research question about spatial patterns of UCDs and employs regression models. The second empirical study tackles the second question about the governance of three ‘regional-related’ UCDs and notably applies an analytical framework by Xu and Yeh (2013). The third empirical study explores the third question about local urban governance and financial mechanisms, using Gu’an Industry New Town (GNIC) as the case and combining interviews with secondary datasets (Feng, Wu, & Zhang, 2022; Gyourko, Shen, Wu, & Zhang, 2022).

The findings offer a comprehensive understanding of the urban governance and finance associated with the UCD model. First, UCDs exhibit distinct characteristics compared to other PPP projects. They are primarily concentrated in key urban regions and are more closely associated with land-based finance, similar to other new town models. Second, with multi-scalar stakeholders involved, the central state, central SOEs, and non-SOEs are becoming influential in UCDs. Although the development goals of UCDs may serve non-local interests, local interests may still prevail. Third, the local governance and financing are restructured and influenced by non-local market players in UCDs. The financial mechanisms of UCDs may depend more on land-centered finance and real estate business rather than financial mechanisms of PPPs.

This study adds to the current discussions on urban development governance and financing in China. It suggests that while urban governance and financing in China are becoming more market-oriented, the state is still in a dominant position in regulation. Urban development financing instruments are monitored and regulated by the state to serve local and regional development goals. Furthermore, urban development financing innovations, such as UCDs, continue to rely on the traditional public financing model (464 words).