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Beijing, the nature and planning of a Chinese capital city
Book reviews by it. It is comprehensive, international and up to date. The text is intended as primary reading for an upper undergraduate semester-long introductory course in industrial location or industrial geography. It will serve students of geography and urban and regional planning, and also act as a supplementary text for students of business, and for relevant courses at the graduate level. It could work well alongside a set of case studies. In writing a text like this, the major challenge is to find the appropriate pitch, given that the student audience will be coming from different levels of background knowledge and conceptual understanding. One way of approaching this difficulty is to suggest items of complementary reading to fill in the gaps, as well as to take students further; and Harrington and Warf do this, although not as fully as they might have done. Another is to provide a careful build up of knowledge and concepts chapter by chapter; and in this the two authors are particularly successful. The first chapter, with the title 'What is industrial location?' includes a useful methodological discussion. This provides a useful lead in to two theoretical chapters, leavened by diagrams and statistics, on cost minimization and revenue or profit maxinimization. The treatment of internal and external economies of scale is particularly good. Chapter 4, on the location of service activities, is very employment focused, with an international and interregional emphasis. There is little on the intra-urban location of services, or on the way key services act as a form of infrastructure to urban and regional economies as well as contributing to export earnings and meeting local consumer demands. The chapter on comparative advantage includes an extended case study of the General Motors Saturn plant in Tennessee, as well as linking back to standard treatments of Ricardo and Heckscher-Ohlin in first-year economics courses. There are then two exciting chapters which draw upon recent developments in industrial geography: on technology and locational change, and on phases of indus-
trialization. There is a well-crafted treatment of regimes of accumulation, as well as of the increasing importance of informatics. The section of innovation is perhaps not given the emphasis it deserves however. On industrialization, the authors work through from 15th century Italy to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of modern capitalism, to business cycles, deindustralization and globalization. The principle omission here is any discussion of 'structural adjustment', the macroeconomic reforms of the past decade in so many poorer and middle income nations that are transforming the world trade patterns in manufactured goods and in many services. Only the rise of the East Asian 'tigers' is referred to. Chapter 8 is different: 'How companies actually make location decisions'. This is a good empirical feet on the ground chapter, demonstrating the probable imperfections in the process for the typical company. It provides a good lead into the next chapter on the role of governments, national, state and city: but in respect of the location of government activity and of public sector controls and inducements. Perhaps not enough is made here of the evolving constraints of policies of environmental protection; and urban economic regeneration policies really deserve more than three and a half pages. Then Chapter 10 reports on six case studies, four in manufacturing (textiles and garments, steel, automobiles and semiconductor electronics) and two in services (financial services and telecommunications). The final chapter offers a very brief wrap up of earlier themes. The book has a strong US and UK emphasis, but takes care to set these countries into a wider international context. There is a strong flavour of US concerns with plant closures, deindustrialization and issues of industrial competitiveness. Labour force factors are perhaps underplayed: how industrial plants follow labour skills and educational achievement and labour skilled looks for high residential amenity levels in richer nations; whereas in poorer nations the search is for low wage but productive workers. The worldwide revolution in educa-
tion, especially in poorer nations, is not acknowledged. But, as trade barriers have dropped, poorer nations are now providing new and stronger competition for the older industrial nations. China and India are two major examples. The writing is clear and concise. This is a very accessible text. And it is a stimulating read.
Peter M Townroe Director of the School of Urban and Regional Studies Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Beijing, The Nature and Planning of a Chinese Capital City Victor F S Sit
Wiley Chichester (1995) 389 pp £35.00 hardback In the 1950s and 1970s scholars in the west studying Chinese historic cities revealed a unique Chinese urban model. However, the contemporary urban geography of Chinese cities have been left unexplored until the 1980s. Since then published works have focused on issues created by changed government policy as well as new market forces on the heightened pace of urbanization and urban development. In this book Sit addresses two fundamental questions: what is the nature of the Chinese city? Is there a Chinese city model that stands the test of time and change in governments and their ruling philosophies? Beijing, as the capital of imperial China for 800 years and the current national capital of Communist China, has been used as a case study. The book reviews the nature of Chinese cities, particularly Beijing, through the long historical past. The first two chapters are devoted to reveal the differences between traditional Chinese concept of the city from what has been accepted in the Western world. For Sit, Chinese city arose in history not because of the economic needs for trade and concentrated development for handcrafts, but as an auspicious site for man's communication with the universe and the centre for dissemination of such information,
299
Book reviews and it drew on itself forces of growth because of such a specialization. Furthermore, the choice of Beijing as the national capital reflected not only the consistent Chinese considerations of centrality and the maintenance of a harmonious relationship between man and the universe but also the economic and ethnic processes of spatial development. It was these forces which led to the separation of the political and military centre (the north) from the economic focus of the country (the south). Against such a background, the development of Beijing in the Mind and Qing dynasties was examined in Chapter 3. From Chapter 4 the book turns to the contemporary development of Beijing since 1949. The socialist planning principles include those applied by the then USSR and other Fast European countries are reviewed first, followed by an examination of the history of planning from 1949 up to the end of 1980s. Planning strategy formulated under the help of Soviet planning experts during the early period for industrial expansion in this historical city proved a mistake which the author believes requires one or two more decades to correct. The remaining chapters focus on sectoral levels, on urban and spatial growth (Chapter 5), economic development (Chapter 6), population growth and its spatial pattern (Chapter 7), urban housing and housing reforms (Chapter 8), urban environment and preserving the old city (Chapter 9), transport (Chapter 10) and social areas (Chapter 11). In each chapter, the author has commented on the experiences in two different period: the pre-reform period of 1949-77 and the reform period of 1978-92. Chapter 12 provides a summary of Chinese views of the development experiences in the city during the 40 years and the municipality's strategy for guiding the city's development up to the year 2050 which intend to combine socialist principles and the market-oriented Western approach. In the former, a reemphasis on population control and the exhortation of the spirit of socialism are called for. The latter includes restructuring the urban economy based on new enterprise autonomy
300
and market forces, and municipal reform to allow the city authority much wider planning and development control power as well as the right to charge users according to the market rule. The conclusion addresses the fundamental question about the Chinese socialist city model. Sit concludes that there is a Chinese socialist city model, and it existed in and before the 1980s. As an old-established national capital of China, Beijing is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese cultural traits. Nevertheless, the combination of the Confucian value and Soviet model centralism in authority and power makes the capital the 'model city'. After more than 40 years of Communist control, the capital still retains the feudal role of being the national centre of 'communication and control', and serves the long tradition as an example for the rest of the country. However, the recent changes in the city during the 1990s brought some uncertainty about the future direction of the development and nature of the city. Sit recommends that the municipality must identify the city's place within the information and technology based global city system, and decentralize or relocate old industries from the city; improve its infrastructure for high-level tertiary activities; and emphasize the cultural and historic values. As the author has claimed, the book spans a wide latitude both in time and in aspects of the urban geography of the city. Although it is a book on Beijing, it includes discussions on historical Chinese city development and materials on socialist city development in other parts of the world, particularly the former USSR. These would be useful for readers who are interested in Chinese historic urban development and the socialist urban planning movement in general. They, however, extended the text to an unnecessary length. Great details in discussion, particularly the use of large amount of quantitative data in discussion, demonstrate the author's knowledge and authorities on the topic and the city. They provide an important information source for specialists in Chinese development studies. For others there
are too many of them to be comprehended and remembered, especially technical ones such as those on air pollution and noise levels. With very rapid changes in policy and practice and the concentration of capital in large cities, any research on Chinese urban development faces the problem of keeping the pace with reality. The book was published in 1995 and the major developments were examined up to 1992. Since then important developments have taken place in Beijing. A new overall/structure plan for the period from 1991 to 2010 has been approved by the State Council in 1993; this will have profound effects on the future development of the city and its surrounding areas. Although there are intensive studies on cities, written in Chinese, inside the country itself in recent years, there is no published work which examines the contemporary development of a particular Chinese city in this comprehensive way in English. Sit's language advantage, long time experience in research on China and deep insight on the internal function of the Chinese system developed through the years make the book a valuable contribution to the much needed research on the Chinese cities. As the national capital in a highly centralized political system Beijing offered the best example for other Chinese cities. Planners, historians, geographers and particularly sinologists will find the book interesting.
Dr Ya Ping Wang School of Planning and Housing Edinburgh College of Art/ Heriot- Watt University Edinburgh EH3 9DF, UK
Heritage, Tourism and Society edited by David T Herbert
Mansell London (199.5) 228 pp £40.00 hb David Herbert has edited a book in which he rightly describes heritage as 'big business' and one of the major economic and entrepreneurial 'success stories of recent years'. The book is marketed as being 'a timely examination of the [contentious] issues ...
trialization. There is a well-crafted treatment of regimes of accumulation, as well as of the increasing importance of informatics. The section of innovation is perhaps not given the emphasis it deserves however. On industrialization, the authors work through from 15th century Italy to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of modern capitalism, to business cycles, deindustralization and globalization. The principle omission here is any discussion of 'structural adjustment', the macroeconomic reforms of the past decade in so many poorer and middle income nations that are transforming the world trade patterns in manufactured goods and in many services. Only the rise of the East Asian 'tigers' is referred to. Chapter 8 is different: 'How companies actually make location decisions'. This is a good empirical feet on the ground chapter, demonstrating the probable imperfections in the process for the typical company. It provides a good lead into the next chapter on the role of governments, national, state and city: but in respect of the location of government activity and of public sector controls and inducements. Perhaps not enough is made here of the evolving constraints of policies of environmental protection; and urban economic regeneration policies really deserve more than three and a half pages. Then Chapter 10 reports on six case studies, four in manufacturing (textiles and garments, steel, automobiles and semiconductor electronics) and two in services (financial services and telecommunications). The final chapter offers a very brief wrap up of earlier themes. The book has a strong US and UK emphasis, but takes care to set these countries into a wider international context. There is a strong flavour of US concerns with plant closures, deindustrialization and issues of industrial competitiveness. Labour force factors are perhaps underplayed: how industrial plants follow labour skills and educational achievement and labour skilled looks for high residential amenity levels in richer nations; whereas in poorer nations the search is for low wage but productive workers. The worldwide revolution in educa-
tion, especially in poorer nations, is not acknowledged. But, as trade barriers have dropped, poorer nations are now providing new and stronger competition for the older industrial nations. China and India are two major examples. The writing is clear and concise. This is a very accessible text. And it is a stimulating read.
Peter M Townroe Director of the School of Urban and Regional Studies Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Beijing, The Nature and Planning of a Chinese Capital City Victor F S Sit
Wiley Chichester (1995) 389 pp £35.00 hardback In the 1950s and 1970s scholars in the west studying Chinese historic cities revealed a unique Chinese urban model. However, the contemporary urban geography of Chinese cities have been left unexplored until the 1980s. Since then published works have focused on issues created by changed government policy as well as new market forces on the heightened pace of urbanization and urban development. In this book Sit addresses two fundamental questions: what is the nature of the Chinese city? Is there a Chinese city model that stands the test of time and change in governments and their ruling philosophies? Beijing, as the capital of imperial China for 800 years and the current national capital of Communist China, has been used as a case study. The book reviews the nature of Chinese cities, particularly Beijing, through the long historical past. The first two chapters are devoted to reveal the differences between traditional Chinese concept of the city from what has been accepted in the Western world. For Sit, Chinese city arose in history not because of the economic needs for trade and concentrated development for handcrafts, but as an auspicious site for man's communication with the universe and the centre for dissemination of such information,
299
Book reviews and it drew on itself forces of growth because of such a specialization. Furthermore, the choice of Beijing as the national capital reflected not only the consistent Chinese considerations of centrality and the maintenance of a harmonious relationship between man and the universe but also the economic and ethnic processes of spatial development. It was these forces which led to the separation of the political and military centre (the north) from the economic focus of the country (the south). Against such a background, the development of Beijing in the Mind and Qing dynasties was examined in Chapter 3. From Chapter 4 the book turns to the contemporary development of Beijing since 1949. The socialist planning principles include those applied by the then USSR and other Fast European countries are reviewed first, followed by an examination of the history of planning from 1949 up to the end of 1980s. Planning strategy formulated under the help of Soviet planning experts during the early period for industrial expansion in this historical city proved a mistake which the author believes requires one or two more decades to correct. The remaining chapters focus on sectoral levels, on urban and spatial growth (Chapter 5), economic development (Chapter 6), population growth and its spatial pattern (Chapter 7), urban housing and housing reforms (Chapter 8), urban environment and preserving the old city (Chapter 9), transport (Chapter 10) and social areas (Chapter 11). In each chapter, the author has commented on the experiences in two different period: the pre-reform period of 1949-77 and the reform period of 1978-92. Chapter 12 provides a summary of Chinese views of the development experiences in the city during the 40 years and the municipality's strategy for guiding the city's development up to the year 2050 which intend to combine socialist principles and the market-oriented Western approach. In the former, a reemphasis on population control and the exhortation of the spirit of socialism are called for. The latter includes restructuring the urban economy based on new enterprise autonomy
300
and market forces, and municipal reform to allow the city authority much wider planning and development control power as well as the right to charge users according to the market rule. The conclusion addresses the fundamental question about the Chinese socialist city model. Sit concludes that there is a Chinese socialist city model, and it existed in and before the 1980s. As an old-established national capital of China, Beijing is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese cultural traits. Nevertheless, the combination of the Confucian value and Soviet model centralism in authority and power makes the capital the 'model city'. After more than 40 years of Communist control, the capital still retains the feudal role of being the national centre of 'communication and control', and serves the long tradition as an example for the rest of the country. However, the recent changes in the city during the 1990s brought some uncertainty about the future direction of the development and nature of the city. Sit recommends that the municipality must identify the city's place within the information and technology based global city system, and decentralize or relocate old industries from the city; improve its infrastructure for high-level tertiary activities; and emphasize the cultural and historic values. As the author has claimed, the book spans a wide latitude both in time and in aspects of the urban geography of the city. Although it is a book on Beijing, it includes discussions on historical Chinese city development and materials on socialist city development in other parts of the world, particularly the former USSR. These would be useful for readers who are interested in Chinese historic urban development and the socialist urban planning movement in general. They, however, extended the text to an unnecessary length. Great details in discussion, particularly the use of large amount of quantitative data in discussion, demonstrate the author's knowledge and authorities on the topic and the city. They provide an important information source for specialists in Chinese development studies. For others there
are too many of them to be comprehended and remembered, especially technical ones such as those on air pollution and noise levels. With very rapid changes in policy and practice and the concentration of capital in large cities, any research on Chinese urban development faces the problem of keeping the pace with reality. The book was published in 1995 and the major developments were examined up to 1992. Since then important developments have taken place in Beijing. A new overall/structure plan for the period from 1991 to 2010 has been approved by the State Council in 1993; this will have profound effects on the future development of the city and its surrounding areas. Although there are intensive studies on cities, written in Chinese, inside the country itself in recent years, there is no published work which examines the contemporary development of a particular Chinese city in this comprehensive way in English. Sit's language advantage, long time experience in research on China and deep insight on the internal function of the Chinese system developed through the years make the book a valuable contribution to the much needed research on the Chinese cities. As the national capital in a highly centralized political system Beijing offered the best example for other Chinese cities. Planners, historians, geographers and particularly sinologists will find the book interesting.
Dr Ya Ping Wang School of Planning and Housing Edinburgh College of Art/ Heriot- Watt University Edinburgh EH3 9DF, UK
Heritage, Tourism and Society edited by David T Herbert
Mansell London (199.5) 228 pp £40.00 hb David Herbert has edited a book in which he rightly describes heritage as 'big business' and one of the major economic and entrepreneurial 'success stories of recent years'. The book is marketed as being 'a timely examination of the [contentious] issues ...