The urbanization rate in China soared from 29.4% in 1996 to 52.6% in 2012 following an upsurge in the construction of development zones, new urban districts and international metropolises.

China’s urbanization is one of the two major events that will affect the development of human society in the 21st century, according to Joseph Stiglitz, the acclaimed American Nobel prize-winning economist, the other being the next round of the US-led new technological revolution.

Urbanization, an inexorable trend of economic and social development, can act as a benchmark to gauge the economic and societal progress of a country. Since the founding of the PRC, and especially since the reform and opening-up process was launched in 1978, China has witnessed a marked upward spike in the size of its urban population. This trend has accelerated in recent decades, with small towns and cities emerging in large numbers. The authors of this textbook explore the evolution of the economy, society, ecology and culture associated with urbanization, to reveal the distinctive characteristics of urbanization in contemporary China. They examine the changes taking place in towns and cities since the start of reform and opening up, and investigate how the Chinese government has been working to establish an institutional framework to guarantee that urbanization develops in a sustainable way.