The Enriched Field. Urbanising the Central Plains of China

Over the last twenty years, unprecedented urban growth has been transforming China: new towns dot the landscape, suburbanisation is exploding everywhere, and new ways of building on and living in agricultural spaces are transforming rural areas. The Central Plains in Henan Province is at the frontier of these developments. The formerly agricultural region is undergoing radical changes that are giving rise to a new landscape unlike anything ever seen in twentieth-century China or anywhere else in the world. This publication explores these new conditions based on four years of research and fieldwork. It examines the socio-spatial implications of national and local policies and planning, and investigates the newly built infrastructures, housing, and production spaces. With a rich collection of original maps and photo essays, this book offers a fresh perspective on the Chinese city and a stimulating basis for reconceptualising urban design.