The Pearl River Delta in progressive transformation

Abstract

This introduction gives an outline of the book and explains the context the developments happen in. It sets out to define the notion of “maturing megacities” and stresses why the selected topics are of major relevance for the Pearl River Delta. It explains the thematic focus on projects that deal with the redevelopment, restructuring, and reuse of parts of the urban cores that have already been in use or still are and consist mainly of already built-up areas. This focus allows for a more profound analysis of the evolving strategies of dealing with one of the major challenges of southern Chinese maturing mega-urban regions. The challenges of a combination of changes in market value, functional loss, and physical neglect and the search for appropriate ways to overcome it are outlined here. The chapter sketches crucial background developments in the context of political, socioeconomic, and physical restructuring. It introduces the two major case studies, the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen and the crucial experimental modes of governance that accompany the ongoing reform process.