De-peripheralization and rural land capitalization: An empirical study of a public–private partnership in Zhaoqing, China

Abstract

Classical urban geography theories determine the distribution of population, production and economic activities on geospatial features. Under this assumption, peripheral regions are rarely prosperous. Depopulation, weak industrial and employment structure and inefficient and fragmented land use form a negative feedback loop. Within the context of economic revitalization of peripheral area, this paper introduces an innovative Chinese practice on de-peripheralization on the basis of two months of empirical research on the ‘two-stage land demutualization reform’ in Zhaoqing, a city located at the peripheries of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The reform successfully bonds the local stakeholders, stimulates the economy and resolves the land value capturing issue in urbanization. Local farmers in Zhaoqing founded an investment company with agricultural fields demutualized into stock shares and collaborated with the local government in improving local infrastructures and promoting economic investment in the secondary/tertiary sector. An in-depth profile of the public–private partnership mechanism is collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with locals. The results of the policy evaluation show that the rural land capitalization and inclusive design of the partnership regime removed the institutional barriers to socio-economic development and brought attraction to the underprivileged area. The proposed joint development and value sharing policy framework contribute to the literature of institutional renovation for economic de-peripheralization, especially for practices in land readjustment and zoning, resident resettlement, local employment provision and value capturing.