A new city for a new era: Xiong’an as showcase of China’s evolving urban ideology

Cities have long been expressions of political ideology in China and elsewhere. During China’s rapid urbanization over the past few decades, “new areas” became popular strategies to promote urban growth, following the success of Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s first special economic zone. Today under Xi, Xiong’an New Area has become the latest “new area of national significance.” But unlike previous new areas in China, Xiong’an has become wedded to a distinct vision of the urban in Xi Jinping’s China, one in which the excesses of reform-era urbanization are controlled through new forms of affordable housing and finance, new ecological planning approaches and digitized government services. Through an analysis of the rhetoric and ideas used to promote the city, gleaned from archival analysis and financial data, this article shows how Xiong’an has become a showcase for a new ideology of the urban under Xi Jinping.