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Feature town development for inclusive urban development? The case of the Jadeware Feature Town in Yangzhou, China

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  • Yunpeng Zhang

    (Division of Geography and Tourism, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)

Abstract

This article examines the current wave of feature town development in China, a key pillar of China’s new type urbanization strategy. It is based on a case study of a feature town in Yangzhou, which is being developed within Wantou Township, with a focus on tourism nominally connected with the jadeware industry through public–private partnership (PPP). The article first demonstrates how the local government took advantage of inflated institutional incentives and pursued speculative construction and commodification of places. Although PPP introduced new dynamics to project financing and operation, this Jadeware Feature Town project, integral to urban-centric socio-spatial transformations of Wantou, marginalized existing inhabitants, sustained a land-based accumulation and reproduced an urban bias. The experience of the Jadeware Feature Town deviates from the national urbanization strategy’s emphasis on inclusion and equity and raises concerns over whether feature town development, or PPPs, can offer an alternative to exploitative, exclusionary land-based urbanization.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunpeng Zhang, 2022. "Feature town development for inclusive urban development? The case of the Jadeware Feature Town in Yangzhou, China," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 22(1), pages 72-89, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:22:y:2022:i:1:p:72-89
    DOI: 10.1177/14649934211047378
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Shiuh‐shen Chien & Max D. Woodworth, 2018. "China's Urban Speed Machine: The Politics of Speed and Time in a Period of Rapid Urban Growth," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 723-737, July.
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    1. Guangsi Zhang & Xian Chen & Qiang Hu, 2025. "Can “Characteristic Town” construction protect the rural environment and enhance the rural economy? Perspectives on efficiency improvement and economies of scale," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.

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