Capital accumulation and urban land development in China: (Re)making Expo Park in Shanghai. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Lingyue; Xiao, Yang
• Is Part Of: Land use policy. Volume 112(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: Land banking -- Capital accumulation -- State entrepreneurialism -- Mega-Events -- Expo Park -- Shanghai; Land use -- Periodicals; Land use -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Sol, Utilisation du -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation du -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.7305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104472
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-8377

Abstract

Highlights: Spatial fix in mega-events is realized through pre-event land resumption, land holding and site preparation, and post-event land disposition. An ad hoc quasi-government in proximity to the central state and on behalf of the municipal official mobilized administrative resources to aid land resumption in the pre-Expo phase, so as to tailor space of inefficient accumulation mode. Interests within the state system are prioritized in the post-Expo phase, facilitated by the restructured municipal state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Unlike the traditional entrepreneurial governance which takes profits making from land development and increased tax basis as its ultimate objective, (re)making Expo Park indicates distinctive characteristics of state entrepreneurialism that focuses on industrial upgrading, national strength and prioritizes the interests of the state over those of others. Abstract: This study goes beyond the crisis-based understanding of spatial fix to consider a holistic exploration of capital accumulation and urban land development in association with a mega-event in China. Decoding the event-triggered land banking ( tudi chubei ) process in the (re)making of Expo Park, it shifts the focus of this land-based accumulation to pre-event relocation and post-event investment attraction. The contributions of this study are twofold. First, this study contributes to the mainstream literature by incorporating the place-based mega-event into the study of spatial fix. Spatial fix through mega-events is enacted through pre-Expo primary land development, which reshapes the built environment to articulate a "higher and better use, " followed by a post-Expo land disposition, which fixes investment to accomplish capital restructuring. Second, this study indicates that state entrepreneurialism offers a more accurate interpretation of the governance of land processes led by mega-events than urban entrepreneurialism, and enriches the literature on state entrepreneurialism by illuminating the ways in which capital accumulation is achieved through land development under this governance paradigm. In the pre-Expo phase, a state-owned urban development corporation (UDC) was established to take charge of land finance. An ad hoc quasi-government in proximity to the central state and on behalf of the municipal official mobilized administrative resources to aid land resumption—tailoring space to squeeze out inefficient accumulation modes. In the post-Expo phase, a restructured municipal state-owned enterprise (SOE) took over responsibilities for land disposition from the state-owned UDC and prioritized central state SOEs over other investors.