ECONOMIC-REFORMS AND SOCIALIST CITY STRUCTURE - A CASE-STUDY OF GUANGZHOU, CHINA

This paper examines the impact of the 1978 economic reforms on the soc ialist nature of the Chinese city, using Guangzhou, one of the most op en cities in China, as a case study. Despite a reorientation of Guangz hou's role as a trade center and port, labor is still predominantly en gaged in the secondary sector with a strong emphasis on heavy industry . Tertiary activities have only recently attained an equivalent level of importance during the early Communist period and exhibit a noticeab le dearth of the more advanced forms of tertiary activities, such as f inance, insurance, and real estate. The spatial structure of the city of Guangzhou has developed according to a State-approved Master Plan w ith socialist influences and has evolved into three interdependent lin ear clusters separated by agricultural land and linked by west-east-ru nning highways and railroads. Residential differentiation is based on occupation types which are related to the land use in the city. The ci ty planners continue to practice the socialist method of planning, inc luding standardization, city-size control, and application of the neig hborhood unit concept. The economic system of the city is still firmly based on public (state sector) production. Guangzhou exhibits the cha racteristics of a city in transition from a planned system to a market -oriented economy and highlights the political-ideological conflicts o f urban development in post-reform China.