Development control in post-reform China: the case of Liuhua Lake Park, Guangzhou

The initiation of administrative and economic reforms in China has not only led to the introduction of market mechanisms in allocating urban land reso urces, these reforms have also created new socio-economic demands, which ha ve to be satisfied through spatial restructuring. To offer effective guidan ce over land use changes and development, formal development control mechan isms are established, However, land use planners in China continue to face an uphill battle in controlling development within a society,vith little re spect for rules and regulations. Development control mechanisms are not eff ective because of the absence of well-established planning-related institut ions with clearly defined duties, Planners' role in monitoring spatial chan ge is constantly challenged by the arbitrary intervention of high-level gov ernment officials on one hand, and widespread illegal land transactions and land use developments on the other. This paper discusses these issues with reference to an "illegal" restaurant development in the Liuhua Lake Park i n Guangzhou. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.