Figure - uploaded by Jesse Rodenbiker
Content may be subject to copyright.

Types of land 'ownership' in relation to processes of ecological territorialization
Source publication
Across contemporary China, city governments are unevenly territorializing peri‐urban villagers’ land and housing by creating new urban ecological conservation sites. I analyze this emerging form of what I call ‘ecological territorialization’ through three interrelated spatial practices: comprehensive urban–rural planning, peri‐urban ‘ecological mig...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... are able to obtain proprietary ownership over land through obtaining the use right of the land, without ever vesting land ownership with an entity outside the state. Table 2 summarizes types of land ownership in relation to processes of ecological territorialization. ...Citations
... China is currently undergoing a transition characterized by economic restructuring and a shift from old to new growth drivers. Therefore, addressing critical issues such as urban ecosystem degradation, escalating environmental pollution, and diminishing resource-carrying capacity is of utmost importance (Rodenbiker, 2020;Li et al. 2023). ...
Abstracts
This study constructs a indicators system of urban ecological resilience based on “resistance-adaptation-recovery”, and measures the level of cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2021. Utilizing the Dagum Gini coefficient, traditional and spatial kernel density methods, and geographical detector, the study comprehensively analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution and causes of urban ecological resilience in these regions across multiple dimensions. Furthermore, it explores different paths for enhancing resilience of the two regions. The results indicate: (1) The urban ecological resilience level of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is significantly lower than that of the Yellow River Basin, yet it exhibits a faster growth rate. Both regions show a distribution characterized by “higher in the east, lower in the west”. (2) The overall internal differences between the two regions show a downward trend. The Yangtze River Economic Belt exhibited more pronounced spatial imbalances compared to the Yellow River Basin; however, since 2011, this trend has reversed. (3) The overall resilience in both regions is improving, and the absolute gap is gradually narrowing, showing a significant trend towards polarization in terms of evolutionary features. Cities with lower resilience levels demonstrate increased upward mobility, while cities with higher levels exhibit low mobility or even a decline. (4) Differences in restoration and adaptative capabilities are the principal intrinsic factors affecting the resilience differences between the two regions, whereas variations in economic development and capital efficiency serve as important extrinsic factors determining their spatiotemporal evolution differences. (5) Increasing investment in green technologies, promoting industrial low-carbon transformations, encouraging social green investments, and strengthening green technological innovations are crucial strategies for enhancing urban ecological resilience in both regions. Meanwhile, optimizing open channels significantly improves the urban ecological resilience in the Yellow River Basin.
... Concentrating rural settlements into new resettlement housing of new multi-floor buildings has been widely seen in China (Ong, 2014). Ecological conservation is used to justify relocation and resettlement (Rodenbiker, 2020). ...
... When asked why the concept of a park city emerged in Chengdu, Wang Kai, the director of CAUPD, explained that Chengdu is located in superior geographical areas where traditionally forests and residential compounds were combined into these forest-residential compounds. The park city begins with an ecology that takes on developmental meaning and hopes to restore the relationship between the urban and natural environment (Rodenbiker, 2020). Reflecting on the ecology, the park city conserves the natural environment and adds new green spaces, modifies existing green areas through landscaping and opens them up for consumption. ...
... Under green state entrepreneurialism, development is achieved through land financing. It removes informal village development in the peri-urban area under ecological conservation, strengthening the state's power (Rodenbiker, 2020). Under the 'land linkage' policy -a Chinese version of the transfer of development rights (TDR) -ecological protection generates the quota of land development for adjacent areas (Shi and Tang, 2020). ...
This paper uses the perspective of state entrepreneurialism to explore China’s environmental governance. The perspective illustrates how the Chinese state maintains its centrality, combining environmentalism and developmentalism while deploying flexible market development tools. This paper examines the Chengdu park-city model, an exemplar President Xi Jinping endorsed and widely emulated in China. The model combines the development of industrial and ecological spaces. It aims to deliver the central government’s vision for ecological civilisation and the local government’s economic development strategy. The development tools include land consolidation, financial mobilisation and an economic strategy that attempts to introduce ‘urban scenes’ into ecological spaces. This ecologically oriented development approach is more state-centred, contrasting with the neoliberal green growth machine.
... Housing conditions and home ownership are also important factors affecting social vulnerability (Ignacio et al. 2015). Rural areas experience more environmental displacement than urban areas largely due to the differences in housing and living conditions (Rodenbiker 2020). Moreover, under similar housing conditions, home owners tend to be at an advantage and are less likely than renters to be displaced. ...
Enhancing disaster risk governance is crucial for improving the ability to cope with and adapt to the impacts of climate change. China experiences a diverse range of natural disasters distributed widely across the country. The evolving demographic, socio-economic, and geographic landscape requires heightened attention as it significantly shapes the extent and dynamics of regional vulnerability to natural hazards. This study aims to evaluate the spatial and temporal changes of social vulnerability in China based on data at the county level in the years of 2000, 2010 and 2020. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was constructed by adopting nine demographic and socio-economic variables drawn from the variables in the US CDC SVI framework using Principal Component Analysis. Both economic development and demographic factors played important roles in determining the patterns of spatial distribution of SVI over the period. Result of spatial data analysis reveals distinctive and stable spatial heterogeneity of social vulnerability across counties. Furthermore, we applied the SVI with real-world impact data to validate the effectiveness and relevance of the constructed index. Using drought risk as an illustrative example, the research also assessed the applicability of the SVI in evaluating drought risks in China, considering hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Public and private decision-makers can use the constructed SVI to identify hot spots and population subgroups that are most vulnerable to natural hazards to inform and facilitate adequate risk prevention and management at the national and local levels.
... Peri-urban regions present unique challenges, demanding equitable resource allocation, thoughtful service provision, and the preservation of both urban amenities and rural livelihoods. Striking a balance between urban growth and rural preservation becomes paramount in these transitional spaces (Rodenbiker, 2020). ...
In the face of rapid urbanization and industrialization, the expansion of constructive land has introduced profound shifts in land distribution and resource utilization, posing intricate challenges to regional ecological landscapes. As this expansion alters ecological domains and degrades environmental quality, the imperative for pre-emptive ecological early warnings becomes paramount. This research presents a dynamic methodology that employs advanced modeling techniques to forecast constructive land expansion trajectories and delineate ecological functional zones. Focusing on Xuzhou City as a case study, our study integrates quantitative analysis with empirical data to offer insights into evolving ecological challenges. By revealing the temporal dimension of constructive land growth, our research pioneers a proactive approach to harmonizing urban development and ecological preservation. The findings transcend regional boundaries, providing a replicable framework for sustainable urbanization and environmental management. This study illuminates a forward-looking lens, fortifying the synergy between human progress and the equilibrium of the natural world.
... Because these governable spaces emerge through municipal state zoning for ecological protection, I refer to the process as 'ecological territorialization'. Ecological territorialization, in municipal regions, entails urban-rural conservation planning practices and widespread resettlement, which facilitates the extension of municipal power over rural land and people (Rodenbiker, 2020(Rodenbiker, , 2023. ...
... Within the planning process, multiple overlapping functions (gongneng) are ascribed to parcels of land demarcated for ecological protection. This centralized planning process therefore consolidates functional planning across municipal regions and introduces overlapping functionalities wherein ecological land designations overlap with other designations (Rodenbiker, 2020). ...
... Peri-urban ecological migration refers to the involuntary resettlement of people living in close proximity to cities as part of state conservation efforts (Rodenbiker, 2020). Ecological migration (shengtai yimin) is an official state term that emerged in the 1990s in relation to largescale anti-desertification and grassland management policies in China's West and North. ...
This chapter demonstrates how urban-rural conservation planning facilitates the territorialization of peri-urban land by municipal governments. I draw on a political ecology framework to detail what I call ‘ecological territorialization’. Ecological territorialization, in municipal regions, entails urban-rural conservation planning practices, multi-functional land zoning, and state-private partnerships, which are crucial to extending municipal power over rural land and populations. These processes spur myriad and uneven socio-economic trajectories for peri-urban ecological migrants who undergo uneven resettlement processes and livelihood transitions. In contemporary China, urban-rural conservation planning is key to producing frontiers of land-based accumulation and extending local state control across the peri-urban fringe. As ecological territorialization extends the reach of the local state, it simultaneously reorients rural people’s relationships to land, labor, and housing in ways contingent on spatiotemporal politics of land and housing valuation, compensation, and rural social organization.
... Land zoning initiatives, such as ecological redlining, have become national policy and are routinely portrayed as central to building an Ecological Civilisation and a Beautiful China. Central government mandates to zone 20 per cent of land for ecological protection have introduced conservation planning techniques that extend the territorial reach of municipal states over rural hinterlands and transform the livelihoods of residents (Rodenbiker 2020). Ecological states-state formations expressed and constituted in relation to ecology-are now widespread across mainland China (Rodenbiker forthcoming). ...
Geoengineering for aesthetic and utilitarian
ends, this essay argues, is part and parcel of the
banal operation of state power in contemporary
China. In contrast with Kantian articulations of
the sublime, turn-of-the-century thinkers like
Zhang Jingsheng and contemporary Chinese
politicians and scientists espouse an ecological
sublime undergirded by mechanistic and utilitarian
logics expressed through techniques of altering
earth systems. Intervening in earth systems to
produce an experience of the ecological sublime,
therefore, operates as an aesthetic modality of
power—one that positions the Chinese State as the
mechanistic producer of beauty and utility in nature.
... Land zoning initiatives, such as ecological redlining, have become national policy and are routinely portrayed as central to building an Ecological Civilisation and a Beautiful China. Central government mandates to zone 20 per cent of land for ecological protection have introduced conservation planning techniques that extend the territorial reach of municipal states over rural hinterlands and transform the livelihoods of residents (Rodenbiker 2020). Ecological states-state formations expressed and constituted in relation to ecology-are now widespread across mainland China (Rodenbiker forthcoming). ...
... The greenway development is still a local government initiative rather than a direct requirement from the central government. But the salient feature of this initiative is its ecological emphasis, consolidating non-agricultural rural uses and building green spaces and parks, which is also seen in China's conservation planning in peri-urban areas (Rodenbiker, 2020). ...
This paper examines the recent green turn in China by investigating a large-scale urban greenway project. Using the perspective of the socio-ecological fix, we demonstrate that multi-scalar states strive to upgrade environmental quality. Specifically, the local state seizes the opportunity for ‘ecological civilisation’ envisioned by the central state to carry out green infrastructure development. We reveal complex motivations to incorporate ecological changes into entrepreneurial urban governance instead of encroaching greenspace for economic growth. Our state-centred analysis reveals that such an environmental strategy, the making of Chinese green urbanism, is promoted like a political mission, despite its operation by the development corporation. We argue that, while the socio-ecological fix facilitates capital accumulation, its deployment must be understood through state politics and actors.
... Talk is of the capacity and capability of urban leaders to invest in ecological management and low carbon energy restructuring as an integral part of urban competitive advantage (Zhang & Wu, 2021). Urban ecological restructuring can generate support and resources for the remaking of urban space that serves the interests of elite groups (Desfor & Keil, 2004;Dooling, 2009;Pearsall & Anguelovski, 2016;Rodenbiker, 2020). Rodenbiker (2020), for example, has used the term 'ecological enclosures' to describe the ways in which arguments for ecological management are used to justify policies which reorganise urban land in China in favour of governing interests. ...
... Urban ecological restructuring can generate support and resources for the remaking of urban space that serves the interests of elite groups (Desfor & Keil, 2004;Dooling, 2009;Pearsall & Anguelovski, 2016;Rodenbiker, 2020). Rodenbiker (2020), for example, has used the term 'ecological enclosures' to describe the ways in which arguments for ecological management are used to justify policies which reorganise urban land in China in favour of governing interests. Dooling (2009) has examined how environmental policy has been used in the US to displace or exclude economically vulnerable people, notably the homeless, whilst 'espousing an environmental ethic'. ...
... Our particular focus in the paper is with the underexplored social and distribution impacts of this environmental and ecological turn. Rodenbiker (2020) for example, has explored how ecological policy is being used by city governments across China to extend state control over peri-urban land, which can involve the displacement of people from rural land and housing and the imposition of urban governmental control over rural land. In doing so, urban governments often exploit ambiguities in the legal and constitutional of residential land right, representing a form of ecological enclosure to extend state power. ...
There has been growing research interest in processes of selective ‘ecological gentrification’ and ‘environmental enclosure’ in cities where environmental controls are used to attract and retain more affluent residents and attract higher value economic development. This dimension of urban policy might be increasingly relevant to major Chinese cities, which are facing increasing competitive pressures to reorient modes of growth and development around ecological security and quality of life in social and environmental domains. In that context, we examine the development and implementation of the ‘basic ecological control line’ policy (BECL) in the fast-growing city of Shenzhen. In essence the BECL marks a rezoning of the city to enhance ecology and reverse previous environmental degradation, but in doing so it also does political work in reordering space in line with changing economic and social priorities. The question we ask is how the BECL might be read in the context of ecological gentrification and the wider political context of Chinese urban policy. Through detailed empirical investigation, we trace the political economy of the BECL and draw out the insights it offers on transitional urban economy-ecology relations in China and theories of urban environmentalism more generally.
... Urban and regional planning practices, therefore, have tended to extend the reach of municipal states over rural areas. Coordinated urban-rural planning entails a set of spatial planning mechanisms and administrative practices through which rural land on the fringe of cities is brought into the reach of municipal government hierarchies (Rodenbiker, 2020). Because of the high value of their land and few legal protections of land use rights, rural people, particularly those residing in peri-urban areas, are vulnerable to land acquisition and forced migration. ...
... Since 2012, the beginning of the Xi Jinping era, harmonious society discourses have largely been subsumed into those aimed at "building an ecological civilization" (Rodenbiker, 2021a;Zhang and Wu, 2022). Mechanisms advanced under these national planning campaigns include green building programs (Zhou, 2015), eco-cities (Chen, 2013;Chang, 2019), and ecological protection (Rodenbiker, 2020). Nevertheless, urban planning continues to operate under logics of economic-growth and contribute to municipal government territoriality. ...
... Economic growth and development remain paramount within recent experiments in participatory planning and ecological protection. Recent work details how green zoning reconfigures the territorial relationships between city and country in ways that extend the reach of municipal states (Chen, 2013;Rodenbiker, 2019Rodenbiker, , 2020. Regarding the ecological ends of such projects, Zhang and Wu (2022) suggest that, in pursuit of ecological civilization under state entrepreneurialism, local states perform an ecological fix. ...
Research on China’s urban planning sector has largely focused on its role in delivering economic growth and state objectives. Yet China’s urban planning practices are producing new forms of social injustice, which few studies explicitly examine. The paper details three types of social injustice stemming from urban planning and urbanization processes: 1) economic disparities related to land and housing dispossession and speculation, 2) dissolution of social networks and relative precarity for rural-to-urban resettlement migrants, and 3) in-situ marginalization for residents excluded from urban planning. It further proposes that these types of social injustice can be addressed through distributional, participatory, and recognition-oriented mechanisms. Centering justice can reconfigure the aims, processes, and outcomes of planning practice, thereby reducing inequalities embedded within China’s urbanization. Without deprioritizing economic growth and state-led entrepreneurialism, however, justice-oriented planning can offer but partial remedies. The conclusion discusses pathways for researchers and planners to contribute to a just planning transition and advance social justice in China’s cities.