Scale, state and the city: Urban transformation in post-reform China

Globalization has resulted in the change of scalar relations of the state and the city in the contemporary world. The scale theory is developed mainly in the context of capitalist societies. As a general socio-spatial theory, this paper argues that the general principle of scale theory is also relevant to transitional socialist economies where scalar configuration has been rearticulated by liberalization and globalization. It is adopted to describe the profound transformations of the state and the city in China. Multi-scalar in perspective, this paper examines the urban spatial transformation and reconfiguration as rescaling and territorialization processes.