How did collectivity retention affect land use transformation in peri-urban areas of China? A case of Panyu, Guangzhou: Fid-Bau Portal

How did collectivity retention affect land use transformation in peri-urban areas of China? A case of Panyu, Guangzhou

Yao, Zhihao / Tian, Li

Abstract It is argued that the competition for land rent gap or surplus is inclined to incur redevelopment. However, there exist various models of redevelopment due to different relationships among stakeholders. In this research, we introduce the framework of collective retention constituted by “power relations” and “path-dependence.” We do so in order to explain why collective retention emerged within the scope of collective land redevelopment in the Pearl River Delta, an area where the state began granting collectives land redevelopment rights via a land profit-sharing scheme in 2009. Taking the Panyu district of Guangzhou as a case study, this paper examines how collective retention affects land transformation from rural to urban use in peri-urban areas. It finds that preference discrepancy in land-use change among local state, collectives, and villagers generates significant conflicts in rural renewal process, making the cost to achieve consensus significantly high. Moreover, collectives’ path dependence on the rental economy hinders their incentives to engage in village redevelopment. The retention of collective ownership has slowed the process of land use transformation and strengthened landholding within the rentier class.

Highlights • Collectives retain collective ownership during the process of rural land use transformation. • Preference discrepancy of stakeholders generates significant conflicts of interest in rural renewal. • Collectives’ path-dependence on rental economy hinders them to engage in redevelopment.