A case study of two instances of state-led rural urbanization in China, determining who benefits and who suffers due to rapid urban development in the country.

Recent state-led urbanization initiatives in China have drastically transformed Chinese rural society - closing the urban-rural divide as well as redistributing wealth and altering the flows of social mobility. In this study Jiabao Sun asks: who are the winners and who are the losers in this process? This book uses two case studies of different modes of state-led rural urbanization - in the villages of Tianjin and Zhejiang - in order to assess the impact on the livelihoods of the villagers, as well as the success of the development initiatives. By focusing on the villagers capabilities, assets and support provided this study examines the imbalances of rural redistribution at three levels: among social groups, among villages and between the rural-urban divide.

"A lucid and timely account of a key issue in the development of contemporary China, the process of urbanization with all its associated political and social challenges, with detailed case studies based on the author's own research. An important contribution to the literature on this increasingly important domestic issue." - Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute, King's College London, UK

"China’s New Urbanization: inequality and the new Chinese dream is a highly analytical book." - Eurasian Geography and Economics