Planning the Competitive City-Region

This article analyzes the emergence of the so-called urban strategic development plan in China during inter-city competition and new entrepreneurial governance. Driven by market-oriented development and globalization, the local government attempts to overcome the constraints of conventional statutory planning to promote a visionary city plan. Through case studies of Guangzhou and Hangzhou, we argue that the strategic plan is more or less a mission statement of the local political leaders and thus has a narrow social foundation. The emergence of the strategic plan reflects the overall shift of city planning towards being an important instrument for enhancing economic competitiveness.