Planning control as a tool for reshaping the government–market relationship in urban renewal in Chinese megacities

Developmental state, relaxed control, and active market used to shape the trajectory of neo-liberalized urban renewal in China. However, over the last decade there has been a return of state power in the field of urban renewal, with strong intervention in the megacities of China. Despite the transition of the national strategy and incentives, local governments have exhibited varied urban renewal models. This paper revisits the government–market relationship in urban transformation from the lens of planning control in urban renewal. Taking Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen as examples, it reveals that the local context has created various urban renewal models, and these inter-urban variations have been attributed to natural endowment, economic incentives, and the strength of local society. However, urban renewal in megacities of China have all been inching towards more state control, which is characterized by more active participation of SOEs, and more limited space for private sectors and property owners, which has been implemented through more stringent planning control. Meanwhile, stringent planning control has made urban renewal financially challenging. Therefore, China faces the challenging task of striking the balance between market and state control in its urban renewal. Appropriate relaxation of planning control and local governments’ discretion empowerment should be considered to stimulate urban renewal vitality.