Professor Weiping WU gives a public lecture on China's urbanization in the global context

As China's urbanization is getting more and more attention and undergoing a socioeconomic and spatial transformation, Weiping WU, Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia GSAPP and Director of the M.S Urban Planning program, gave a public lecture and shared her perspectives on China's cities in the global context at the Beijing Center.

This is also the second event in the 2019 Columbia Beijing Summer East Asian Studies Series, in celebration of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute's 70th anniversary.

For China's urbanization, Professor Wu pointed out that it might not be the truth that China's urbanization and experience is unique as many other people believe. The challenge for many scholars and researchers is to find out the object which they can compare China with. In fact, China's urban experience, in many ways, has important similarities with those in other regions in the world. On the other hand, Professor Wu believes that Chinese development patterns push the boundaries of urban theories. Globalization, migration, market transition, and industrialization are the four major forces that have influenced China's urbanization, added Professor Wu.

According to the definition of urban nowadays, Professor Wu emphasized that every country defines “urban” differently. Hence, it is hard to evaluate the urbanization level of different countries based on the distinct definition of urban.

More than 70 people joined the discussion, and more than 56,000 people watched the event online.