City Profile: Datong, China
Li , Chenguang
City Profile: Datong, China - Sage, 2019. - Vol 10, Issue 2, 2019 (176–192 p.)
Small- and medium-sized cities have not received enough scholarly attention in China. In fact, these cities have a larger share of urban population than large-sized cities. Therefore, the paper focuses on one
such typical medium-sized city in North China named Datong; a resource-reliant city with a long history but undergoing a difficult phase of transformation. Its industrial structure is upgrading from unitary
resource-dependence to balanced development, but it is also accompanied by recessive unemployment
and a depressed consumption pattern of its residents. Datong’s urban planning generally reflects the
ideas of its leaders and often demonstrates high efficiency and execution. However, abrupt change in
the leadership has brought new challenges such as constant adjustment and restructuring along with
huge investment and financial risks to cities. This model also fully illustrates the self-repairing and errorcorrecting ability, which is guiding Datong towards sustainable development.
Datong,
urbanization,
urban transformation,
sustainable development
City Profile: Datong, China - Sage, 2019. - Vol 10, Issue 2, 2019 (176–192 p.)
Small- and medium-sized cities have not received enough scholarly attention in China. In fact, these cities have a larger share of urban population than large-sized cities. Therefore, the paper focuses on one
such typical medium-sized city in North China named Datong; a resource-reliant city with a long history but undergoing a difficult phase of transformation. Its industrial structure is upgrading from unitary
resource-dependence to balanced development, but it is also accompanied by recessive unemployment
and a depressed consumption pattern of its residents. Datong’s urban planning generally reflects the
ideas of its leaders and often demonstrates high efficiency and execution. However, abrupt change in
the leadership has brought new challenges such as constant adjustment and restructuring along with
huge investment and financial risks to cities. This model also fully illustrates the self-repairing and errorcorrecting ability, which is guiding Datong towards sustainable development.
Datong,
urbanization,
urban transformation,
sustainable development