The dissertation focuses on the spatial transformations occurring in the Central Plains of China, Henan Province. In the last three decades the Central Plains have become the new frontier of Chinese urbanisation: a testbed for new policies and spatial development. As a result, the Central Plains is now an urban agglomeration that produces 3.06 percent of China’s GDP and is home to 45.5 million inhabitants of which 30 percent are considered ‘urban population’. In this area of 58,400 square kilometres, the current policies aim to urbanize 4,902 square kilometres to host new inhabitants, new economies and to promote new ways of living and social constructions. Based on detailed descriptions that explain the relationship between the current policies, economies and societies, and the transformations affecting the physical space, the dissertation provides an interpretation that seeks to set out an argument to open up further reflections on what Chinese urbanisation entails for the contemporary city, and more in general, for our way of constructing, living and perceiving it.
