The Role of Planning in the Development of Shenzhen, China: Rhetoric and Realities

This paper examines the role played by socioeconomic and spatial planning in the development of China's first special economic zone (SEZ), Shenzhen. More specifically, it analyzes the impacts of socioeconomic five- and ten-year plans and Master Layout Plans in Shenzhen's metamorphosis from an industry-based SEZ relying on domestic investment (early 1980s) to a modern metropolis sustained by an export-oriented economy. The authors explore the tension between local officials' aspirations to make Shenzen a 21st century "world city" and the dual obstacles of policy control by the central government and the need to harness local development within Shenzhen. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H70, O18, O20. 2 figures, 4 tables, 67 references.