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There is now a substantial literature on various aspects of contemporary Chinese urbanization. There are, however, few recent studies of Chinese cities which examine social change and social interaction at the level of the urban neighbourhood. This paper seeks to fill some of this gap in current knowledge. It draws on a social survey of three contrasting neighbourhoods undertaken in Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta, one of the most economically dynamic and rapidly urbanizing areas in the world. The paper explores inter alia the meaning of neighbourhood, sense of local belonging and community, and patterns and incidence of mutual assistance. The paper reflects on the extent to which market reforms are transforming patterns of local social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Guangdong is the province one step ahead in China and Guangzhou is the city one step ahead in Guangdong.' Being one of the most economically active cities in China, Guangzhou citizens have generally experienced improved living standards and a better quality of life since the economic reform started in the late 1970s. What is also true is that economic modernization has changed the social structure, allowing far more social mobility in the post-Mao society. Nowadays, people living in Guangzhou have more job choices in a relatively free labour market. This paper is set in such a socio-economic context to examine the job preferences and work ethics of Guangzhou citizens, with particular reference to what changes have taken place in people's work values after the adoption of a market economy in the mainland. The paper is based on our current research projects conducted in the Guangzhou area to examine how socio-economic changes have affected people's value orientations and is confined to discussion of whether people living in Guangzhou have changed their attitudes towards work in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the slogan of 'weiquan' (defending our rights), homeowners in urban China are increasingly prepared to stand up for their rights of ownership, often through non-confrontational actions organized by homeowners' associations (yeweihui). There is also a growing concern for the need to create collective platforms on which homeowners' associations can support one another, muster their collective resources against powerful developers and lobby for status as legitimate organizations. The activists involved in this work are well aware of its political sensitivity in a regime that is antagonistic towards autonomous organizations, which are seen as posing a threat to its hegemony. Based on a case study in Guangzhou, this paper traces the tactics that housing activists have employed to create horizontal cooperation among homeowners' associations to defend their rights and devise 'boundary-spanning' strategies that exploit divisions within the state apparatus. The Guangzhou union of homeowners' associations can be regarded as an experiment in organizational infrastructure which has far-reaching implications. This study sheds light on the complexities as well as the institutional fluidity of state-society interactions in contemporary urban China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how the different political opportunity structures (POS) are related to NGO mobilization in two Chinese cities, Guangzhou and Hangzhou. Based on 48 interviews from 2016–2019, the study finds that variance in NGO mobilization is related to differences such as rules for NGO registration, more or less open-minded local leaders, and a relatively more independent media. NGO governance in Hangzhou is characterized as coopted participation. A few NGOs are allowed some influence in policy making, but in order to be allowed to mobilize, NGOs must accept a certain degree of cooptation. NGO governance in Guangzhou is characterized as constrained autonomy as the government plays a less active role in mobilizing NGOs, and more initiative for policy influence comes from the NGOs themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique dataset based on a survey conducted by the Guangzhou Land Resources and Housing Administrative Bureau from November 2009 to January 2010, this article examines the sources and distribution of the hidden income of residents from different occupational backgrounds, taking into consideration their explicit income and other socio-economic characteristics. The results show that government officials not only had the highest but also the most stable hidden income, followed by employees in state-owned enterprises and employees in colleges or research institutions. Among government officials, those holding higher-level positions possessed more hidden income than those in lower-level positions. These findings have implications for China's labour market, taxation and resource allocation, and need to be taken into consideration in future economic and political policy designs and implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge in automobile use in the Pearl River Delta region has led to a substantial elevation of ambient concentrations of vehicle-based air pollutants. These pollutants have created a region-wide air pollution problem marked by a steady increase in the number of smoggy days in the Delta, presenting a serious threat to public health. Evidence gathered from Guangzhou suggests that the city's strategy for controlling urban air pollution has not been effective in tackling the newly emerging, combustion engine-generated class of pollutants because it is misguided by a highly selective and outdated urban air quality monitoring system. The disarticulation between vehicular emissions and urban emission control measures shows that a central government-prescribed methodology for air quality monitoring can strongly influence the policy priorities and administrative behavior of local government institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]