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The outcomes and forms of urbanization and modernization in China following the reform and opening of the late 1970s have attracted extensive attention and competing interpretations in scholarly documentation. This paper focuses on Hainan Island, established in 1988 as the biggest special economic zone in China. Since then, considerable inflows of human as well as speculative capital have led to rapid real estate, in particular tourism-related, development. While urban expansion and improvements have been encouraged, the ongoing over-building, unregulated conversion of land use and degradation of the urban environment present serious social and economic problems. This paper summarizes the trajectory, causal factors and outcomes of this urban growth and consequent planning problems that make the island an atypical case in China’s urbanization experience. We argue that the establishment of a practical framework combining socioeconomic planning, land use planning, and the management of both, is crucial to achieve sustainable growth for this transitional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread agreement exists on the broad outlines of the concept of sustainable development for developing countries. This calls for a development model capable of meeting basic needs without depleting natural resources at a rate that robs future generations of their use. In this regard, citizen participation is also considered key to legitimise such policy choices. However, there is considerable disagreement over the substance and meaning of the major components of the concept and the relationship between them. This paper argues that positions in policy disputes over the sustainable development of the forest cluster in two distinct approaches: market-friendly initiatives and grassroots development. Since market economies prevail almost everywhere, the question that is posed concerns the conditions under which the grassroots development approach is included as a significant complement to market-friendly initiatives. This is a political question, requiring an examination of actors, interests and power resources. The paper thus applies a political economy framework to a paired comparison of Mexico, where grassroots development approaches (community forestry) had notable successes, and Chile, where market-friendly forest policy crowded out alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]