Suburban Beijing: Housing and Consumption in Contemporary China

With spectacular economic growth and rapid urbanization in the last three decades, Chinese cities are experiencing profound social, economic, and spatial transformation, which in turn is shaping people's everyday lives. Suburban Beijing is a timely contribution to our understanding of the societal transformations in urban China and how they affect the lives of different groups of residents. This book has several strengths. First, it adopts a unique angle by conducting an ethnographic study of one large suburban community—Wangjing in northeastern Beijing, whose quarter million residents, the author claims, make it the largest suburban community in Asia. While not intended to represent all suburban communities, the book does a good job reflecting on what is taking place in suburban China through one community. Secondly, with a person-centered perspective, this book contributes to our understanding of urban China by featuring tremendously rich information about these suburban residents, including what they think about...