Rethinking development and regeneration in urban and rural China

China’s urban and rural development model has experienced a profound shift over the past decade as rapid urbanisation, land-driven growth and demolition-led redevelopment have become increasingly unviable. With the decline of land-lease revenues and the property sector crisis, cities have moved away from a modernist approach toward incremental, in-situ and micro-regeneration strategies that emphasise heritage conservation, environmental quality and improved livelihoods. These changing development modalities have reshaped the social impacts of redevelopment: while large-scale state-led resettlement persists in some mega-projects, rising compensation costs and reduced fiscal incentives have curtailed demolition, drawing attention to subtler forms of tenant displacement and in-situ marginalisation. At the same time, evolving governance practices have introduced limited forms of public participation and strengthened the managerial, territorially oriented role of the state. Collectively, these shifts mark a transition from entrepreneurial, growth-driven urbanism toward more hybrid and stability-focused forms of urban governance in post-growth China.