Rethinking Southern Urbanism from the PeripheryGlobal urban studies have seen a peripheral turn, as researchers shifted their gaze from the central city to the peri-urban areas. This shift in perspective is crucial for studying cities in the Global South, as most urban growth in the Global South has taken place on the urban fringes. This essay surveys the evolving scholarship on urban China and considers how China as a case study may illuminate the peripheral turn in global urban studies. It argues that urban China research needs to move beyond the largest cities in the country and study a wider range of peripheral regions and urban experiences. Northeast China is used as an example to illustrate how the narrative on Chinese urbanism can be enriched by taking a peripheral view. It then proposes some comparative questions to rethink southern urbanism from the periphery.
Keywords:
Global South; Urbanization; Urban Space; Periphery; Southern Urbanism; China; Comparison