UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Frontier Boomtown Urbanism: City Building in Ordos Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2001-2011 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9cr46717 Author Woodworth, Max David Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Frontier Boomtown Urbanism: City Building in Ordos Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2001-2011 By Max David Woodworth A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor You-tien Hsing, Chair Professor Richard Walker Professor Teresa Caldeira Professor Andrew F. Jones Fall 2013 Abstract Frontier Boomtown Urbanism: City Building in Ordos Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2001-2011 By Max David Woodworth Doctor of Philosophy in Geography University of California, Berkeley Professor You-tien Hsing, Chair This dissertation examines urban transformation in Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, between 2001 and 2011. The study is situated in the context of research into urbanization in China as the country moved from a mostly rural population to a mostly urban one in the 2000s and as urbanization emerged as a primary objective of the state at various levels. To date, the preponderance of research on Chinese urbanization has produced theory and empirical work through observation of a narrow selection of metropolitan regions of the eastern seaboard. This study is instead a single-city case study of an emergent center for energy resource mining in a frontier region of China. Intensification of coalmining in Ordos coincided with coal-sector reforms and burgeoning demand in the 2000s, which fueled rapid growth in the local economy during the study period. Urban development in a setting of rapid resource-based growth sets the frame in this study in terms of “frontier boomtown urbanism.” Urban transformation is considered in its physical, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Research for this study is based on six months of on-site fieldwork in Ordos, historical research, and reviews of English-language and Chinese-language scholarship. Chapter One of the dissertation provides a discussion of theoretical issues pertaining to historical and current-day frontiers and boomtowns. The idea of the frontier as a space of cultural encounter is discussed in relation to China’s relations with societies inhabiting its borderlands. The frontier is also elucidated in the context of economic-geographical literatures that posit the peculiar economic functions of marginal spaces. The notion of the “commodity frontier” is elaborated in order to position Ordos as a frontier boomtown. Chapter Two of the dissertation examines the processes and mechanisms by which Ordos became a frontier for coalmining in the 2000s. Chapter Three and Chapter Four discuss urban growth amidst a resource boom. Chapter Three considers urban growth through modular land development schemes. Chapter Four employs the idea of gigantism to elucidate the cultural logic of city building. The focus in both chapters is on the 1 production of spectacular new built environments and how these manifest struggles to achieve broader-based and sustainable urban development. Chapter Five examines the phenomenon of private finance as a key driver of urbanization in the frontier boomtown. Unregulated speculative property development is shown to be a key mitigating factor in the local state’s effort to enhance social control through the production of new urban space and reveals an unexamined source of non-state development activity. Frontier boomtown urbanism shows how city building has become the ubiquitous and basic activity of the local state in China. The frontier setting is distinguished by the intensity, pace, and scale of growth and by the highly disorganized course that urbanization takes. 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………… V CHAPTER ONE: Frontiers, boomtowns, and Chinese urban restructuring: A review of literatures …………………………………………………………………………............ 1 CHAPTER TWO: Locating the frontier in Ordos ..…….……………………………… 19 CHAPTER THREE: Becoming a frontier boomtown …..……………………………... 38 CHAPTER FOUR: Gigantism in Genghis Khan Square ………………………………. 53 CHAPTER FIVE: Ghosts in the shell game: The role of gaolidai in making the frontier boomtown ……………………………………………………………………………… 76 CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion …………………………………………………………... 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY …...………………………………………………………………... 102 APPENDICES …….………………………………………………………………….. 115 I List of figures Figure 1. ……………………………………………………………………………….. VI Figure 2. ………………………………………………………………………………... X Figure 3. ……………………………………………………………………………….. 21 Figure 4. ……………………………………………………………………………….. 22 Figure 5. ……………………………………………………………………………….. 23 Figure 6. …………………………………………………………….………………… 30 Figure 7. …………………………………………………………….………………… 33 Figure 8. …………………………………………………………….………………… 34 Figure 9. …………………………………………………………….………………… 39 Figure 10. …………………………………………………………..……………..….... 43 Figure 11. …………….…………………………………………………………..……. 49 Figure 12. ………………………………………………………………………………. 60 Figure 13. ……………………………………………………………………………… 65 Figure 14. ………………………………………………………………………………. 67 Figure 15. ……………………………………………………………………………… 69 Figure 16. …………………………………………………………………………….... 89 Figure 17. ……………………………………………………………...………………. 91 II Acknowledgments This dissertation was only possible with the assistance of a great many people and institutions. It seems only right, however, to begin by thanking those people in Ordos who facilitated my research despite their perplexity over what I was doing and why I was doing it. I can only thank these people anonymously, but they deserve mention all the same. They are friends and contacts who welcomed me into their homes, entertained my endless questions, drove me long distances to see new places, and put me in touch with key people. More than a few stuck their necks out for me in ways I will not soon forget. Without their open hearts and open minds, this dissertation would be very different, indeed. My dissertation committee was hugely influential in the research and writing of this project. Andrew F. Jones has been a steady supporter from day one. Taking the plunge into a Geography dissertation despite being a specialist in literature, Andrew was a meticulous reader of drafts and a constant source of encouragement as well as a valuable sounding board for my ideas in the early stages of the project. Two graduate seminars with Teresa Caldeira were formative in shaping me as an urban scholar. Her breadth of knowledge in urban studies always amazed me. In conversations outside the seminar room, Teresa pushed me to think through and refine difficult theoretical and methodological questions and for that I am immensely grateful. Richard Walker, with his characteristic flair, nudged me toward more rigorous study and better research. A seminar with him during my time as an MA student awakened me to the thrill of academics and reminded me that the stakes involved can be high, indeed, if treated with the proper rigor. Finally, You-tien Hsing has been more than an advisor throughout my years at Berkeley – she has been a true mentor. Since my earliest days as an MA student, her deep knowledge of China has been a constant source of inspiration. But it is her unflagging support shown in her willingness to bring me along on fieldtrips in China, to include me in symposia, to push me to publish, to respond to my frequent inquiries, and to help secure funding that made my experience at Berkeley so rewarding. Her unprepossessing manner masks a fierce intellect and a constant skepticism toward received wisdoms. I feel lucky to have been her student. I also enjoyed the occasional companionship in Ordos of Michael Ulfstjerne of Copenhagen University. Michael was always generous with his time and insights. Our conversations at the Sulide Hotel at the beginning stages of this project were critical in opening up new areas of inquiry and in making my stays in Ordos include a measure of fun. His feedback on early drafts of chapters was invaluable. Also in China, I benefited from conversations about various issues related to Ordos with Patrick Chovanec, Zheng Shaoxiong, Shen Yuan, Michael Pettis, Li Jianjun, Bert de Muynck, and Lin Xiaohui. I also benefited from feedback at the crucial, early stages of this project from Laurence J.C. Ma, Fulong Wu, Xuefei Ren, George C.S. Lin, Wen-hsin Yeh, Lan-chih Po, and Ching-Kwan Lee. This project would also not have been possible without funding for travel and other aspects of research. I would thus like to express my gratitude to the following sources for their generous financial support: the Sigmund Martin Heller Graduate III Division Dissertation Award, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange Doctoral Fellowship, and the UC Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies and Department of Geography. At Berkeley, I benefited tremendously from a cohort of brilliant colleagues and extraordinary staff. Special mention must be made to Albert Velazquez and Adam Romero, companions in an extra-curricular reading group that proved foundational to my studies. Shih-yang Kao also provided useful commentary at different stages of the project. My friend, Jason Gallo, also encouraged me to pursue the idea of the frontier. At home,