| Inter-city cooperation and cross-border development in the Yangtze River Delta region are new phenomena and have received much governmental and scholarly attention in recent years. The aim of this research is to examine inter-city cooperation taking place at regional scale and cross-border urban growth at urban scale from partnership perspective. In this study, three typical cases of inter-city cooperation, Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Urban Region Planning, the Forum for the Coordination of Urban Economy of Yangtze River Delta Region and Jiangyin Economic Development Zone in Jingjiang are selected to examine three types of partnership arrangements with different mobilizations, namely, hierarchical partnership, spontaneous partnership and hybrid partnership. The three case studies contribute to the study of inter-city cooperation based on Chinese experiences. Meanwhile, the case of Jiangyin Economic Development Zone in Jingjiang is also a case of cross-border urban growth. The findings from this case not only extend the urban growth coalition approach to the case of cross-border urban growth, but also deepen the understanding of urban growth politics in China. After tracing and examining the process of mobilization and actor interaction in each case, the major findings of this research are as follows:For inter-city cooperation at regional scale: (a) The thesis applies the partnership theory to regional scale, especially for inter-city cooperation. In this study, three different mechanisms of inter-city cooperation are identified, namely, spontaneous partnership, hierarchical partnership and hybrid partnership. Their effectiveness in inter-city cooperation is evaluated in the thesis. (b) The thesis argues that inter-city cooperation is also a process. Three stages, information exchange, thematic cooperation, and common market, are identified. (c) The thesis categorizes inter-city cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region. Five ideal types of partnership arrangements for thematic cooperation are identified: development partnership, promotional partnership, coordination partnership, resource-based partnership and strategic partnership. (d) The thesis reveals some principles of partner (member city) selection for inter-city cooperation. In addition, according to the roles of actors in partnership building, the thesis classifies them into three types: crucial actors, influential actors and ordinary actors. Urban growth/cross-border urban growth at urban scale: (a) The traditional urban growth coalition approach neglects how "forces" operate above the local/urban scale, especially in globalizing and competitive world today. This thesis provides some insights for this problem and extends traditional urban growth coalition approach by considering the case of cross-border urban growth in China. (b) The thesis enhances the understanding of urban growth coalition in China. It is found that local governments play different roles in various stages of the formation of urban growth coalition. (c) It is found that an anti-coalition is emerging and has been strengthened in the context of land expropriation due to rapid industrial and urban expansion in China. The causes of the emergence of anti-coalitions are examined in the thesis.The findings of this thesis enhance understanding of inter-city cooperation and cross-border urban growth in rapidly changing China. They not only help to improve the effectiveness of existing inter-city cooperation in the delta region, but also shed light on inter-city cooperation elsewhere. Lessons and experiences drawn from Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Urban Region Planning and Jiangyin Economic Zone in Jingjiang shed light on urban region planning/coordinative planning and cross-border development respectively. |
