Desakota: A Politically Calculated Spatial Configuration of
Urbanization
Ziwei Zhang, MDes ULEKuangyu Xiong, MDes ULE
05/09/2019
spatial transformation
● deruralization● overurbanization
peasant class transformation
● differentiation● dissolution
Global Depeasantization
Agriculture
Industry
Sir Arthur Lewis:Economic Development with Unlimited Supply of Labor
missing from the two-sector surplus labor model:relative surplus population (RSP)/industrial reserve army● floating RSP ● latent RSP ● stagnant RSP ● pauperdom
Agriculture
Industry
Where might RSP reside?How does state relocate RSP?
squatter settlements, favelas, slums, and desakotas
Rural
Urban
How do different strategies of agrarian labor absorption result in different spatial configurations and processes of class transformation?
Key Concepts
● depeasantization● agricultural surplus labor● industrialization● peasant class transformation● urbanization● social reproduction
Research Question
● intense mixture of agricultural and nonagricultural activities
● often stretched along corridors between large city cores.
● previously characterized by dense populations engaged in agriculture
● governance “grey zone”
● dual identities of peasants
the Linkage Between Depeasantization and the Emergence of Desakota
Indonesia
● Floating Mass● Free trade zone● transmigration program● semi-proletarianization● latent RSP
China
● Household Responsibility System
● Township and Village Enterprises
● hukou● semi-proletarianization● latent RSP
South Korea
● land reform● food aid ● from ISI to combination of
ISI and EOI● disparity between rural
and urban● rural-to-urban migration
(urbanization)● proletarianization● floating RSP
Creation and Absorption of Agricultural Surplus Labor ● depeasantization● agricultural surplus labor● industrialization● peasant class transformation● urbanization● social reproduction
economic growth, uneven development
○ household responsibility system: release agri-labor; start of the industrial sector (opening reform一1984)
○ rise of TVEs “enter the industrial sector without entering the city; leave farmland without leaving homeland “进厂不进城,离土不离乡”;absorb agriculrural surplus labor in place (1984一1988);
○ enter the industrial sector by entering the city; leave farmland while leaving homeland “进厂又进城,离
土又离乡” long-distance migration(1989 to now)
Chinese Desakota Mutation
Migration
image on the right: Shi, Q., & Liu, T. (2019). Glimpsing China’s future urbanization from the geography of a floating population. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 51(4), 817–819. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X19834572
Change of Food Regime● Loss of farmland
● Growing agricultural import
● Overseas agricultural investment
China’s Direct Overseas Investment in Agriculture, Forestry, and FishingChina’s Agricultural Imports and Exports
images from left to right,https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/china-and-hong-kong-challenges-and-opportunities/https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2018/april/china's-agricultural-investment-abroad-is-rising
Marginalized RSP● Structural discrimination
● Lack of legal protection
● Lack of political alliance
● Lack of social welfare landless peasant movement workers asking for payment
precarious working environment
images from left to right, up to down :1:https://www.cbc.ca/radio/the current/the-cur-rent-for-january-20-2016-1.3411477/china-s-government-land-grabs-fuel-unrest-with-farmers-villagers-1.3411595; 2. https://www.sohu.com/a/215386087_664569;3:http://slide.news.sina.com.cn/s/slide_1_2841_100172.html 4: http://www.221319.com/news/shehui/2018/0611/3451.html
undesirable living condition
● accomodate RSP● discipline labor● further squeeze surplus agricultural labor productivity● seem chaotic, but it is a deliberate political project● boost economic growth for urban capital accumulation● benefit the state and enterprises, not peasants
Desakota: A Politically Calculated Spatial Configuration of Urbanization
Shanghai, China Sao Paulo, Brazil
Similar issues of depeasantization and surplus labor absorption
Different peri-urban spatial pattern
See Desakotas in the Mirror of Favelas
urban and agricultural land near Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo
Potential Explanation: Precondion on Urban Fringe
Potential Explanation: the Timing of Land Reform in Latin America
urban and agricultural land in Yangtze River Dealta
See Desakotas in the Mirror of Favelas
Value and Future Implications of the Research
● Connect Desakota with the depeasantization
● The success of Desakota should not be evaluated only by economic output
● Future research and policy should take into account the vulnerability of RSP during
the urban/agrarian transformation