China’s Cities: Divisions and Plans (2016-2019)

This project focuses on the economic, political, and social phenomena at play in China’s urbanization. Using surveys, ethnographies, interviews, and big data, ISS faculty fellows are examining the divides between local urban dwellers and migrants who relocate to the cities, such as access to education and other social services. The project also is looking at massive transportation and geographic datasets—such as information from thousands of Beijing city traffic cameras every two minutes—to improve our understanding of how environmental policies in cities affect economic growth, pollution emissions, and public health outcomes  Faculty fellows are tackling the challenges inherent in using China’s administrative and consumer data, presenting the complexity and variety of China’s cities to broad audiences through research articles and policy analyses.