The Concrete Dragon: China's Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World (Hardcover)

by Thomas J. Campanella (Author) "The south China city of Shenzhen has an official theme song, one that captures the spirit of the place as fully as Frank Sinatra's paean..." (more)
Key Phrases: hutong neighborhoods, United States, Hong Kong, Pearl River Delta (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Urban planning professor Campanella (of the University of North Carolina and Harvard's Graduate School of Design) presents an overview of today's China, which has recently grown so fast and so lavishly that its scope is hard to comprehend. The geography is vast, and so are statistics that now define it. With a huge rural-to-urban migration over the last quarter century, dozens of megacities-"the primary spatial forms of the new global economy"-have cropped up over natural and man-made obstacles, boasting a culture of skyscraper one-upsmanship, a passionate embrace of foreign architecture and sports (golf, skateboarding), a legion of theme parks featuring scale models of Chinese and world-famous landscapes (like the U.S. Capitol Building), and the relentless reinvention of ancient metropolises. Politics, capitalism, epic road-building, spiraling bridges and, now, pre-Olympic commotion mix with surprising effects; once-ubiquitous bicycles are replaced by automobiles; everywhere there is domicide, the destruction of long-time residences; and traditional Chinese culture in decline: "Even as Beijing erects singular architectural monuments to create a definitive identity for itself, it has largely rubbed out... what gave the city such unique color, richness, and character." A fascinating read, this current-events primer could very well be a crash course in the world's future.
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Review
The Concrete Dragon provides a critical overview of contemporary Chinese urbanization in light of both China's past as well as earlier episodes of rapid urban development elsewhere in the world especially that of the United States, a nation that itself once set global records for the speed and scale of its urban ambitions. -- Places Journal, May 2008

If you want to better understand the role China will play in the future, you might want to start with The Concrete Dragon: China's Urban Revolution and What It Means for the World by Thomas J. Campanella. -- Worldchanging.net, July 30, 2008

Just in time for the Beijing Olympics, Thomas J. Campanella tackels what he calles 'the greatest building boom in human history': the creation of whole new cities throughout China, where superhighways, theme parks, and engineering projects light up the night sky. Campanella is an able guide to the dusty haze of China's ever-growing construction sites. -- Dwell, August 1, 2008

One of the most attention-grabbing and thought-provoking books on China I have read in a long time. -- David Frum's National Review, May 11, 2008

a powerful overview of China's huge building boom and its social and environmental consequences. -- The Washington Post, June 22, 2008

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (April 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568986270
• ISBN-13: 978-1568986272
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #232,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Chapters survey patterns of growth between city and country and the individuals who made it all come to life, November 16, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Thomas J. Campanella's THE CONCRETE DRAGON: CHINA'S URBAN REVOLUTION AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE WORLD explores China's trends during the 1980s, a period when unprecedented urban change affected the country and produced Chinese entrepreneurs who mimicked the wealth and acquisitions of the Western world. There were fewer than 200 cities in 1970s China; today there are nearly seven hundred. Chapters survey patterns of growth between city and country and the individuals who made it all come to life.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Urban showcase, March 20, 2009

By	J. G. Borchert "GeoBor" (Utrecht, Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent overview of recent urban development in China. It doesn't go far beyond description, however an excellent description, and a very pleasant read. Good documentation. Photographs are not very good, and the few maps are rather poor.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars China's Economy Affects Us All, August 17, 2008

By	J. B. Diana "Middle-aged grad student" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After seeing China's economic growth and urban explosion as a first-time visitor to Beijing, this book explained the why and how of everything I'd just witnessed. A good mix of historical perspective balanced with contemporary phenomena. The author's own photographs are right-on.