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Value, Aspiration & Policy: How (and Why) Tomorrow's Middle Class China Moves Bennett, Zachary
Abstract
China has a nation in the throes of massive economic growth since the late 1970s, a situation creating both benefits and pitfalls as the nation continues its headlong course of development. One of the major results of economic growth has been massive migration to urban areas and an increasingly globalized populace through the infiltration of Western media and entertainment. More recently, the explosive growth of private automobile ownership is asking new questions of cities throughout the country as they struggle to cope with congestion, pollution, and issues of spatial allocation and equity in society. There is the suggestion that an increasingly materialistic and Western values system is a factor in the generation gap felt between groups in the nation. This paper addresses the views of middle-‐ class youth in Shenzhen, a major southern city of China, and their perspective of some of the changes occurring in Chinese society. The method of assessment was a survey asking about their views on transportation, personal values, and reactions to hypothetical transportation policies. The results demonstrate the hold that the automobile has on the collective imagination of youth. There is also evidence that as incomes rise and cars become normalized, the expectation of future ownership increases, pushing the car from a luxury item into the mainstream for middle-‐class aspirants. Despite the presence of materialism, Western values do not seem to play a major role in the attitude of students towards cars, and potential policies either promoting transit or restricting private vehicles were met by strong pushback, though the policies would result in moving more trips to transit. Overall, the pace of motorization signals impending disaster, both from a municipal management and a broader environmental stance and efforts should be encouraged within China to manage the growth and usage of private automobiles in the urban arena.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Value, Aspiration & Policy: How (and Why) Tomorrow's Middle Class China Moves
|
| Creator | |
| Date Issued |
2013-05
|
| Description |
China
has
a
nation
in
the
throes
of
massive
economic
growth
since
the
late
1970s,
a
situation
creating
both
benefits
and
pitfalls
as
the
nation
continues
its
headlong
course
of
development.
One
of
the
major
results
of
economic
growth
has
been
massive
migration
to
urban
areas
and
an
increasingly
globalized
populace
through
the
infiltration
of
Western
media
and
entertainment.
More
recently,
the
explosive
growth
of
private
automobile
ownership
is
asking
new
questions
of
cities
throughout
the
country
as
they
struggle
to
cope
with
congestion,
pollution,
and
issues
of
spatial
allocation
and
equity
in
society.
There
is
the
suggestion
that
an
increasingly
materialistic
and
Western
values
system
is
a
factor
in
the
generation
gap
felt
between
groups
in
the
nation.
This
paper
addresses
the
views
of
middle-‐
class
youth
in
Shenzhen,
a
major
southern
city
of
China,
and
their
perspective
of
some
of
the
changes
occurring
in
Chinese
society.
The
method
of
assessment
was
a
survey
asking
about
their
views
on
transportation,
personal
values,
and
reactions
to
hypothetical
transportation
policies.
The
results
demonstrate
the
hold
that
the
automobile
has
on
the
collective
imagination
of
youth.
There
is
also
evidence
that
as
incomes
rise
and
cars
become
normalized,
the
expectation
of
future
ownership
increases,
pushing
the
car
from
a
luxury
item
into
the
mainstream
for
middle-‐class
aspirants.
Despite
the
presence
of
materialism,
Western
values
do
not
seem
to
play
a
major
role
in
the
attitude
of
students
towards
cars,
and
potential
policies
either
promoting
transit
or
restricting
private
vehicles
were
met
by
strong
pushback,
though
the
policies
would
result
in
moving
more
trips
to
transit.
Overall,
the
pace
of
motorization
signals
impending
disaster,
both
from
a
municipal
management
and
a
broader
environmental
stance
and
efforts
should
be
encouraged
within
China
to
manage
the
growth
and
usage
of
private
automobiles
in
the
urban
arena.
|
| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
|
| Series | |
| Date Available |
2013-07-27
|
| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
| Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
|
| DOI |
10.14288/1.0075795
|
| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
|
| Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International