Abstract

One million Chinese villages have disappeared in the three decades since the beginning of China’s rural reform, one third of the total. As a result of this urbanization, China can no longer produce enough grain for itself. In 2012, China imported 80 million tons of grain, which is about 12% of its total grain need. Now the new Chinese Government inaugurated in 2013 has stepped up its push for more urbanization. Many more rural villages throughout China have been dismantled or will be dismantled at a crazy pace. China’s environmental degradation will surely further deteriorate. This paper is a case study about urbanization and its social, economic, and environmental consequences in China.