Sustainable development in the rapidly growing socialist market economy of Shenzhen: Bottom-up efforts and top-down policies

Abstract

In just 22 years, Shenzhen, China's first Special Economic Zone, has accomplished impressive economic and environmental achievements. Population in the small border town has grown over 13 times, the size of the city expanded 23 times and GDP grew 731 times. Today the four million city has set aside 76 per cent of its land as green lungs and 45 per cent of the built-up areas are planted with trees. The city won numerous environmental awards and became a laureate of this year's UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honour. Determination to build a "garden city", keen competition for foreign direct investment and the Central Government's firm commitment towards sustainable development have shaped Shenzhen's path towards sustainability. Although the City still has a long way to go to attain socio-economic and environmental sustainability, Shenzhen definitely has the potential to become a model for China's evolving local socialist market economies in pursuing sustainable development.