Making Space for Development

Abstract

Large transformations in the landscape and subsequent shifts of population have become an integral part of state development projects in western China. In the context of expanding infrastructures such as river damming, large-scale resettlement might appear to represent an effective solution in response to immediate or short-term needs. However, viewed from a long-term perspective it has the potential to unleash a range of major social, economic and environmental effects which may have an impact on not only the affected people and surrounding landscapes. This paper discusses major challenges of relocation evoked through the damming of the Yellow River in Qinghai Province.