Women-led research in urban China studies: Introduction to a special issue

Abstract

While women scholars have made important contribution to the emerging scholarship of urban China research, this field also has seen increasing female representation among the new generations of urban scholars. This special issue aims to promote women’s scholarship on urban China studies. In this introduction, we provide an overview of the nine articles led by women researchers that are included in the special issue, discussing how these studies are linked and contribute to the wider debates in the urban literature on China and globally. We argue that, while women scholars not surprisingly bring a sensitivity to gender perspective into the study of Chinese cities, their research is by no means limited to gender and women’s experiences. As showcased in this collection, their scholarship covers a wide variety of urban issues in China, ranging across migration, informality, accessibility, social cohesion, sustainability and urban governance, while engaging in the academic and policy debates in the global urban literature.