Green infrastructure for China’s new urbanisation: A case study of greenway development in Maanshan

Abstract

China’s recent environmental turn in urban development has been marked by a rush of urban green projects. Many city governments have lately focused on green infrastructure of a specific kind – the greenway. This article provides a preliminary assessment of the contributions of greenways to a new, environmentally benign form of urbanisation advocated by the central government. Through a case study of the city of Maanshan, it reveals that Chinese greenways are not just a sustainability fix for the economy’s sake, as many urban green projects in China tend to be conceived. Although the greenways are far from being effective in stimulating tourism, they can promote urban liveability beyond the symbolic and lend material support to active travel. These findings endorse an analytical approach that gives equal emphasis to both the physical and political nature of emerging green infrastructure initiatives to more fully appreciate the logics and functions in their ongoing popularity.