Call for Papers on Chinese Contract Cities

The Journal of Special Jurisdictions is pleased to announce a call for papers on Chinese Contract Cities. Papers chosen for publication will be presented at a conference organized by the Startup Societies Network and the Center for Public Policy of Central University of Finance and Economics, and Sichuan University in Chengdu. The conference will be held in 2023 virtually. Some participants may attend an in-person event in Chengdu, China, but this depends on travel restrictions. The conference will be live-streamed for attendees across the globe.

Although a relatively recent phenomenon in urban development, Chinese Contract Cities already cover 66,000 square kilometers and house tens of millions of residents. They host a wide range of businesses and have attracted huge amounts of investment. In cooperation, local government entities, private or public firms plan, build and operate Chinese contract cities.  Developers obtain land via contracts with local government or long-term leases with village collectives and enjoy revenues generated from economic activity in the planned and developed community. Residents contract a management firm for housing and other municipal services. In that way, Chinese contract cities offer innovative solutions to urban finance, planning, and management challenges. 

The Chinese Contract Cities Conference will offer the world’s first international gathering of experts on this important new phenomenon.  People interested in urban studies, Public-Private Partnerships, Chinese real estate development and municipal finance, and other perspectives on contract and new cities will find the event well worth their attention.

The proceedings of the Chinese Contract Cities Conference will appear in the Journal of Special Jurisdictions. We are inviting scholars to submit proposals for presentations and papers on these and related topics:

  • The institutional frameworks of Chinese contract cities;
  • The planning and allocations of land property rights in Chinese Contract Cities;
  • Financial and business models of Chinese contract cities;
  • Governing laws and rules among contract cities, local and national governments, and residents;
  • Contract cities as engines of industrial and social development;
  • Comparative analyses of contract cities and other planned communities in China and abroad;  The history, present, and future of contract cities; and
  • Finance of urbanization and contract cities or PPPs as solutions. 
  • Other related topics. 

The Chinese Contract Cities Conference and the accompanying volume of the Journal of Special Jurisdictions offer scholars the rare opportunity to found a new field of study for a new urban phenomenon. Those who present and publish their work on Chinese contract cities will shape the discussion for years to come.

The Conference will have limited availability. It might include a tour of a Chinese Contract city and registration spots as well as the paper evaluations will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Deadline for abstract submission: To be Announced. 

Full paper: To be Announced. 

To contribute to this historic event, send the abstract of your proposed paper via email to nathalie@startupsocieties.com. 

Important Additional Information:

-We encourage compact technical contributions and talks by practitioners as well. Please send a 250 words maximum overview to nathalie@startupsocieties.com.   

-COVID-19 restrictions might impede some authors from traveling to China.

仍然鼓励不能用英文写论文的中国作者用中文谈论合同城市。