Piper Gaubatz (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

The post-1949 establishment of large open-access public squares for state-sponsored mass rallies fundamentally changed Chinese cities. Not only have these signature elements of China’s revolutionary urban landscape persisted despite the increasing land value of their central city locations, but new squares have proliferated since the 1979 reform. This project explores the transformations of these public spaces to accommodate new urban challenges. Informed by intersecting debates on the nature of cities, public space, and Chinese urbanism, it places ten fieldwork-based case studies within a broader analysis of squares in 100 Chinese cities. It concludes that as the design and use of public squares have become increasingly complex, multi-functional, and multi-layered, these squares play a key role in (1) (re)producing distinctive Chinese public life and (2) mediating relationships between different social groups and between the state and urban residents.