China's economic growth : the impact on regions, migration and the environment / edited by Terry Cannon.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction - The Economic Reforms, Demographic Processes and Environmental Problems / Terry Cannon -- 2. Pressures of Development on China's Cities and Regions / Ian G. Cook -- 3. Patterns of Migration under the Reforms / Mahmoud Messkoub and Delia Davin -- 4. The Floating Population in China's Cities: A New Ethnic Underclass? / Christopher J. Smith -- 5. Family Planning and Fertility among Temporary Migrants / Caroline Hoy -- 6. Wuhan: Policies for Management and Improvement of a Polluted City / John G. Taylor and Xie Qingshu -- 7. Recent Developments and Prospects for the Sanxia (Three Gorges) Dam / Richard Louis Edmonds -- 8. World Bank Policies, Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction / Lin Gan -- 9. Urban Transport in China: Whither the Bicycle? / Andrew Spencer -- 10. Is Ecological Agriculture Sustainable in China? / Richard Sanders -- 11. Assessing and Managing the Soil Erosion Problem in Southern China / David Higgitt --

12. Soil Erosion and Conservation on Subtropical Arable Soils in Yunnan Province, South-west China / Mike Fullen, David J. Mitchell and Andrew P. Barton / [and others] -- 13. Erosion in Deep Gorges: the Leaping Tiger Gorge on the Upper Yangtze / David Watts and Zhou Yue.

"In 1979 China initiated a series of reforms which have been among the most fundamental changes ever to occur in any country. While allowing some of the most astonishing economic growth the world has ever seen, these reforms also induced some of the most profound social and environmental shifts.

Scores of millions of people, apparently surplus to the needs of agriculture, have been attracted to booming rural enterprises, or to the uncertainties of towns and cities, where their work has contributed to the informal sector and an immense construction boom.".

"This book looks at two aspects of the impacts of the reforms - first, on the demography of the country (especially migration and urbanization); and second, on the environment. A third part examines various problems of environmental degradation in relation to natural processes and human efforts to mitigate their effects.

It reminds us that many environmental problems are associated with natural processes, but also that human efforts to remedy them are limited by the economy and political will."--BOOK JACKET.