WIREDGOV

The recent transformation of fast-developing urban regions of China will be explored by joint teams of UK and Chinese researchers, funded by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Institutions across UK and China have received £1.5 million and matching RMB in collaborative funding through the joint ‘Urban Transformations in China’ call.

The project is part of the Newton Fund commitment to develop bilateral research partnerships and enhance the global research community through the development of knowledge around urban transformations. The awards will build upon and strengthen bilateral relationships between the UK and China, ensuring the development of collaborative cutting-edge social science.

Julie McLaren, Head of Society and Global Security Research at ESRC, said: "The issues within the Urban Transformations portfolio are of global importance and will require innovative and co-operative thinking to understand the complexities involved. The outcomes of these awards will provide benefits to both the UK and China through the sharing and co-production of knowledge, and act as a showcase of how successful collaborative working can help in solving global challenges."

Fan Yingjie, Director, Division of Europe, Bureau of International Cooperation at NSFC, said: "Major changes are taking place in cities across the world. These changes are particularly evident in China, which has experienced unprecedented rates of urbanisation over the past few decades. Through the collaborative projects funded under the Urban Transformations programme, NSFC and ESRC are bringing together some of the best social science researchers from the UK and China to seek solutions to this global challenge."

The following three projects have received funding and will form part of the ESRC’s Urban Transformations portfolio:

• Mental health, migration and the Chinese mega-city
  King's College London and Fudan University - Professor Nick Manning and Professor Hua Fu
  
  This project is an attempt to understand the relationship between migration and mental health in one Chinese mega-city: Shanghai. At the heart of the project is an attempt to mix what we discover about mental health in contemporary Shanghai with a new kind of close-up, street-level data on what the daily experience of being a migrant in Shanghai is actually like - especially with regard to stress, housing, and access to services.
   
• Eco-urbanisation: promoting sustainable development in metropolitan regions of China
  Manchester University and Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor - Cecilia Wong and Professor Xiangzheng Deng
  
  This study aims to deepen our understanding of the interactive processes between urban development, resource consumption, and environmental impacts, and to identify innovative practices and effective strategies to manage and plan for sustainable urbanisation in China. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region, the biggest urbanised region in Northern China, will be used as the case study area to examine the key research issues.
   
• The re-making of Chinese urban neighbourhoods: Socio-spatial transformation and access to public services
  Glasgow University and Nankai University - Professor Ya Ping Wang and Professor Jiafeng Zong
  
  The project aims to examine the current urbanisation process in China through the perspective of neighbourhood dynamics in three different cities, each representing a fast-developing region in the country - therefore to better understand the processes of social and spatial transformation, their impacts on social and economic differentiation, and the implications for emerging inequalities of income and access to key public services.

The funded projects will be promoted via the Urban Transformations website launched by Professor Michael Keith, ESRC Urban Transformations Co-ordinator.

Notes for editors

1. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest funder of research on the social and economic questions facing us today. It supports the development and training of the UK’s future social scientists and also funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policymakers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective. The ESRC also works collaboratively with six other UK research councils and Innovate UK to fund cross-disciplinary research and innovation addressing major societal challenges. The ESRC is an independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded mainly by the Government. In 2015 it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is widely respected as the most transparent research funder in China; it implements a rigorous and objective peer review system to support basic and frontier research, foster talented researchers and develop international cooperation. NSFC is RCUK’s primary funding partner. RCUK’s relationship with NSFC has developed significantly since the China office was set up. RCUK and NSFC signed a joint agreement in December 2013 to establish Biennial Strategic Meetings to optimise resources and explore more effective mechanisms for bilateral cooperation. This is the first of its kind for both the Research Councils and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and has been a vital step in solidifying a partnership that has funded over £108 million in joint programmes.