Imperial and inclusive: Is Xiong’an the new model for urbanization with Chinese characteristics?

Description

Xiong’an is the name of China’s currently most breath-taking urban mega-project officially endorsed and promoted from the highest level. It is imperial in its sheer size, political importance and ambition levels. It is inclusive in its embrace of innovative economic, social, ecological and cultural agendas. If successful, it may well be an export product to countries that have joined the Belt and Road Initiative. Ideas emerging from this large-scale experiment are likely to seep into policy-making processes of the Western world too. But what is Xiong’an and how does it work?