Provincializing western planning concepts in a Chinese City: the intertwined adaptation of introduced ideas and local agents in shaping the Guangzhou Central Business District

The adoption of Western planning ideas has significantly shaped China’s Central Business Districts (CBDs) and spurred economic growth. This article goes beyond existing research by exploring the “provincialization” of Western planning concepts, resulting in unique CBD landscapes in Chinese cities. Through a study of the Guangzhou CBD, it reveals how introduced ideas and local agents mutually adjust and respond to each other’s needs during the provincialization process. Under the “Reforms and Opening-up” policy, Chinese authorities drew from Hong Kong’s experiences to introduce the CBD concept, adapting it to underdeveloped land in Guangzhou and blending it with American downtown design. To meet urban space demands, industrial growth, and land economy needs, urban authorities reorganized local resources to create a discourse of the “central axis” to integrate the CBD concept into the urban layout. Consequently, both introduced ideas and local agents are intertwined to address challenges posed by each other, resulting in Guangzhou’s CBD framing a hybrid urban landscape.