The post-Mao urban reforms of the past decade have physically and psychologically transformed China's cities. Urban Spaces in Contemporary China explores how the character of city life changed after political and economic restructuring intensified in 1984, and how this change affected the creation of new physical, economic, and cultural spaces in urban China.

The book focuses on the impact of increased commercialization and reduced state power on associations, economics, government, and creativity in urban areas.

The authors draw from a wide range of backgrounds, including anthropology, economics, comparative literature, art history, law, political science, and sociology, and all have lived and worked in a Chinese city for an extended time in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Each brings personal insights to dimensions of Chinese urban life that are often misunderstood: China's large "floating populations," avant-garde art, labor movements, and leisure.