Florence Padovani has assembled an amazing set of papers focused on the effects of displacement from urban development and dam construction in China and India, and has very skillfully presented them in a comparative perspective in this superb book. Comparing such experiences is never easy, particularly in situations where the challenges of development-induced displacement are similar, but where the approaches followed to address them diverge hugely. A path-breaking study, this book will be of great interest to resettlement researchers, practitioners, and also students everywhere, not in India and China alone.

Hari Mohan Mathur, Council for Social Development, New Delhi

This valuable comparative study—the first of its kind on the topic of development-induced displacement and population resettlement in contemporary China and India—examines how these two Asian giants handle the political, administrative, and social challenges of urban development and dam construction, using case studies of two growing cities, Mumbai and Shanghai, and two dams, Gosikhurd in India and Three Gorges in China. The contributors, who are all leading international scholars, analyze the concepts of expropriation, eviction, impoverishment risks, compensation, and rehabilitation. Bringing new arguments and data relevant to the current, sensitive and complex issue of the forced displacement and resettlement of populations owing to development projects, this book is a great resource for researchers, policymakers, and students.

Véronique Lassailly-Jacob, University of Poitiers