Locating the interstitial island: Integration of Zhoushan Archipelago into the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration

Amidst the debate concerning how to interpret the emergence of new forms of urbanism in today’s world, little attention has been given to urban interstices – the inter-urban boundary areas and interface zones that facilitate exchange between and within vast urban systems. The present paper considers how place is made and developed at these interstices, which frequently provide essential urban functions but are also frequently regarded as rural. We explore this topic through the case of Zhoushan Archipelago (Zhejiang Province, China), an interface zone both between cities within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and between the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and other megaregions. Like many islands, Zhoushan Archipelago has long been conceptualised as peripheral to the urban yet has simultaneously performed vital urban functions. The paper uses this case to shed light on what interstitiality (in-betweenness) means in today’s urbanism, both for the people living ‘in-between’ and for the wider urban system. 在关于如何解释当今世界出现的新型城市化的辩论中，人们很少关注城市空隙。城市空隙是城市间的边界区域和交界地带，它们促进了大型城市系统之间和系统内部的交流。本文研究在这些空隙中，地方是如何形成和发展的，这些空隙经常提供重要的城市功能，但也经常被视为乡村。我们通过舟山群岛（中国浙江省）的案例来探讨这一主题，该群岛是长江三角洲城市群内城市之间、以及长江三角洲城市群与其他各大城市区域之间的一个交界区域。与许多岛屿一样，舟山群岛长期以来被视为城市的边缘，但同时也发挥着重要的城市功能。本文利用这一案例来阐明在当今的城市化中，中间性对于生活在“中间”的人们和更广泛的城市系统来说意味着什么。