Housing in Chinese Urban Villages: The Dwellers, Conditions and Tenancy Informality

Wu, Fulong

doi:10.1080/02673037.2016.1150429

Cited by 70 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…From this we can see that entrepreneurialism is used more as a market mechanism for the benefit of the state. The deterioration of the living environment in urban villages is caused by strict control over self-improvement (Wu, 2016a). When the living environment becomes more dilapidated, the government then begins to get control over the land through demolition and requisition.…”

Section: Agencies and Informalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism

2017

Urban Studies

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334

306

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This article defines the key parameters of 'state entrepreneurialism' as a governance form that combines planning centrality and market instruments, and interprets how these two seemingly contradictory tendencies are made coherent in the political economic structures of post-reform China. Through examining urban regeneration programmes (in particular 'three olds regeneration', sanjiu gaizao), the development of suburban new towns and the reconstruction of the countryside, the article details institutional configurations that make the Chinese case different from a neoliberal growth machine. The contradiction of these tendencies gives room to urban residents and migrants to develop their agencies and their own spaces, and creates informalities in Chinese urban transformation.

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Section: Agencies and Informalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism

2017

Urban Studies

Self Cite

334

306

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“…In contrast, migrant renters are excluded from the decision‐making process of urban redevelopment and are largely treated as ‘invisible’ by key stakeholders (Chung, ; Liu et al ., ; Sun, ). As pointed out by Wu (), the rights of migrant tenants during the redevelopment of ViCs have not yet been recognized.…”

Section: The ‘Invisible’ Social Group During the Redevelopment Of Vilmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Villagers replaced their traditional one‐ or two‐storey dwellings with concrete houses of up to four or five storeys (and sometimes even seven or eight storeys), resulting in the well known ‘handshake and kissing buildings’ street profile (Tian, ; Wang et al ., ; Lin et al ., ; He, ). The informality of ViCs is reflected not only in the built environment but also in the rental practices (Wu, ). Unlike the formal rental market, where written contracts are signed between landlords and tenants and both parties are required to register with the local police, the rental market in ViCs is very informal.…”

Section: The ‘Invisible’ Social Group During the Redevelopment Of Vilmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Making the ‘Invisible’ Visible: Redevelopment‐induced Displacement of Migrants in Shenzhen, China

Liu

Geertman

Oort

et al. 2018

Int J Urban Regional Res

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Gentrification in China is intertwined with urban redevelopment, which causes the large‐scale displacement of rural–urban migrants from ‘villages in the city’ (ViCs). Because of the informality of ViCs, migrant renters have very insecure tenancy and during redevelopment they are treated as a negligible (‘invisible’) social group. As they are very difficult to locate after displacement, they are also literally invisible to researchers. To make the invisible visible, this study traced a sample of displaced migrants from Huangbeiling village in Shenzhen. The focus was on the displacement process and on identifying the consequences for the displaced. We found various forms of displacement during the redevelopment process. Nearby ViCs were prioritized by displaced migrants to minimize as much utility loss as possible. However, they generally suffer from decreased proximity, increased living costs, and the loss of social networks and job opportunities. Remarkably, some choose to return to the gentrifying village, enduring displacement in situ caused by increasing rents, drastic physical neighbourhood changes and declining liveability, in exchange for retaining their original social and economic networks. Large‐scale urban redevelopment is causing the rapid shrinkage of informal housing. Recognizing and addressing the housing needs of this impoverished social group is a matter of urgency.

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“…Consequently, urban regeneration ushered in growth coalitions between local governments and developers, excluding residents’ formal participation and thus limiting their rights to adequate compensation and replacement housing (Abramson, ; Slater, ; Shi and Cai, ; He and Wu, ). Redevelopment often displaced migrant workers whose tenure security was poorly protected under informal unwritten tenancy agreements with landlords (Wu, ). In this study, we contribute to the literature by examining the complex effects of formalization and desegregation created by village redevelopment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Village Redevelopment and Desegregation as a Strategy for Metropolitan Development: Some Lessons from Guangzhou City

Wong

Tang

Liu

2018

Int J Urban Regional Res

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How to integrate millions of migrant workers into local communities remains a core challenge in China's urban transformation. Recently some cities, driven by a national policy of integrated metropolitan development, have aggressively engaged in the redevelopment of urbanizing villages (chengzhongcun) to promote formalization and desegregation. This article adopts a historical micro‐perspective to examine the actual role of urbanizing villages in city making, through an in‐depth analysis of how migrants and villagers have struggled since the 1980s for symbiotic co‐existence during various stages of urbanization. It argues that state‐led village redevelopment has created more problems than it has solved. Redevelopment eliminates some of the spatial and institutional separations characterizing Chinese socialist villages by dismantling barriers hindering formalization and marketization of collective village land, but this produces new social inequalities and tensions as it uproots pre‐existing self‐governing communities to facilitate spontaneous grassroots rural‐to‐urban transition for villagers and migrants. To cope with these problems, intervention to resolve the emerging problems of Chinese cities must consider a fundamental policy shift, away from sole reliance on the means of formalization and integration, to greater emphasis on the benefits of informality and segregation.

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Housing in Chinese Urban Villages: The Dwellers, Conditions and Tenancy Informality

Cited by 70 publications

References 43 publications

Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism

Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism

Making the ‘Invisible’ Visible: Redevelopment‐induced Displacement of Migrants in Shenzhen, China

Village Redevelopment and Desegregation as a Strategy for Metropolitan Development: Some Lessons from Guangzhou City

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