The Changing Process from Demolition to Comprehensive Renovation of the Urban Village in Shenzhen under the Urban Renewal Policy

Abstract

This research aims to examine the changing process in urban renewal policy in Shenzhen, a typical precursor of China's land system, and explore its relationship with urban villages (informal spaces), which have been an important spatial feature of China's rapid urbanization. The results show that there are three important phases of urban planning policy change. In the first phase, a period of nationalization and dualistic urban space formation led by the government. In the second phase, developers accelerated urban renewal in the form of 'demolition and redevelopment.' In the third phase, public housing was complemented by low-cost living space and the transformation of urban villages into a significant trend of 'comprehensive renovation (zonghezhengzhi)' with the retention of buildings and renovation. As demonstrated by recent policy changes, preserving the diversity of urban space is instructive for urban development.

Impact of Urban Village Redevelopment on the Migration Patterns of Rural Workers in China: A Policy Study

“…Unified rental housing refers to a model of urban village redevelopment, funded and managed by the government, signing a contract with landlords (the original villagers) to take over their property, and performing interior decoration to upgrade to high-quality housing, then uniformly leased to the migrant population. The original purpose of this renovation was to provide secure housing for low-income groups and the migrant population [29]. To analyse this failed pilot, the main problem is the demands and social rights of rural migrants: (1) Uncertainty of relocation compensation, as many tenants had disputes with their landlords because they were not duly compensated due to unclear government policies; (2) The time of moving away was short and some landlords contracted by the Government did not allow sufficient time for tenants to relocate, in violation of the tenant's right to housing;(3) Education concerns were not addressed initially, leading to uncertainty among migrant workers regarding the education of their children.…”