The Evolution of Housing Renewal in Shanghai, 1990–2010: A ‘Socially Conscious’ Entrepreneurial City?

Abstract

Adopting a dynamic conception of the 'entrepreneurial city', this paper analyses the evolving policies and practice of housing renewal in Shanghai between 1990 and2010. It demonstrates that compared to the 1990s, a more sophisticated and 'socially conscious' renewal framework has evolved over the last decade, incorporating heightened attention to heritage conservation, rehabilitation, to affordable housing provision and to ameliorating the social costs of displacement. Arguably, the role of government in housing renewal has become more sophisticated. Alongside its continued role as market facilitator and placepromoter, local government has developed a more extensive role in market regulation and as a mediator of competing social interests in urban renewal. On the one hand, the quest to foster an international city necessitates attention a more comprehensive set of urban agendas. On the other hand, these changes also reflect the emergence of a national agenda calling for more socio-economically 'balanced development', as rising inequality and citizen discontent demanded more nuanced urban policies.

The (geo)politics of land and foreign real estate investment in China: the case of Hong Kong FDI

“…Such practical and popular geopolitics interacts with policy-making at the state level. Recent scholarship has for instance observed the move towards a more socially conscious brand of entrepreneurialism in Chinese local governance that gives greater emphasis to social redistribution and housing concerns in response to societal sentiments (Wang, 2011b). This paper thus pays attention to how both state and social forces participate in the attribution of meaning and value to foreign capital and as such influence policy outcomes.…”

Steering the Metropolis: Metropolitan Governance for Sustainable Urban Development 

“…There is ample evidence that the resettlement housing program in Shanghai has contributed to alleviating overcrowding in low-income households in dilapidated neighborhoods (He and Wu, 2005;Wang, 2011;Weinstein and Ren, 2009;Yang and Chang, 2007). However, the interests of displaced low-income renters are largely ignored.…”