Abstract
ABSTRACTLarge-scale urban redevelopment has caused the breakdown of traditional social bonds in Chinese cities. To date, very few studies have attempted to delve into the impact of this urban redevelopment on neighbourhood cohesion. Using data collected from questionnaires conducted in 20 urban villages and 1 urban village redevelopment neighbourhood in Guangzhou, this paper examines the impact of urban village redevelopment on the restructuring of neighbourhood attachment, neighbourly interaction, and community participation—three dimensions of neighbourhood cohesion. Results of a path analysis show that, overall, neighbourhood cohesion declines after redevelopment occurs, and that the sources of neighbourhood cohesion differ between urban villages and the redevelopment neighbourhood. Our findings show that after redevelopment, neighbourhood attachment becomes more influenced by residential satisfaction but less by neighbourly contacts, and community participation becomes less subject to neighbourly interaction and neighbourhood attachment. Such changes occur as a result of the differentiation between social groups and the concurrence of environmental restructuring and demographic reconstruction during the process of urban village redevelopment.
Highlights
Against the backdrop of globalization, neo-liberalisation and the retrenchment of the state, cities in Western countries have faced the threat of increasing social inequality, instability, and insecurity over the last three decades
Extant research on urban neighbourhoods in China has failed to systematically examine the interrelationship between different dimensions of neighbourhood cohesion and how neighbourhood cohesion is affected by urban redevelopment
We have examined the impact of urban village redevelopment on the restructuring of neighbourhood attachment, neighbourly interaction, and community participation—three dimensions of neighbourhood cohesion
Summary
Against the backdrop of globalization, neo-liberalisation and the retrenchment of the state, cities in Western countries have faced the threat of increasing social inequality, instability, and insecurity over the last three decades. Unlike displaced residents in Western cities who become more socially isolated, more economically disadvantaged, and more unsatisfied with their living conditions after massive urban renewal (Gibson, 2007; Newman & Wyly, 2006), displaced residents in Shanghai usually enjoy better housing conditions and neighbourhood facilities than before the demolition, being satisfied with their new living environment (He & Wu, 2007; Li & Song, 2009; Wu, 2004) Another example is what we found in our case study of Liede, a redeveloped urban village in Guangzhou.
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