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 and 2010. 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 place-promoter, 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.