Urban Residential Land Use Reconstruction under Dual-Track Mechanism of Market Socialism in China: A Case Study of Chengdu

Yongchun Yang,Qingmin Meng,Deli Zhang,Corrin Mccarn

doi:10.3390/su71215850

Abstract

We study urban residential land use changes by analyzing the massive migration and relocation of two typical social classes: employees in government departments (EGD) and urban demolition displaced households (UDDH). After the reform and opening-up of China that has taken place during the last 30 years, the residential land use of both the EGD and UDDH groups has been notable in terms of the changing urban landscape in China’s cities. A considerable number of studies highlight the large scale relocations of weaker groups usually through sample surveys at a microscopic scale, which sheds light on the relationships between market forces and government intervention and power. However, employees hired by state government departments and related branches (Shiye Danwei) have been neglected. Bridging the empirical research gap and using Chengdu as a case study, we compare residential relocations of EGD and UDDH groups in Chengdu. Our analysis based on field surveys conducted from 2009–2013 indicates that the relocations of EGD and UDDH are spatially agglomerated due to China’s unique dual-track mechanism driven by market forces and government power since the late 1970s. The study shows that most of the UDDH are migrated from urban centers to fringes, while a large number of EGD still agglomerate close to urban centers. Government interventions differentiate residential relocations of EGD and UDDH, and market mechanisms reinforce these relocations. Potential problems caused by the dual-track mechanism are finally discussed and summarized.

Highlights

Since 1978, one of the most significant features of China’s transition from a planned to a market economy is the emergence of an enormous increase of migrants [1], which has been a hot topic attracting considerable attention in the literature from the early 1980s
The construction sequence indicates the resettlement housing for urban demolition displaced households (UDDH) gradually advances towards the urban fringes and the majority of new resettlement areas are closer in proximity to Third Ring Road (TRR) (Table 2)
We found from our interview that employees in government departments (EGD) or UDDH did not think that they were segmented in the process of relocation, but they agreed that it may be a trend for the wealthy and the poor to be spatially separated in the future

Summary

Introduction

Since 1978, one of the most significant features of China’s transition from a planned to a market economy is the emergence of an enormous increase of migrants [1], which has been a hot topic attracting considerable attention in the literature from the early 1980s. Suburbanization is common in China’s large cities [2], the intensive gentrification has led to a new trend of increasing numbers of the upper and middle class living in the inner city. This trend results in the lower class and displaced individuals moving away from city centers in China. China has experienced three periods of rapid urban expansion, respectively in the early 1980s, early 1990s, and beginning of the 2000s, with construction of roads and industrial sites This new construction has encroached on massive suburban and rural areas and resulted in many farmers becoming landless. The three waves of urban expansion, called the three Chinese “enclosure” movements, have caused a total amount of 7.65 million hectares from 1987–2005 and 1.72 million hectares from 2005–2011 of agricultural land to be converted into construction land [18,19], and urban sprawl has resulted in a total of more than 40 million farmers becoming landless with about 2 million individuals being displaced each year [17]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion