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How planning intervention changes the “price tags” of property rights? Towards a dynamic understanding of China's small property right housing

While studies of property rights have long gone beyond the legal-illegal dichotomy, how to quantify the varying degree of property rights remains a challenging task. Focusing on a special type of informal housing—Small Property Right Housing (SPRH) in China, this study examines how planning intervention affects the pricing mechanism of SPRH through the theoretical lens of graded property rights. A previous study has unravelled the pricing mechanism of SPRH by quantifying the impact of informal institutions inherent to the SPRH market that give different “price tags” to varying degree of property rights, while not being able to capture the impact of external interventions. Drawing on two SPRH datasets before and after a Master Plan of urban villages conservation announced in 2019, we employ difference in difference (DID) estimations to examine how planning intervention affects SPRH prices by way of altering the strength of informal property rights. We also develop spatial error models (SEM) to account for spatial autocorrelation. This research extends and enriches the robust conceptualisation of graded degree of informal property rights by capturing the changes caused by external intervention to offer a dynamic and more accurate understanding of SPRH pricing mechanism. It also demonstrates that planning can go beyond sanctioning and redlining to tolerate and steer informal development.

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Do languages matter? The impact of local dialect proficiency on multidimensional poverty alleviation among rural-to-urban migrants in China

Language plays a crucial role in poverty among migrants. However, the relationship between language skills and poverty among internal migrants in developing countries has received limited attention. Using data from 11,789 rural-to-urban (RTU) migrants in the China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this study empirically assesses the impact of local dialect proficiency (LDP) on multidimensional poverty alleviation among migrants and further investigates potential mediators of this association. The results indicate that enhanced LDP significantly reduces the prevalence of multidimensional poverty among RTU migrants, with speaking proficiency having a more significant effect than listening proficiency. Moreover, three key mechanisms contribute to multidimensional poverty alleviation through LDP: the expansion of social networks, enhancement of urban identity, and improvement of employment quality. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the impact of LDP on multidimensional poverty alleviation is more significant in regions characterized by higher dialect diversity and lower popularity of Mandarin, as well as among males, older generations, and RTU migrants with lower levels of education. In conclusion, this study advances understanding of the role of language proficiency in poverty alleviation among migrants by constructing a cultural-linguistic theoretical framework.

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Improving inclusion for children and young people with a disability in inner-city Melbourne, Australia

Children and young people with a disability experience challenges in accessing urban environments. This study aimed to generate ideas that can help make an inner-city local government area in Melbourne, Australia more inclusive for children and young people with disability. A workshop was held with children and young people self-identifying as having a disability (n = 5) and their parents and guardians (n = 4). Participants brainstormed ideas in response to a prompt centred on ways that Melbourne's inner-city could be made more inclusive for children and young people with a disability. A qualitative analysis of the ideas was undertaken. Ideas common across both groups included the need for adequate and disability-appropriate communication, the provision of pedestrian infrastructure, and accessible public transport. The study's findings have direct relevance for policy makers, informing upcoming policy in the local municipality. The value of research/policy/lived experience-collaborations for local policy improvement is clear, as they provide an opportunity to draw upon a range of perspectives to identify and address local challenges, while also informing larger-scale projects and initiatives in other cities. Through such collaborations, it is possible to tailor infrastructure and accessibility improvements to the specific needs of local communities, resulting in more effective and equitable policy outcomes.

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The dynamic interactive influence of community identity, being accepted by others, and life satisfaction among relocated residents for poverty alleviation in China

In China, the ultimate goal of the relocation for poverty alleviation (RPA) policy is to ensure that the relocated poor smoothly relocate, stably resettle, and become wealthier. With the completion of smooth relocation, the next crucial task is to guarantee that residents relocated for poverty alleviation (RRPA) maintain stability. Given that RRPA's life satisfaction affects their willingness and behavior to stabilize their placement. This study aims to explore whether being accepted by others and community identity are related to RRPA life satisfaction, and whether these three variables have a mutual impact over time. Based on the social identity and need to belong theories, a model of the interactive influence of being acceptance accepted by others, community identity, and life satisfaction was constructed. Using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM), 383 RRPA datasets were analyzed. The results showed that being accepted by others significantly predicted life satisfaction for RRPA. Being accepted by others and community identity, as well as community identity and life satisfaction, can predict each other on cross-lagged paths. This suggests that resorting to community identity as an intermediate variable, being accepted by others and life satisfaction may form a virtuous cycle over time.

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The role of new green construction in neighborhood change and gentrification

Recent research has highlighted the potential for green certification to contribute to gentrification in urban areas. This occurs as the adoption of a reductionist sustainability planning language can turn green-certified houses into luxury goods that attract primarily White, college-educated, and pro-environmental households, who may replace existing long-term residents, particularly lower-income residents and racial minorities, in core urban areas. This study aims to assess the extent to which the supply of green-certified units affects neighborhood change and gentrification. Using housing market transaction data from Central Virginia’s Multiple Listing Service and socioeconomic data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to analyze the differential effect of new construction of market-rate, EarthCraft-certified units in Richmond Metro Area. Our results show that neighborhoods with new green-certified units experience statistically significant increases in population growth, new construction, and house prices. We observe trends that suggest potential negative impacts on minorities. However, these observed trends have not reached statistical significance. Our study provides evidence that green housing can contribute to the conditions that make residential zones ripe for gentrification, thus, highlighting the need to balance the benefits of green certification with the potential negative impacts on disadvantaged groups.

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Paternalistic state care and the dynamic of COVID-19 pandemic governance in Jakarta's rented social housing

The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited debates on care, exposing the vital role of social reproduction despite its ongoing devaluation. Recent studies underscore the urban marginal's multidimensional vulnerabilities during the pandemic, coupled with inadequate state support and excessive policing amid their disproportionate engagements in low-paying care work essential to the city.This study extends the literature by exploring the discourse of care amid the pandemic in Jakarta's rented social housing (rusunawa), Indonesia. As a state-owned settlement hosting displaced residents from informal settlements, rusunawa represents a new form of urban marginality. Based on an ethnography of three rusunawa between 2019 and 2021, I argue that paternalism defines the state's vision and operation of rusunawa. By portraying the residents as vulnerable yet ignorant, the state justifies the combination of disciplines and supports in ‘caring’ for them.The continued paternalistic care during the pandemic, with an intensification of disciplines and assistance, ameliorated the residents' antagonism against the state. Yet, access to state relief programs still hinged upon the residents' invocation of vulnerabilities and personal connection with rusunawa management. Lastly, I demonstrate the residents' intractable desire for a state that embodies a powerful yet nurturing parent, shaping their assessment of the quality of state care.

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