Danwei Compounds Research Articles

The Analysis of the Spatial Production Mechanism and the Coupling Coordination Degree of the Danwei Compound Based on the Spatial Ternary Dialectics

With the gradual deepening of the development of high-quality urban transformation, the “Danwei Compound” urban space production method constitutes the basis of Chinese current urban spatial transformation. The transformation plan of the original danwei compound “stock” to promote the healthy development of urban society has become the focus of research. First, with the help of Lefebvre’s space production theory, combined with the spatial transformation characteristics of its own structural form experienced by the Chinese urban danwei compound, the space production is divided into three stages, namely, the diversity-orderly type average space of the danwei compound system period, dispersed type abstract space of the commercial enclosed community period, and the integrated differential space of a livable community undergoing regeneration and transformation. At each stage, the government, market, and residents have different influences on time-space production. Secondly, using Hefei’s typical danwei compound as the research carrier, according to the space ternary dialectics, a multi-level analysis of “representations of space-representational space-spatial practice” is carried out on the production mechanism, and the logic of different types of spaces in different periods are described. Among them, the representations of space of the change of the danwei compound are the interrelationship of multiple governance subjects in different periods, such as changes in the implementation degree of governance strategies, the degree of residents’ community governance participation, residents’ satisfaction with community governance, etc. The representational space is the residents’ community perception and interpersonal relationship at different transition stages, Interpersonal trust, and other social relations’ changes. Spatial practice is manifested in changes in the support of public service facilities, public space, per capita living area, building quality, architectural style, and illegal building area. Finally, the three-dimensional space dialectical coupling coordination degree model is used to analyze and compare the representations of space of typical settlements in the three stages and the coupling characteristics of the representational space and the practice of space. On this basis, we provide innovative ideas and put forward relevant measures and suggestions for the regeneration, transformation, and development of livable areas.

Socio-Spatial Changes in Danwei Neighbourhoods: A Case Study of the AMS Danwei Compound in Hefei, China

This paper analysed socio-spatial changes in old urban neighbourhoods (Danwei compounds) in Chinese cities as a result of two major national level reforms: the Reform and Opening Up and the Urban Housing reform in 1978 and 1997, respectively. Existing research indicates fundamental changes have taken place in the political, economic and social aspects of Danwei compounds. However, there is a paucity of research on micro-level changes. To understand how these reforms have affected the social-spatial schema of Danwei Compounds, the study utilised mapping, key person interviews and field observation in AMS compound, Hefei city of Anhui province. This paper compared the AMS Danwei Compound before and after the reforms in terms of public spaces, building features and compound management. The study found that the AMS Danwei Compound has experienced a significant reduction in public space, an increase in building density and a reconfiguration of compound management actors. The study suggests the need for local planning authorities and government to pay attention to planning and design of the old city core by emphasising improvement in public spaces, attention to compact design principles for urban neighbourhood planning, and establishment of local community management body.

Property rights redistribution and the spatial evolution of the Chinese danwei compound: a case study in Beijing

Danwei compounds were the dominant form of urban neighborhood in China’s planned economy era. However, since the economic reform, the status of danwei compounds has undergone dramatic changes. By examining the transformation of Hua Gong Da Yuan (HGDY), a danwei compound in Beijing, this paper conceptualizes property rights redistribution and spatial evolution for post-danwei compounds. The transformation of danwei compounds is accompanied by the increasing awareness of property rights mainly in terms of land parcels, amenities and housing. Meanwhile, a more diversified group of property users, including both original residents and newcomers, are granted some portion of these property rights. They tend to privately claim all types of compound resources, which causes the spatial evolution of the compound, such as the reuse of former amenities, fragmented spaces and porous boundaries, the evolution of street shops, and the encroachment of public space. This paper argues that the institutional and proprietary order of post-danwei compounds is vaguely defined and disorderly arranged, which results in a weakened pattern of residual claims and compounds’ deterioration. The study suggests an updated contract regarding danwei compounds to clearly regulate the behaviors of property users.

A Study of the Spatial Distribution of Danwei Compounds in the Old Town of Hefei, China

Danwei compounds have experienced a steady decline since the 1997 Urban Housing System Reform. Existing research suggests that Danwei compounds, which were characteristically walled neighbourhoods of work and residence, have experienced socio-spatial changes in social structure, community management and spatial form. However, there is limited understanding of its current spatial function and relation to the city. This study analysed the spatial distribution of Danwei compounds, their spatial features and accessibility to selected public facilities in comparison with non-Danwei residential sites in the old town of Hefei city. ArcGIS was used to analyse building density, plot ratio of the residential sites and their accessibility to public facilities. Further quantitative analysis was done using binary logistic regression and descriptive statistics to identify spatial features of the residential sites. The results show that even though the urban land reforms have led to a steady rise in non-Danwei residential sites, Danwei compounds predominate the urban spatial structure. Comparatively, Danwei compounds have lower plot ratios with higher levels of accessibility to commercial centres and hospitals but poor accessibility to schools. The paper suggests the need for local planning officials to support the revitalisation of old residential compounds through integrated and community-centred spatial planning.

Changes of Socio-Spatial Structure in Danwei Compound in China: A Case Study on Compound of the Anhui Academy of Medical Science in Hefei City

The Danwei system was the basic social-spatial unit in cities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, two reforms of the PRC fundamentally changed such system. This study analyzed changes in social structure in AMS Danwei of Hefei old city from the aspects of compound management entities, and social relations between individuals and organizations within the compound. The study found that the social structure has changed from a tree structure into a diverse and fragmented one where close-knit social groups have declined and become individualized. The study recommends public oriented facilities and community organizations to revitalize sociality in Danwei.

Analysis of Physical Changes in Buildings and Public Space in Danwei Compounds: A Case Study on AMS Compound in Hefei City (China)

The Danwei system is a unique community level urban social-spatial unit developed in the socialism exploration process of the People’s Republic of China. In this paper, the Anhui Academy of Medical Science (AMS) Danwei compound was selected as the study target to analyze the physical changes in Danwei system from the aspect of building and public space. Raw data was collected by method of the digitization and analysis of maps made in 1961, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2017. Public space in each period was also analyzed by the space syntax tool. These were supplemented with purposive interviews with residents. The study analyzed the building floor area, function, materials, storey and the demolition/retention of buildings between 1961 and 2018. The study findings hang on two significant points: a continuous optimization of buildings on one hand and a decline and degradation of public space on the other hand. Based on the findings we suggest the need for inventive and participatory master planning to guide new interventions, redesign and improvement of public space and the promotion of compactness.

Corporate-Run Society: The Practice of the Danwei System in Beijing during the Planned Economy Period

The danwei system is one of the most important institutional arrangements in the Chinese planned economy era (1950s–1970s). It also offers a clue to understanding China’s urban transformation since the economic reform. This paper aims to explore the spatial prototype of the danwei system and understand the internal logic for the operation of this system by conducting a case study of the danwei compound of the Beijing No. 2 Textile Factory. Focusing on the obligation of the factory to run social welfare services, the danwei system formed a so-called “corporate-run society”. A sustainable mechanism for production and reproduction is conceptually portrayed. The institutional practice of the danwei system is understood as a process that is in accordance with socialist constructions, the public ownership system, and state socialism. This paper argues that it is necessary to reconfigure the legacies of the danwei system and explore its implications for contemporary Chinese society.

Residential relocation and the remaking of socialist workers through state-facilitated urban redevelopment in Chengdu, China

This article discusses the unevenness in the social effects of state-facilitated urban redevelopment in China by examining the social transformation experienced by the housing class of socialist workers in two inner-city redevelopment projects in Chengdu. After government compensation schemes, former public tenants and subsidised owners associated with socialist work-units are far more privileged through cash compensation or relocation in new self-owned apartments than two other housing classes – migrant tenants and homeowners of commodity or rural housing – impacted by the same urban redevelopment. The objective and subjective transformation of socialist workers during the process of resettlement are examined from field interviews, with their status changing from welfare recipients in danwei compounds to proprietors in new gated communities. We conclude that state-facilitated urban redevelopment in the Chinese city is interdependent with, and mutually reinforced by, state-led working-class transformation in market society, so as to balance the two critical national objectives of economic growth and social stability. State dominance in conferring variable opportunities via launching unequal housing trajectories among social groups determines the significant disparity of impacts from urban redevelopment in China.

Ageing in place and ageing with migration in the transitional context of urban China: A case study of ageing communities in Guangzhou

The social and spatial patterns of ageing population in urban China illuminate the influence of the socioeconomic transformation associated with the dual economic system. Guangzhou, one of China's megacities, is used as a case study in this paper. Data from the 2010 National Census were used to examine the spatial differentiation and the related factors of ageing communities in Guangzhou. Using social area analysis, the study identified six categories of ageing communities: traditional inner-city communities, traditional danwei residential communities, commercial housing ageing communities, danwei compound ageing communities, immigrant ageing communities, and rural ageing communities. The paper analyses the reasons and processes leading to the clustering of the elderly population in each category of areas associated with distinctive spatial patterns of ageing differentiation. These patterns suggest that the socio-spatial differentiation of ageing communities is a joint outcome of urban development, housing policies, personal status and family relationships. The dynamics of both ageing in place and ageing with migration had a dual impact on the spatial, social and ecological patterns of ageing communities. The spatial differentiation of ageing communities in the study area should be taken into account when formulating urban planning and public policies. In addition, a dynamic public facility and service allocation system is also necessary to meet the needs associated with evolving socio-spatial urban restructuring.

Featured Graphic. The Declining Impacts of Danwei on Commuting? Visualization of Journeys to Work from Danwei and Adjacent Areas in Xi'an, China

Jobs–housing balance describes the relationship of housing stocks and jobs within different subdivisions of a city or within a reasonable commuting distance/time from points of interest (Cervero, 1989; Giuliano, 1991). Many advocate for jobs–housing balance to reduce commuting distance, car dependence, and associated congestion and air emissions. According to the planning doctrine in the Socialist era, the working-unit, or Danwei, is a good way to realize jobs–housing balance. Recent case studies indicate that Danwei’s impacts on the jobs–housing relationship and commuting may still persist (Wang and Chai, 2009; Zhao et al, 2011). At the city or regional levels, however, there have rarely been geocoding and visualizations of Danwei and associated commuting flows. Using the commuting data from the 2011 Xi’an Household Travel Survey (N = 59 967), we made two maps, which show all 109 Danwei compounds in the city and commuting flows associated with these compounds and their adjacent areas (figures 1 and 2). The maps shed new light on Danwei and commuting in post-Socialism cities. First and above all, we see that for the most Danwei compounds, the top destinations (workplaces) are no longer within or even around the same compounds (figure 1). Second, many workers residing in the non-Danwei areas surrounding Danwei commute to the suburbs (figure 2). Interestingly, these workers share several common workplaces as their counterparts living in adjacent Danwei compounds.

From socialist danwei to new danwei: a daily-life-based framework for sustainable development in urban China

The danwei (or work unit) compound was the basic spatial and social unit of urban China in the pre-reform period, and its transformation has been an important part of the larger transitions that have remade urban China during the reform era. This paper investigates spatial and social changes in urban China over three stages; namely, the formation of the socialist danwei system, the decline of the socialist danwei and the formation of a new kind of danwei. I argue that the socialist danwei included positive elements like mixed land use, job-housing balance and social equality, while the decline of the socialist danwei system has resulted in many negative outcomes such as spatial mismatch and social segregation. In proposing a framework for new danwei, I suggest that urban life should be structured around residents' daily activity spaces based on their daily-life-circle systems. The concept of the new danwei offers a practical solution through combining a human-focused approach with consideration of China's contemporary economic and social reality. The paper concludes with a discussion on possible avenues for future research.

A socio-economic-cultural exploration on open space form and everyday activities in Danwei: A case study of Jingmian compound, Beijing

The article explores relationships among urban form, human activities and socio-economic-cultural features in Danwei compound. With Jingmian compound, a typical Danwei compound in Beijing, as a case study, the researcher studies urban form in open spaces from a socio-economic-cultural perspective. In addition, residents’ activities are discussed. The research shows that open space form reflects features and transitions of Chinese society from sociological and economic perspectives. This article also proves the validity of thorough micro space form investigation.

Evolving enclave urbanism in China and its socio-spatial implications: the case of Guangzhou

Enclave urbanism has deep historical roots in China, from the earliest forms of enclave residence, i.e. the walled city and courtyard housing, to the contemporary intricate mosaic of enclaves comprising danwei (work unit) compounds, gated commodity housing estates and migrant enclaves. Yet the evolution of enclave urbanism is not simply a convergence with Western urban forms, nor is it a process of historical succession or cultural inertia. The story of enclave urbanism is far more complicated. Exploring China's evolving urban enclaves and their socio-economic implications would add much richness and diversity to the international debates on enclave urbanism. The first half of the paper discusses the evolving processes and dynamics of China's enclave urbanism, with special reference to Guangzhou. The complex dynamics of China's enclave urbanism are evolving around various socio-economic, cultural, institutional and political forces, within which institutional arrangements for urban spatial organisation and social control are playing a fundamental role. To present a fuller picture of the plural socio-spatial connotations of China's enclave urbanism, the second half of the paper unpacks the heterogeneity of urban fabrics and examines how different social groups perceive and represent the social aspects of their lives. Featuring a high degree of heterogeneity within and between different types of neighbourhoods, enclave urbanism in China has entailed a complex relationship between urban form and social fabric. In addition, for various social groups, urban enclave living is endowed with very different social meanings. In gated commodity housing estates, enclave living is an expression of a safe, high-quality and privileged lifestyle. In urban villages, it is a compromise choice involving makeshift urban living resulting from suppressed rights to the city. And, in danwei compounds, it is a lingering lifestyle to which people used to be collectively assigned with no exercise of their own choice and from which they are now emotionally estranged.

Urban Development, Private Property, and Public Activism in ChinaIn Search of Paradise: Middle-Class Living in a Chinese Metropolis. By Li Zhang. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2010.

The most tangible sign of the changes in Chinese urban economy and society over the past decades has been in urban development and housing. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the typical cityscape was one of endless expanses of drab 7-story concrete apartment blocks in danwei (socialist work unit) compounds, as well as, in the downtown districts, older neighborhoods of dilapidated homes in the traditional architecture. Most peoples’ homes were owned by the state and assigned by their work units. By the 1990s, private ownership of homes became possible, and the private real estate market began to take off. Many were able to purchase their flats at rock-bottom prices from their work units, while others became buyers in the private market; in the space of a few years, a middle class of homeowners was suddenly created. By the early twentyfirst century, the property market had become one of the main arenas for many of the dreams, fantasies, conflicts, and tensions of postreform Chinese society: urban landscapes were transformed to a degree never achieved even at the height of revolutionary social engineering, with both older neighborhoods and danwei compounds being demolished to make way for new commercial and residential developments in increasingly sophisticated modern architectural styles; real estate developers became powerful members of the rising business class; a property market boom became the target of runaway speculation and repeated government efforts to “cool the bubble” and rein in prices, as incidents of conflict, protests, and even violence became ever more frequent, owing to forced relocations, illegal land expropriations, insufficient compensation, or simply the skyrocketing property prices that made the new dream (and social expectation) of home ownership increasingly impossible to attain for ordinary Chinese. How have these profound transformations affected the daily lives, dreams, and social tensions of urban Chinese? Li Zhang’s In Search of Paradise is an anthropological exploration of this question, through 15 months of fieldwork among middle class property owners in Kunming, conducted from 2000 to 2007. The book opens a fascinating window into contemporary Chinese society and culture through the prism of home development and ownership with its discussion ranging from

Spatial Structure of Danwei Compound towards Low-Carbon - Case Study of Space Change in HUST

Urban transport activities have an important impact on carbon emissions. The traditional Danwei compound created a better structural condition, providing people with the way of low-carbon transportation. In this paper, we discussed the impact of HUST campus space change to the choice of transportation for the school staff, and proposed that the low-carbon urban block special structure should be encouraged in the urban planning in order to reduce carbon emissions through constructing the mixed function urban blocks.

From “spatial bond” to “spatial mismatch”: An assessment of changing jobs–housing relationship in Beijing

For decades through the 1980s, housing units in major Chinese cities were “bonded” to jobs as they were located together with or very close to places of employment within large, walled danwei compounds. From the 1990s, accelerated suburbanization of population in major Chinese cities fueled by urban redevelopment, urban land reform and urban housing reform has fundamentally altered the jobs–housing spatial relation. The “spatial bond” that existed between urban jobs and urban housing for decades has dissolved and is being replaced by a prominent “spatial mismatch” when the jobs–housing relationship becomes increasingly imbalanced in space. This paper examines the new jobs–housing imbalance by assessing the extent of employment–residence spatial mismatch in Beijing. This analysis based on statistical data shows that the spatial imbalance between employment and population has become increasingly pronounced over time across urban districts. It is especially evident in the inner city where the loss of residents continues and the concentration of employment persists. The analysis of survey data, which focuses on people’s commuting patterns and travel behaviors, also provides strong evidence of spatial imbalance. Meanwhile, it reveals some of the impacts on job accessibility and other aspects of urban life. This study contributes to the understanding of how suburbanization has been unfolding in major Chinese cities and how it has been transforming urban development and urban life. It also adds to the understanding of the spatial dynamics of employment–housing relationship based on Beijing’s experience and sheds lights on the multifarious nature of the spatial mismatch problem.