Urban Redevelopment In China Research Articles

Spatial Variation of Industrial Land Conversion and Its Influential Factors in Urban Redevelopment in China: Case Study of Shenzhen, China

Spatial Variation of Industrial Land Conversion and Its Influential Factors in Urban Redevelopment in China: Case Study of Shenzhen, China

Urban Village Redevelopment for an Envisioned Global City: The Multi-scalar Narratives and Actions in Jiuxing, Shanghai

ABSTRACT Urban redevelopment in China has been the subject of heightened attention in urban governance research. Using the Jiuxing redevelopment in Shanghai as the case study, this study engages with the discursive construction of multiple actors under China’s pro-growth regime. The findings of this study include that (1) the municipal government-envisioned global city is the overarching discourse leading to the synergistic narratives of the coalition; (2) the actors created parallel narratives of the meaning of redevelopment based on their scalar positions; (3) through flexible narrative tactics, the capacity of a state-led multi-scalar coalition is enhanced for coordinating actions.

Revisiting entrepreneurial governance in China’s urban redevelopment: a case from Wuhan

ABSTRACT The unprecedented scale and varied forms of urban redevelopment in China provide an experimental field for understanding the transformation of urban governance. Noting that existing studies have often focused on coastal or developed Chinese cities, this study examines urban redevelopment in Wuhan, an inland city. We use the Erqi Riverfront Business District (RBD) redevelopment project as a case to examine the evolving entrepreneurial governance in Wuhan. We found that the making of RBD is featured by an absolutely dominant role of the local state, with public and private partnerships formed at a later stage. Both financialization and planning centrality have been used by the local state to fulfill its long-term vision of urban development. This study produces grounded knowledge to deeper understand varied entrepreneurialism and its modality for emerging Chinese cities. By articulating the significance of local contexts, it also contributes to a more nuanced understanding of urban entrepreneurial governance.

How the combined use of non-negotiable and negotiable developer obligations affects land value capture: Evidence from market-oriented urban redevelopment in China

The combined use of non-negotiable (N-NDOs) and negotiable developer obligations (NDOs) has become a principal instrument for land value capture in most countries. In this circumstance, this study seeks to examine how the combined use of NDOs and N-NDOs affects the practical results of land value capture within the context of market-oriented urban redevelopment in China. The ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation and two spatial regression models (SLM and SEM) are applied to parcel-level data samples of all redevelopment projects in Shenzhen, China, for evaluating the practical results of DOs. The outcomes suggest that, in some ways, the combined use of NDOs and N-NDOs leaves room for market players/applicants and the local government to negotiate DOs and other development possibilities. Compared with old factory owners as the applicant, the portion of DOs is higher if developers are the applicant. The applicants who contribute more DOs will strive for a higher floor area ratio bonus, especially when developers act as the applicant. In addition, redevelopment projects located in less developed regions are required to contribute more DOs than those in highly urbanized areas. Our research findings also demonstrate that, in other ways, negotiation disappears, and obligations are charged through non-negotiable statutory urban redevelopment planning. Specifically, projects redeveloped for residential use contribute more DOs than those for industrial use. Moreover, redevelopment projects in higher density zones must contribute more portions of DOs than those in lower density zones. This study provides valuable guidance for policy makers and practitioners to pursue well-designed and properly regulated DOs in urban redevelopment and ultimately achieve sustainable public infrastructure financing.

Heritage, values and gentrification: the redevelopment of historic areas in China

ABSTRACT This paper explores the impacts of heritage-led urban redevelopment on local communities and the associated consequences of gentrification. The instrumental role of cultural heritage in urban governance presents an underdeveloped research field on gentrification. Especially in fast-developing countries like China, redevelopment is often associated with urban beautification that favours the interests of the affluent middle classes while disregarding the needs of the urban poor and migrants. This paper uses Qujiang New District in Xi’an and Taipingqiao in Shanghai as cases for examining the impacts of heritage-led redevelopment on the urban landscape and social fabric of Chinese cities. Following a qualitative approach based on built environment analysis and observation, together with in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this study shows how cultural heritage becomes an effective tool for governance in the context of urban redevelopment. The values generated by cultural heritage and its associated ideas, including urban beautification, high culture and economic benefits, legitimise state-dominated spatial reconstruction and the resulting gentrification and social fragmentation. Heritage-led urban redevelopment in China produces new spaces for social interaction, where the state’s control over its citizens is reinforced. These spaces support investor and upper-high class interests of capital accumulation and leave limited room for the development of alternatives.

Decoding the decision-making in the new wave of urban redevelopment in China: A case study of a bottom-up industrial land redevelopment in Shenzhen

Since 2008, the urban redevelopment in China has entered a new era mainly characterised by the new redevelopment model proposed and practised in Guangdong province. In the new wave of urban redevelopment towards a more inclusive type of governance, the roles of various agents or stakeholders in the decision-making processes have changed correspondingly. Building upon Healey and Barrett’s structure and agency approach in the land and property development process, this paper develops an analytical framework specifically to explore the decision-making processes and mechanisms in this urban redevelopment experiment conducted in China. The empirical basis of this paper is a pioneer city in urban redevelopment within Guangdong province, Shenzhen. Through exploring the redevelopment trajectory of a local collective-owned factory, the roles played by different stakeholders at each stage of the redevelopment process are clarified. The conflicts and compromises between land owners and the developer on the distribution proportion of potential profits, and between the district government and the developer on the inclusion and provision of public facilities, have revealed the key decision-making mechanisms of collective-owned industrial land redevelopment in China, which offer valuable insights and experiences for industrial land redevelopment in other cities.

Measuring residents’ anxiety under urban redevelopment in China: An investigation of demographic variables

Residents’ concerns and feelings play pivotal roles in smoothly promoting urban redevelopment. Anxiety, as an intuitive feeling toward uncertainties, generally exists among residents who are confronted with redevelopment, and this feeling has gradually attracted scholars’ attention. However, relatively few studies have focused on the multidimensional view of this concept and its influencing factors. Drawing upon a large-scale questionnaire survey conducted in 13 pilot areas in China, this study refines and verifies five prominent dimensions of anxiety, namely, housing conditions, monetary compensation, public services, life adaptation, and public participation level, through factor analysis and one-sample t-test. The finding contributes to achieving a complete understanding of anxiety, and the scales developed for measuring these dimensions lay the foundation for further empirical studies on anxiety. The individual and collective effects of age, job, and region variables on anxiety dimensions are demonstrated via independent-sample t-test and analysis of variance, which clarifies the formation process of anxiety and highlights the importance of these contextual variables. Tailored strategies for policymaking and engineering management, including establishing reasonable compensation standards, providing equal public services, and delivering high-quality housing, are proposed to relieve residents’ anxiety. These strategies are expected to consider further the sensitive group, such as the elderly, farmers, and casual workers.

A Hesitant Probabilistic Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Group Decision-Making Framework for Urban Land Consolidation in China

Urban land consolidation (ULC) is a technique used globally for urbanization planning. Selecting a suitable area for ULC becomes the most feasible plan for urban redevelopment in China, which can be regarded as a complex multi-criteria group decision-making problem. In this article, a hesitant probabilistic fuzzy multi-criteria group decision-making framework is proposed to solve the site selection problem of ULC. In the framework, hesitant probabilistic fuzzy set are used to represent the evaluation information provided by decision makers. Furthermore, the framework utilizes a new method based on entropy and the analytic hierarchy process for determining weights. The hesitant probabilistic fuzzy combined weighted logarithmic averaging distance (HPFCWLAD) measure is then introduced for sorting the alternatives found by the system. To validate the proposed framework, a site selection case of ULC including five alternatives in Hangzhou is investigated. The effectiveness and stability of the framework is proved through a comparative analysis.

Heterogeneity of public participation in urban redevelopment in Chinese cities: Beijing versus Guangzhou

Chinese cities, especially large cities, are in urgent need of urban redevelopment but social conflicts in redevelopment processes have threatened social stability. Public participation has been stipulated in national policies to alleviate these conflicts and the responsibility to implement these policies has been delegated to local governments. Therefore, the features of public participation may differ between Chinese cities. Yet, a systematic investigation of this possible heterogeneity is lacking. This article adapts 11 features of governance to build a framework to compare public participation in urban redevelopment in Beijing and Guangzhou. Findings show that the two cities are similar in five features (policy instruments, policy integration, initiators, position of stakeholders, policy level at which citizens operate) but differ in six (policy goals, policy–science interface, power base of citizens, model of representation, rules of interaction and mechanisms of social interaction), making citizens in urban redevelopment in Guangzhou more powerful than their counterparts in Beijing. The observed shift towards urban micro-redevelopment might further strengthen the power of citizens in urban redevelopment in Beijing, but might weaken their power base in Guangzhou. The findings highlight the importance of local context and policy dynamics in the study of public participation in urban redevelopment in China.

Strategies of the built-heritage stewardship movement in urban redevelopment in the Internet Age: The case of the Bell-Drum Towers controversy in Beijing, China

The built-heritage stewardship movement has become visible in China’s urban redevelopment, but theoretical and empirical research on the movement’s strategies in an authoritarian context is lacking. To systematically understand these strategies in the Internet Age, this article first develops a theoretical framework, then analyzes the context in which the movement operates, and thereafter examines the movement's strategies in the Bell-Drum Towers controversy in Beijing. Castells contends that the construction of meaning is a decisive source of both power and counter-power and that symbolic construction depends on the frames created and diffused in multimedia communication. The theoretical framework therefore consists of a detailed conceptualization of framing processes. The context analysis shows that the built-heritage stewardship movement can benefit from official policies and plans and from the proliferation of new media, despite the censorship of the Internet, the limitations in the judicial system, the repressive practice of law enforcement, and the annual inspections of civil society organizations by civil affairs authorities. The empirical study shows that the preservationists managed to effectively influence decision-makers through combining online and offline efforts, such as mobilizing the general public online to shape public debates, mobilizing higher-level governments to employ political pressure, and directly disempowering local decision-makers online. Framing analysis not only uncovers the strategies of social movements but also identifies which elements determine the success of socialized communication as a counter-power of urban redevelopment in China. The Internet provides channels for frames diffusion, and thus offers preservationists a space to counter power in an authoritarian context where real-world activities and traditional media are tightly controlled by the government.

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China: A case study of state-led urban redevelopment in Shenyang

Since 1978, urban redevelopment in China has resulted in large-scale neighbourhood demolition and forced residential relocation, which can severely disrupt established people-place interactions in the demolished neighbourhoods. Urban redevelopment in China has also been criticized by the public and scholars, because the position of the residents in decision-making processes of urban redevelopment is often marginalized. Conflicts have arisen between the residents, local governments and developers, against the backdrop of the uneven redistribution of capital accumulated via urban space reproduction such as the replacement of declining neighbourhoods in which low-income residents reside, with newly-build high-rise dwellings for middle- or high-income residents (Qian and He 2012, Weinstein and Ren 2009). The aim of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of urban redevelopment and its induced forced relocation on residents, by investigating their behavioural and emotional responses to the state-led urban redevelopment in Shenyang, a Chinese city. In particular, it highlights the agency of the affected residents, through exploring their interactions with other stakeholders and through displaying the ambivalence embedded in their neighbourhood experiences.

Understanding the experiences of relocatees during forced relocation in Chinese urban restructuring

Despite the massive forced relocation of residents during urban restructuring in China, there is no systematic overview regarding how residents experience the process and its outcomes. Most studies concerning urban restructuring in China directly equate forced relocation with displacement, which has a negative connotation. This exclusively negative view overlooks the multifaceted effects of forced relocation on relocatees. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of relocatees’ experienced during urban redevelopment in China by establishing a conceptual model in which the time sequence of events and their context are central, and by analysing the existing research on this topic about China. It conceptualises forced relocation as a process with various and changing socio-spatial implications over time, and as a specific type of residential mobility that occurs in the context of urban restructuring. As such, the paper presents a conceptual model that includes different stages and contexts to analyse the experiences of relocatees during and after forced relocation. It divides the process of forced relocation into a pre-demolition stage, a transitional stage and a post-relocation stage and investigates the social, economic, physical, psychological and behavioural dimensions of the experiences of relocatees as affected by the macro and micro context. As such, the conceptual model is used to structure the analysis of the existing literature about residents’ experiences and subsequently identify the gaps in the literature that should be addressed in future studies of forced relocation in the Chinese context.

Understanding the Experiences of Relocatees during Forced Relocation in Chinese Urban Restructuring

ABSTRACTDespite the massive forced relocation of residents during urban restructuring in China, there is no systematic overview regarding how residents experience the process and its outcomes. Most studies concerning urban restructuring in China directly equate forced relocation with displacement, which has a negative connotation. This predominantly negative view overlooks the multifaceted effects of forced relocation on relocatees. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of relocatees’ experiences during urban redevelopment in China by establishing a conceptual model in which the time sequence of events and their context are central. It conceptualizes forced relocation as a process with various and changing socio-spatial implications over time, and as a specific type of residential mobility that occurs in the context of urban restructuring. As such, the conceptual model divides the process of forced relocation into a pre-demolition stage, a transitional stage and a post-relocation stage and investigates the social, economic, physical, psychological and behavioural dimensions of the experiences of relocatees as affected by the macro and micro context. The conceptual model is used to structure the analysis of the existing literature about residents’ experiences and to subsequently identify the gaps in the literature that should be addressed in future studies of forced relocation in the Chinese context.

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.

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China

Conclusions

Large-scale urban redevelopment in China has been taking place for decades since the market transitions from 1978, which have caused massive forced relocation of residents (He and Wu, 2007; MOHURD, 2013). This thesis has provided a comprehensive study on relocatees’ perceptions and experiences at the pre-demolition phase of the forced relocation and state-led urban redevelopment. Through an extensive overview of existing literature on the experiences of the affected residents and in-depth interviews with residents and other stakeholders in urban redevelopment, the thesis shows that current studies have largely ignored the temporal feature and dynamics embedded in urban redevelopment and forced relocation in the Chinese context. Also, the ambivalence of relocatees’ perceptions towards their lived experiences in their neighbourhoods is not fully addressed. Many studies and news reports have merely displayed the conflicting interactions between the residents and project initiators such as local governments or developers, and have considered the redevelopment projects as if they were a static event (He, 2012; Hin and Xin, 2011; Sichuan News, 2009). This conceals the mechanisms and complexity underlying the controversial and conflicting nature of forced relocation in the context of urban redevelopment. Driven by these concerns, we especially focus on individual relocatees’ perceptions, experiences, and behaviours towards impending forced relocation and urban redevelopment. We highlight the ambivalence in the interactions between residents and neighbourhoods (people-place) as well as residents, local governments and developers, from a residential mobility perspective. Our research therefore aims to gain a deeper understanding of how forced relocation and urban redevelopment affect residents of declining neighbourhoods in Shenyang, in terms of their pre-relocation neighbourhood perceptions and behaviours. This thesis is organized as followed. Chapter 1 is the introduction, which focuses on the research background, research aim and questions, research data and methods, and the history of urban (re)development of Shenyang. Chapter 2 provides a literature review on the experiences of residents, particularly the homeowners, during forced relocation in the Chinese context. This chapter is also the theoretical basis for the thesis, by identifying gaps in existing research and outlining the research questions for the following chapters. Chapter 3, 4 and 5 focus on the influence of Shantytown Redevelopment Programmes (SRPs) on the various dimensions of the perceptions and experiences of residents from declining neighbourhoods that are involved in the SRPs in the city of Shenyang. Chapter 3 investigates the evolution of the SRPs, related policies and the changing roles and interactions between the different stakeholders involved in SRPs, against changing macro-, social, economic and institutional contexts. Chapter 4 and 5 put the spotlight on individual residents’ experiences by specifically focusing on the people-place interactions with regard to place attachment and the ageing in place of older people. These two chapters also reveal the influence of the impending SRPs and impending forced relocation on the people-place interaction. The following section firstly summarizes the key findings of each chapter. A reflection on the research is presented in section 6.3. The last section outlines future directions for research and the policy implications.

Understanding the experiences of relocatees during forced relocation in Chinese urban restructuring

Despite the massive forced relocation of residents during urban restructuring in China, there is no systematic overview regarding how residents experience the process and its outcomes. Most studies concerning urban restructuring in China directly equate forced relocation with displacement, which has a negative connotation. This exclusively negative view overlooks the multifaceted effects of forced relocation on relocatees. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of relocatees’ experienced during urban redevelopment in China by establishing a conceptual model in which the time sequence of events and their context are central, and by analysing the existing research on this topic about China. It conceptualises forced relocation as a process with various and changing socio-spatial implications over time, and as a specific type of residential mobility that occurs in the context of urban restructuring. As such, the paper presents a conceptual model that includes different stages and contexts to analyse the experiences of relocatees during and after forced relocation. It divides the process of forced relocation into a pre-demolition stage, a transitional stage and a post-relocation stage and investigates the social, economic, physical, psychological and behavioural dimensions of the experiences of relocatees as affected by the macro and micro context. As such, the conceptual model is used to structure the analysis of the existing literature about residents’ experiences and subsequently identify the gaps in the literature that should be addressed in future studies of forced relocation in the Chinese context.

State Dominance in Urban Redevelopment

This article will revisit Smith’s seminal argument that gentrification is a global urban strategy. The article pays attention to the role of the state and displacement during the process of redevelopment. Through an in-depth study of a dilapidated neighborhood with concentrated migrant population in Shanghai, it is revealed that state control is behind the deterioration of the neighborhood prior to its redevelopment. Inadequate services and poor housing conditions are undeniable. Informal development has been quickly realigned by state dominance. The self-building neighborhood is eventually replaced by state-sanctioned development projects. The article echoes the debate over displacement in the West and suggests that recent urban redevelopment in China has gone beyond both the sporadic middle-class return to the city and residential changes backed up by state actions, revealing hegemonic power of the state over spatial production. Through urban redevelopment, the state attempts to regularize informal areas into new production spaces for its revenue maximization.

The changing and different patterns of urban redevelopment in China: a study of three inner-city neighborhoods

China's urban growth is phenomenal, but some studies tend to see it as a consistent macro process without much turbulence at the micro levels. This article examines inner-city redevelopment in China by analyzing the cases of three types of neighborhoods: a work-unit compound, a historic quarter, and an urban village. It discusses how these projects were implemented, which actors were involved, and who the beneficiaries were. It argues that different patterns of redevelopment were applied in individual redevelopment projects, although all of these projects were property led. The local state's considerations when applying a particular pattern depends on institutional abilities, arrangements, recourses, and aims, as well as the power relations between the state, market, and community. A comparison of processes and outcomes shows that a top-down approach applied through delegated agencies or the immediate authority of the local state tends to implement redevelopment in a coalition with developers instead of considering the benefits for the affected residents and the preservation of the values of historic neighborhoods. In contrast, the bottom-up approach to the redevelopment of urban villages empowers the collective and villagers and enables them to benefit relatively more from the project. The local state has changed its role from an administrator to a facilitator, and has made significant economic concessions to advance the project in the context of significant policy changes in recent years.