Redevelopment Of Urban Villages Research Articles

Social networks of rural–urban migrants after residential relocation: evidence from Yangzhou, a medium-sized Chinese city

This paper analyses the effects of residential relocation on China’s rural–urban migrants’ social networks in light of evidence from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. Our study contrasts voluntary moves with forced moves driven by demolition-led redevelopment of urban villages. Based on data from a survey conducted between 2012 and 2013, the regression analysis shows that voluntarily relocated migrants are more likely than forced movers to use phone/computer to contact their former neighbours, and communication technology allows them to maintain the frequency of their contact. Furthermore, when moving to a gated neighbourhood, voluntary movers are more likely than forced movers to participate in public activities, to have more contact with new neighbours and thereby to get more help from the residents’ committee and new neighbours. The results suggest that forced moves have negative effects on migrants’ social networks in the neighbourhood and that the demolition-led redevelopment programmes do not promote the migrants’ integration in the city.

Institutional barriers to redevelopment of urban villages in China: A transaction cost perspective

Compared with other newly developed urban areas, urban villages in China are in greater need for redevelopment. Governed by institutions inherited from the local-state-dominated dual land ownership system, the redevelopment of these villages follows a state-led land requisition system, which confers development rights to local governments while limiting the rights of village collectives. Two other complementary arrangements include the top-down land use planning system and the state-monopolized land transfer system. Although these institutional arrangements favor land conversion in greenfield development, they cannot be easily implemented in the village redevelopment process. By reviewing the redevelopment policies and practices, this study empirically examines the redevelopment of urban villages in Shenzhen during the policy period from 2004 to 2009 and adopts the transaction cost perspective in analyzing how state-led institutional arrangements have resulted in many time-consuming transactions and hindered the redevelopment of urban villages.

Changing neighbourhood cohesion under the impact of urban redevelopment: a case study of Guangzhou, China

ABSTRACTLarge-scale urban redevelopment has caused the breakdown of traditional social bonds in Chinese cities. To date, very few studies have attempted to delve into the impact of this urban redevelopment on neighbourhood cohesion. Using data collected from questionnaires conducted in 20 urban villages and 1 urban village redevelopment neighbourhood in Guangzhou, this paper examines the impact of urban village redevelopment on the restructuring of neighbourhood attachment, neighbourly interaction, and community participation—three dimensions of neighbourhood cohesion. Results of a path analysis show that, overall, neighbourhood cohesion declines after redevelopment occurs, and that the sources of neighbourhood cohesion differ between urban villages and the redevelopment neighbourhood. Our findings show that after redevelopment, neighbourhood attachment becomes more influenced by residential satisfaction but less by neighbourly contacts, and community participation becomes less subject to neighbourly interaction and neighbourhood attachment. Such changes occur as a result of the differentiation between social groups and the concurrence of environmental restructuring and demographic reconstruction during the process of urban village redevelopment.

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.

Spatial Analyses of the Urban Village Development Process in Shenzhen, China

AbstractUrban villages are widespread in many Chinese cities, providing affordable and accessible housing for rural migrants. These urban villages develop rapidly over time to create more housing units and accommodate increasing numbers of residents. This article provides systematic analyses of urban village development in Shenzhen in the period 1999–2009. It reveals that the development of urban villages was driven by the overall planning and urban growth of the city, which resulted in significant variation in urban village development at the city scale. Three distinct but overlapping phases were observed: expansion, densification and intensification. The growth of urban villages was spatially clustered and changes over time in the distribution of growth centres suggest the possible diffusion of migrant employment out of the Special Economic Zone into two outer districts. In the recent urban regeneration process, the pattern and trend of urban village development is shown to contradict the city's urban village redevelopment programmes. This not only helps to explain the slow progress of the policy implementation, but also implies severe risks of jeopardizing the migrant housing market in certain urban sections.RésuméDes villages urbains sont dispersés dans de nombreuses villes chinoises, procurant un habitat accessible et économique aux migrants ruraux. En essor rapide, ces implantations multiplient les logements à faible loyer et accueillent un nombre croissant d’habitants. Le développement des villages urbains de Shenzhen entre 1999 et 2009 a fait l’objet d’analyses systématiques: il a été induit par la croissance et l’aménagement d’ensemble de la ville, qui ont abouti à une importante variation de ce phénomène à l’échelle urbaine. On distingue trois phases, en partie superposées: expansion, densification et intensification. La croissance des villages urbains s’est concentrée dans l’espace, et les changements progressifs dans la répartition des pôles de croissance suggèrent la dissémination possible de l’emploi des migrants vers deux quartiers situés hors de la Zone économique spéciale. Il est montré que, dans le cadre du récent processus de régénération urbaine, le schéma et la tendance du développement de ces villages dans Shenzhen vont à l’encontre des programmes de réaménagement des villages urbains. D’une part, ces résultats permettent d’expliquer la lenteur dans la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques; d’autre part, ils suggèrent que, dans certaines zones urbaines, le marché du logement des migrants pourrait connaître une crise grave.

Redevelopment of urban villages in Shenzhen, China – An analysis of power relations and urban coalitions

Urban regeneration often involves complicated power relations among different stakeholders, in addition to the multi-actor governance structure. With a theoretical underpinning of the concept “regime building”, this paper examines how urban coalitions are being forged or dismantled in the process of redevelopment of urban villages in China. More importantly, this paper aims at illustrating how different forms of power relations eventually assist, deter and impact on the outcome of urban regeneration in this rural–urban transition in China. From examining the two cases (one more satisfactory than the other) in Shenzhen, we find that local authority in China plays a much more influential role than their counter-parts in the West. In addition, urban coalitions tend be more formal than that depicted by the Urban Regime theory. The more satisfactory case in this paper illustrates that the local authority which is diplomatic in their negotiation and shows commitment to support the private sector in the process of regeneration, especially in terms of resources and planning policy, tends to build more sustainable coalition that works, and vice versa.

The development and redevelopment of urban villages in Shenzhen

China, like many other developing countries, has seen a huge influx of population into its cities coupled with urban expansion. The presence of massive numbers of rural migrants in cities does not result in slums or squatters due to institutional constraints. In the absence of government help, urban villages have evolved in many cities to provide adequate and affordable housing for the rural migrants. However, the urban villages are rejected by policy-makers and face aggressive demolition–redevelopment programmes to replace them with formal urban neighbourhoods. This article explores different dimensions of the development and redevelopment of urban villages in Shenzhen. By linking to the development practice of the city, the physical and socio-economic evolution of urban villages is found to be a result of the natural and logical response of the indigenous village population and the rural migrants in facing rapid economic development and social transition. Therefore, the demolition-redevelopment approach adopted by the government would be devastating not only for the rural migrants but also for the city’s economy which is largely based on labour-intensive sectors. Opportunities to explore alternative responses such as upgrading or the provision of village level development guidance do exist and could be explored.

Land Rights in Rural China: Facts, Fictions and Issues

China's rural economic reforms radically altered land tenure in rural China. With the granting of land use rights and residual income rights to farming households between 1979 and 1983, agriculture shifted from a collective-based to a familybased system. Land was not privatized, however. Ownership remained "collective", with local officials, typically at the village level, exercising a major influence over the allocation of land and the way households could use land. The initial land allocations to families were typically based on household size, household labour supply, or both. The central government's policy was that these allocations were supposed to be for 15 years. In some villages, land use contracts have been respected; in other villages, however, local leaders have periodically redistributed land among households and have intervened throughout the reform period to determine how farmers are able to use the land. The initial reforms triggered an unprecedented acceleration of agricultural growth in China. From 1979 to 1984, the gross value of agricultural output increased in real terms at an annual rate of 7.6 per cent, and grain production rose by 4.9 per cent annually.' Empirical studies attribute a significant part of this increase to enhanced incentives, as farmers were able to keep the output and