Research Summary - The Political Economy of Urban Spatial Restructuring: Evolving Urban Renewal Practices in the Pre and Post-Pandemic Chinese Metropolis

Jun 09, 2024

Wei Dai

Student, The University of Hong Kong

Liked by Celia Irving

Background

Over the preceding decades, the rapid growth in China’s economy have necessitated significant spatial restructuring initiatives to accommodate the evolving needs of urban population. Mass scale urban renewal projects have played an instrumental role at transforming city landscapes and driving economic development. The state has invested heavily to construct new urban areas by replacing poorer neighborhoods, in the meantime upgrading infrastructure to facilitate the rapid expansion of cities.

However, as the concept of “Houses for living, not speculation” was brought to table at the 2017 Economic Work Conference, the central government officially discredited unsustainable developments in real estate and carried out a set of approaches to cool down the market. This sets the tone for a new era of urban development in major Chinese cities, characterized by more subtle and cautious attempts.

Objectives

By adopting an interdisciplinary approach featuring a comparative evaluation of the geopolitical and economic aspects of state-led urban renewal in China, this research aims to explain the differentiated dynamics and methods to urban reformation overtime. Evaluations will be conducted based on the characteristics of varied urban renewal approaches that correspond to changing exogenous environments in China. The significance of the research lies in obtaining a pertinent insight toward the challenges and opportunities faced in the past, thereby suggesting a mutually beneficial solution that ensures the sustainable redevelopment of future cities. At the same time, implications can further be drawn upon the execution of urban renewal programs abroad, especially in the global south and newly emerging economies where urbanization is rapidly taking place.

Methodology

My method will adopt a mixture of archival research, literature study, and empirical fieldwork. Government and academic publications will be extensively employed. I will also visit redevelopment sites in person and conduct qualitative research on cross-sectional data through field assessment and interviews.