Transforming Urban Neighbourhoods
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Transforming Urban Neighbourhoods: Limits of Developer-led Partnership and Benefit-sharing in Residential Redevelopment, with reference to Seoul and Beijing Hyun Bang Shin London School of Economics and Political Science Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London 2006 Abstract The thesis studies the dynamics of urban residential redevelopment programmes in Seoul and Beijing that have been effectively transforming dilapidated neighbourhoods in recent decades. The policy review shows that neighbourhood renewal programmes saw difficulties in ensuring cost-recovery and replicability in both cities, and that this has led to the formation of residential redevelopment programmes that depend heavily on the participation of real estate developers in spite of social, economic and political differences between the cities of Seoul and Beijing. Based on research data collected from a series of area-based field research visits in Seoul and Beijing between 2002 and 2003, the thesis examines how developer-led partnerships in urban redevelopment take place in different urban settings, what contributions are made by participating actors and how redevelopment benefits are shared among the existing and potential residents in redevelopment neighbourhoods. The main arguments in this thesis are as follows. Firstly, the emergence of profit-making opportunities in dilapidated neighbourhoods forms the basis of developer-led partnership among property-related interests that include the local government, professional developers and property owners. Poor owner-occupiers and tenants in both Seoul and Beijing assume a more passive role. Secondly, local authorities intervene to ensure that the partnership framework works, but this is carried out largely in favour of professional developers and absentee landlords whose material contributions are significant. Thirdly, redevelopment benefits are shared among existing residents in differentiated ways. The most affected in negative ways are the marginalised population whose social and economic status is increasingly threatened by the market risks in times of globalisation, urban growth and redevelopment in the 1990s. This thesis concludes that partnerships in neighbourhood redevelopment do not have benign outcomes for all. Stronger government intervention is necessary in order to safe- guard the interests of existing residents in dilapidated neighbourhoods, ensure their participation, and in particular, increase the protection of those increasingly marginalised by the process of redevelopment. 2 Acknowledgement This research would not have been possible without invaluable support from a number of people and organizations. First of all, I am extremely grateful to my supervisor Professor Anne Power for encouraging and motivating me with her thoughts and experiences throughout the whole journey of my research. I am also very much indebted to Bingqin Li for helping me to set up contacts in Beijing and for her support and advice on earlier versions of this work. Thanks are also due to my friends Jae-eun Seok and Rajiv Narayan for their encouragement and companionship. Caroline Paskell extended her help to check the consistency when most needed. A number of field visits took place in Seoul and Beijing. In Seoul, I am grateful to the Sillim Welfare Centre for sharing their raw survey data. I also owe many thanks to Minister Gidon Kim for introducing me to the field research neighbourhood. In Beijing, I received the most generous support from the Centre for Social Policy Research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. I owe many thanks to Professor Tuan Yang, Mr Bingyao Sun and Shaohua Zhan for their kind assistance to enable my data collection in Beijing. I also thank Uncle Dai and Aunt Xu for their support, and my friends Di Gao, Giyoun Song and Hyunkyung Kim for offering their help and assistance. Thanks to the London School of Economics for awarding me research studentships, to the University of London and the Department of Social Policy, LSE for providing funding for me to conduct field research in Beijing. I am also grateful to the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE for providing wonderful environment and resources. I am most grateful to my parents and parents-in-law for being patient and supportive throughout the PhD journey, and many other friends whose names could not be listed in this limited space for their moral support. And, finally, my deepest love and gratitude to my partner Soojeong for her love and patience. She first led me to this research, shared my thoughts and guided me to see the end of my long journey. Without her, this work would not have seen the light. 3 Statement of Originality I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis - Transforming Urban Neighbourhoods: Limits of Developer-led Partnership and Benefit-sharing in Residential Redevelopment, with reference to Seoul and Beijing – is my own work. Signed: Hyun Bang Shin 4 Romanisation of Korean and Chinese The Romanisation of Korean words in this thesis follows the Revised Romanisation system proclaimed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Korea in July 2000. For Chinese words, this thesis follows the Chinese Pinyin system. Some authors’ names and terms might be spelt out according to other Romanisation systems if they appeared as such in original publications. When referencing primary sources in Korean or Chinese language, its bibliography details include titles translated into English, followed by the romanised forms of titles. 5 Abbreviations BMG Beijing Municipal Government FAR Floor-to-area ratio GDP Gross Domestic Product GFCF Gross Fixed Capital Formation GNI Gross National Income HPF Housing Provident Fund (in mainland China) JRP Joint Redevelopment Programme KNHC Korea National Housing Corporation KRW Korean Won, the official currency in South Korea MLSS Minimum Living Security System (means-tested social assistance programme in mainland China) NBLS National Basic Livelihood System (means-tested social assistance programme in South Korea) NHF National Housing Fund (in South Korea) ODHRP Old and Dilapidated Housing Redevelopment Programme PIR Price-to-income ratio RMB Renminbi (or yuan), the official currency in mainland China SMG Seoul Municipal Government 6 Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgement....................................................................................................... 3 Statement of Originality ............................................................................................. 4 Romanisation of Korean and Chinese ........................................................................ 5 Abbreviations............................................................................................................... 6 Table of Contents........................................................................................................ 7 List of Tables..............................................................................................................12 List of Figures............................................................................................................15 List of Boxes ..............................................................................................................17 Chapter 1 Urban regeneration and developer-led partnership: a research perspective..................................................................................................................18 1.1 Urban regeneration in Seoul and Beijing: the need for empirical research 19 1.2 Key hypothesis and research questions 22 1.3 Research framework and theoretical foundation 22 Rent gap theory: a critical perspective on urban renewal and gentrification ....................................................................................................23 Constraints perspective on residents’ displacement and relocation.........27 1.4 Urban regeneration and partnership: evidence from the West 29 Private sector participation in urban regeneration .....................................30 Prevalence of property-based regeneration ................................................31 Role of the public sector in regeneration partnerships .............................33 Social consequences of urban renewal.........................................................35 Inclusion of local communities in partnership...........................................36 Summary...........................................................................................................38 1.5 Thesis structure 39 1.6 Conclusion 41 Chapter 2 Urbanisation, urban housing and the evolution of renewal policies....... 42 2.1 Urbanisation and demographic changes 43 South Korea: from rapid population growth to stabilisation....................43 Mainland China: growth, stagnation, then expansion................................44 2.2 Urban housing conditions 46 The case of South Korea and Seoul.............................................................47 The case of mainland China and Beijing.....................................................53 7 2.3 Evolution of urban renewal approaches 59 Seoul: slum clearance, ad hoc settlements and renewal experiments.......59 Beijing: traditional settlements, over-crowding and renewal experiments64 2.4 Implementation of partnership-based redevelopment 67 Joint redevelopment programme in Seoul...................................................68