Urban Writing on Disappearing Alleyways and Courtyard Houses, Beijing, 1950-2008
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Urban Writing on Disappearing Alleyways and Courtyard Houses, Beijing, 1950-2008 by Yanfei Li A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of East Asian Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Yanfei Li 2018 Urban Writing on Disappearing Alleyways and Courtyard Houses, Beijing, 1950-2008 Yanfei Li Doctor of Philosophy Department of East Asian Studies University of Toronto 2018 Abstract Beijing has transformed tremendously in the recent four decades, and the decline of the signature residential space, alleyways and courtyard houses, is at the center of social and cultural debates. For some, it is an outcome of a profit-driven real estate market that favours international capital rather than local communities. For others, marketization and globalization have otherwise created a niche for the gentrified and commercialized vernacular space as a cultural selling point of Chineseness. This project poses the question differently: what is the role of the cultural intermediaries in this picture of decline with the market and capital on the one hand and the physical changes on the other? This project investigates the cultural intermediaries formed by the architectural trends, planning thoughts, policy tendencies, and heritage system that the capital and market depend on to concretely shape the cityscape. Focusing on multiple genres of texts in urban writing from the 1950s to the 2010s, this project examines them through metaphors. Urban amnesia reveals an architectural forgetting system that marginalizes alleyways and courtyard houses in the fifty years of architectural discourse. City tank provides a cautious approach to housing, land, and demolition and relocation policies that demonstrates how difficult it is for the vernacular space users to cultivate a long-lasting connection with their living environment. City as organism shed light on the alternative planning practice to preserve vernacular space. Its ii adaptation into heritage policies in the context of cultural and historical city preservation ironically illuminates on the limitations of organic renewal. The meanings of these metaphors collectively present a complicated picture of how cultural intermediaries promote, oppose to, and negotiate with the erasure of vernacular space in urban redevelopment. To trace these meanings opens up new space to test ideas and practices that emphasize both architectural preservation and social preservation. iii Acknowledgments During the research and writing of this thesis, I have received great assistance and support from many individuals and institutions. Without them, this project would not be possible. At the University of Toronto, I have access to excellent academic mentors. For this project particularly, they are Professors Janet Poole, Hsiao-wei Rupprecht, Johanna Liu, and Vincent Shen. My gratitude to my supervisor Professor Yue Meng and committee members Professors Tong Lam and Jesook Song. They have given me carefully-thought directions, inspirational suggestions, and an incredible amount of encouragement throughout the planning, conducting, and writing of the project. I am also thankful to our lovely office administrators Natasja Vanderberg, Norma Escobar, and Mary MacDonell. They make the graduate life on campus easy to navigate. My research has been generously supported by the scholarships that are available through the department. For instance, the Milena Doleželová-Velingerová Memorial Scholarship, the Ting Fang Chung Scholarship, and the Reverend Doctor James Scarth Gale Scholarship in East Asian Studies. Without the financial support, many of my research travel and conference presentations would be impossible. On the journey of producing and sharing knowledge, I am indebted to many interlocutors at various workshops and conferences. The Critical China Studies Group initiated by Professor Joan Judge and currently managed by Professor Yiching Wu provided a friendly environment to share some ideas in this thesis at their preliminary stages. The Advanced Method Workshop organized by the Center for the Study of Korea at the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs, offered me a platform to present some finalized chapters to an interdisciplinary audience. I would also like to thank Professors Yi Ren, Yishi Liu, Qi Xiao, and Plácido González Martínez, Dr. Donia Zhang, and my comrades Kan Li, Jing Xu, and Yu Wang. Their interest in and patience to my works at different writing sessions and conference panels are priceless. I am sincerely grateful to my friends and family. My dear friends in Toronto: Yvonne, Sunny, Sam, Steph, Shasha, and Lucy, and my parents and grandma in Shanghai. Their encouragement and support give me strength. My deepest gratitude to Hsin. I owe her much for her unconditional love and companionship. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii Introduction .................................................................................................................................1 • Vernacular space: The inquiry .............................................................................................1 • Urban writing: The research ..............................................................................................13 • Literature review ................................................................................................................19 • Methodology ......................................................................................................................26 • Structure of the thesis.........................................................................................................27 Urban Amnesia: The Architectural Forgetting Mechanism ......................................................29 • The national form and vernacular space ............................................................................32 • Dwellings of the proletarian...............................................................................................40 • Traditional or modern? ......................................................................................................45 • Rethinking tradition ...........................................................................................................51 • Conclusion .........................................................................................................................59 City Tank: Residents and the Urban System ............................................................................64 • City tank: The metaphor ....................................................................................................65 • State-owned land, leasable land use right, and the residents in the land system ...............70 • Welfare housing, commodity housing, and the residents in the housing system ..............82 • Local state, urban residents, and diversified actors in the demolition system ...................88 • Conclusion .......................................................................................................................116 Urban Organism: Organic Renewal and the Alternative Politics ...........................................120 • Formalist organic renewal and the planner-architect model ............................................121 v • Complex organic renewal and the user-oriented model ..................................................135 • Interpretative organic renewal and the technical turn ......................................................144 • The divergence and the alternative politics .....................................................................158 • Conclusion .......................................................................................................................169 Heritage Development: Beyond Organic Renewal .................................................................172 • The initiation ....................................................................................................................173 • The municipal moves .......................................................................................................180 • Expanded programs .........................................................................................................187 • An established heritage system ........................................................................................196 • Conclusion .......................................................................................................................203 Epilogue ..................................................................................................................................208 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................222 vi List of Tables Table 1-1 Beijing population 1978–2010 ......................................................................................