Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen a Comparative Case Study
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Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study Amsterdam, August 2017 Author: Bianca de Bats | 11131012 Email: [email protected] Professors: Marco Bontje & Chingwen Yang Second reader: Bas Hissink-Müller Shenzhen Thesis Group | University of Amsterdam Master’s Programme in Urban and Regional Planning 0 Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study ‘’Imagine living in a maze of a neighborhood where buildings ten stories tall crowd so closely together that their residents dwell in perpetual shade. Your apartment window, set with steel bars, is little more than a meter away from the building next door if it weren’t for the frosted glass, you’d be able to see directly into the room across the alley. Going outside and looking up, you’d glimpse the tall buildings in another community in the sky only through the narrow strips between the buildings. This is the life in the urban village. But despite all that, urban villages are not the depressing slums they might resemble. In narrow lanes paved with concrete, children play. Square mahjong tables are a common sight in ground-floor living rooms that open onto the street. The urban village is a flourishing lively community, but it rests on an unstable foundation.‘’ - Baily Hu, 2008. Journalist for the critical Chinese magazine That’s and other built environment journals. 1 Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study Colophon Master Thesis Graduate Degree Urban and Regional Planning Title: Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen: A Comparative Case Study Student Bianca de Bats Student ID: 11131012 [email protected] University of Amsterdam Nieuwe Achtergracht 166 1018 WV Amsterdam Supervision Dhr.dr. M.A. Marco Bontje Co Tutor Chingwen Yang MSc Second reader Dhr.dr. B.M. Hissink Muller Date 21 August,, 2017 2 Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study Acknowledgements Writing this Master's thesis was an enriching period, I improved my theoretical knowledge, I met many intellectual and supporting persons along the way, and this period especially brought me lots of tacit knowledge. This thesis is dedicated to my family, in particular the support of both of my parents to complete this Master’s program. I would like to extent my deepest thanks to Lisette Waanders and my father for revising my documents and especially Michel Gapas for his encouragement. Also, I would to like to express my sincere thanks are to Summer and Adeleine, for their translating assistance Finally I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my two supervisors, Professor Marco Bontje and Professor Ching Wen Yang, who offered collegial guidance in all stages of the thesis and revised various documents. They gave me the golden opportunity to do this research in Shenzhen. Bianca de Bats 3 Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study Content Colophon.................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 3 Content .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6 List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Urbanization in Shenzhen ......................................................................................... 8 1.2 Problem definition ...................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Societal and scientific relevance ............................................................................... 9 1.4 Outline ..................................................................................................................... 10 2. Theoretical framework ...................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Environmental Justice ............................................................................................. 11 2.1.1 Paradigms ............................................................................................................... 11 2.1.2 Municipal solid waste (MSW) management ............................................................ 13 2.2 Urban Governance and Institutions ......................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Urban governance ................................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Institutions ............................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Urban villages and other communities in Shenzhen ............................................... 17 2.3.1 The low-cost housing market called urban village .................................................. 17 2.3.2 Governance in urban villages .................................................................................. 18 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 19 3. Research Design ................................................................................................................................ 20 3.1 Conceptualization .................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Operationalization .................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Research question and sub-questions .................................................................... 24 3.4 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 25 3.4.1 Research approach ................................................................................................. 25 3.4.2 Data collection ......................................................................................................... 26 3.4.3 Data analysis ........................................................................................................... 28 3.5 Case selection ......................................................................................................... 29 4. Case: Overseas Chinese Town .................................................................................................. 30 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 30 4 Solid Waste Governance and Institutions in Shenzhen A Comparative Case Study 4.2 Institutional context .................................................................................................. 31 4.2.1 History...................................................................................................................... 31 4.2.2 MSW policy .............................................................................................................. 32 4.2.3 Daily MSW management ......................................................................................... 32 4.2 Governance ............................................................................................................. 33 4.2.1 Stakeholders ............................................................................................................ 33 4.2.2 Governance tasks ................................................................................................... 34 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 37 5. Case: Baishizhou ....................................................................................................................... 38 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 38 5.2 Institutional context .................................................................................................. 39 5.2.1 History...................................................................................................................... 39 5.2.2 MSW-policy ............................................................................................................. 40 5.2.3 Daily MSW management ......................................................................................... 41 5.3 Governance ............................................................................................................. 43 5.3.1 Stakeholders ............................................................................................................ 43 5.3.2 Governance tasks ................................................................................................... 44 5.5 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................