Urban Villages in China: Issues from Rapid Urbanization and Society Transformation A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Community Planning in the School of Planning of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning By Yuqiong Cheng Bachelor of Architecture, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China, June 2006 Chair: Menelaos Triantafillou Committee Member: Jay Chatterjee 2 ABSTRACT Urban villages have emerged as a unique phenomenon in China, resulting from rapid urbanization, and then they affect the development of Chinese cities. This thesis analyzes urban villages in China, their characteristics and existing renewal efforts, and tries to investigate proposed solutions to improve their physical renewal, housing provisions, management regulations, and socio-cultural conditions. The city of Shenzhen is used as a major case study to illustrate the issues with urban villages. Through the analysis of several data and physical conditions, the problem of urban villages in the city is assessed as well as the current need for solutions. The review of literature and policy analysis showed that current policy makes urban village reform more difficult, while current renewal patterns can work for different conditions of urban villages. Through case studies, lessons from history and successful cases are used to improve the quality of life for the needs of the innovations of urban villages. Based on the above findings, a recommended concept design is proposed and is applied to a real urban village in the city of Shenzhen. The key words Urban Village, Land Use, Urbanization, Urban Renewal 3 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my Chair, Professor Menelaos Triantafillou, who as my advisor helped me progress, diligently read all my drafts, and guided me through the development of my thesis. Secondly, I would also like to thank Professor Jay Chatterjee, who gave me advice and helped me structure my thesis. Thirdly, thanks to Writing Center staff who took time to go through my writing to make sure the expression would meet English standard. In addition I would like to thank all the team workers in the concept design team for their expertise, enthusiasm and assistance and making data and graphics available to me. Personally, I would like to contribute all I have received through my education to my parents, who have always supported me financially and spiritually for my study abroad. Last but not least, I must thank all the professors of the School of Planning and all the MCP classmates who had supported me with continued encouragement and assistance as well. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 10 Defining Urban Villages ...................................................................................................... 12 Research question ................................................................................................................. 14 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 16 A Brief Description of China ............................................................................................... 16 Previous research by Chinese scholars ................................................................................. 17 International relevant research ............................................................................................. 23 III. CASE STUDY ................................................................................................................... 32 IV. DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 44 Urbanization in China. ......................................................................................................... 44 Urbanization in Shenzhen City and South China. ................................................................ 47 V. POLICY ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................... 51 Dual structure in China. ........................................................................................................ 52 Interest groups in Urban Village issues ................................................................................ 55 Categorization of villages and renewal pattern .................................................................... 57 VI. CONCEPT DESIGN......................................................................................................... 64 Physical Design Background. ............................................................................................... 65 SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................................... 74 Design Approach .................................................................................................................. 75 Design Proposal .................................................................................................................... 79 Quality of life ....................................................................................................................... 88 VII. RECOMMENDATION AND DISCUSSION ............................................................... 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 96 6 LIST OF TABLES Table I-1. Urbanization rate of countries ........................................................................................ 9 Table II-1. Comparison of rural village, urban village and urban neighborhood ......................... 18 Table II-2. Comparison of urban villages and low rent houses .................................................... 20 Table IV-1. Change of Population numbers, Growth rate and Urbanization rate 1949-2008 ...... 44 Table IV-2. Change of numbers of cities 1978-2008 ................................................................... 45 Table V-1. Comparison of villages with / without heritage or natural resource ........................... 59 Table V-2. Comparison of existing three main urban renewal patterns ....................................... 60 Table VI-1. Population size and structure of SZAC ..................................................................... 70 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure I-1. Urbanization S curve .................................................................................................... 9 Figure I-2. Formation process of urban villages ........................................................................... 12 Figure III-2. Photo of Foshan Lingnan Tiandi .............................................................................. 36 Figure III-3. Photo of Bishops Square .......................................................................................... 37 Figure IV-1. Growth from Rural Population to Urban Population ............................................... 42 Figure IV-2. Chang in the number of large cities in China 1978-2004 ........................................ 44 Figure IV-3. Growth of Urban Built Area in Shenzhen 1979-2004 ............................................. 45 Figure IV-4. Growth of Urban Built Area in Pearl River Delta 1979-2008 ................................. 46 Figure IV-5. Urban sprawl occupied village lands (area) in Shenzhen and other 3 central cities in Pearl River delta 1979-2004 ................................................................................................ 46 Figure V-1. Changes of gap between urban and rural family incomes from 1978-2008 ............. 49 Figure VI-1. Site Location of Shenzhen City in China ................................................................. 62 Figure VI-2. Site Location of Shenzhen City in China vs. United States ..................................... 63 Figure VI-3. Site Location of Shenzhen Ancient City .................................................................. 66 Figure VI-4. Photo of entrance of Shenzhen Ancient City ........................................................... 66 Figure VI-5. Land Use map of Shenzhen Ancient City ................................................................ 68 Figure VI-6. Photo of only public space- playground in SZAC ................................................... 72 Figure VI-7. Photo of street view in SZAC .................................................................................. 73 8 Figure VI-8. Perspective View towards the South Gate ............................................................... 78 Figure VI-9. South Elevation ........................................................................................................ 79 Figure VI-10. Perspective of Typical Street View ........................................................................ 79 Figure VI-11. Streetscape Elements ............................................................................................. 80 Figure VI-12. Perspective View towards the Town Center .......................................................... 81 Figure VI-13. Perspective View from the Ancestral Hall towards the East Gate ......................... 82 Figure VI-14. Perspective View towards West Gate, showing the education hub ......................