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Residential relocation and the remaking of socialist workers through state-facilitated urban redevelopment in Chengdu, China

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  • Qinran Yang

    (School of Architecture and Design, Southwest Jiaotong University, China)

  • David Ley

    (Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Canada)

Abstract

This article discusses the unevenness in the social effects of state-facilitated urban redevelopment in China by examining the social transformation experienced by the housing class of socialist workers in two inner-city redevelopment projects in Chengdu. After government compensation schemes, former public tenants and subsidised owners associated with socialist work-units are far more privileged through cash compensation or relocation in new self-owned apartments than two other housing classes – migrant tenants and homeowners of commodity or rural housing – impacted by the same urban redevelopment. The objective and subjective transformation of socialist workers during the process of resettlement are examined from field interviews, with their status changing from welfare recipients in danwei compounds to proprietors in new gated communities. We conclude that state-facilitated urban redevelopment in the Chinese city is interdependent with, and mutually reinforced by, state-led working-class transformation in market society, so as to balance the two critical national objectives of economic growth and social stability. State dominance in conferring variable opportunities via launching unequal housing trajectories among social groups determines the significant disparity of impacts from urban redevelopment in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Qinran Yang & David Ley, 2019. "Residential relocation and the remaking of socialist workers through state-facilitated urban redevelopment in Chengdu, China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(12), pages 2480-2498, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:56:y:2019:i:12:p:2480-2498
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098018790724
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yanjiang Zhang & Hongyi Fan & Qingling Liu & Xiaofen Yu & Shangming Yang, 2023. "How a Short-Lived Rumor of Residential Redevelopment Disturbs a Local Housing Market: Evidence from Hangzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Zhou, Zhengyi, 2022. "The effects of state-led relocation on labor market participation: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Yi Hua & Zhi Qiu & Wenjing Luo & Yue Wang & Zhu Wang, 2021. "Correlation between Elderly Migrants’ Needs and Environmental Adaptability: A Discussion Based on Human Urbanization Features," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Zuopeng Xiao & Tianbao Liu & Yanwei Chai & Mengke Zhang, 2020. "Corporate-Run Society: The Practice of the Danwei System in Beijing during the Planned Economy Period," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Zhichang Cai & ChengHe Guan & An Trinh & Bo Zhang & Zhibin Chen & Sumeeta Srinivasan & Chris Nielsen, 2022. "Satisfactions on Self-Perceived Health of Urban Residents in Chengdu, China: Gender, Age and the Built Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.

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