The New Strategy of Urban Village Regeneration: The Comprehensive Improvement Project in Jingle Village, Shenzhen, China

Abstract

The urban villages are a common yet heterogeneous informal living space in China's developed cities, characterised by high density, a high degree of autonomy, and difficulty in being regulated by the government. As a provider of low-cost residential accommodation, they have contributed significantly to the successful growth of cities, however, they have also posed a number of problems such as hygiene and security. During the period of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in China, the government has often considered demolition and redevelopment to be a convenient and cost-effective way of regenerating the urban villages. However, with the recent shortage in the supply of land resources and soaring land prices, the demolition and redevelopment approach has created a series of social and policy issues. Recently, comprehensive improvement—a way of beautifying the built environment and optimising management without altering the building construction—has been introduced as an alternative approach to regenerate urban villages and it is anticipated as a sustainable model of urban regeneration. The planning and implementation process involves multiple stakeholders, including the government, developers, villagers, tenants, etc. These different actors, however, all have different interests and expectations in the processes of planning, implementation, and operation. While contributing to the sustainability of the regeneration projects, many potential problems have also arisen, some of which have led to small-scale open protests. This chapter uses the case of Jingle Village in Shenzhen as a case study to examine the interests of different stakeholders at different stages of the comprehensive improvement process and the problems faced in the implementation of the project. The chapter critically assesses and analyses the positions and roles of the various stakeholders at different levels based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and resident questionnaires, in order to assesses the sustainability of the new regeneration model. The findings can contribute significantly to the sustainability of urban regeneration strategies in China and even the global South. The analysis of the different levels of stakeholders also will be of great value in informing many different types of regeneration policies.