Search

As low and lower-middle social groups account for a great proportion of the total population in China and their status in society is special, it is of great social and practical significance to study their housing conditions and characteristics. Based on research at home and abroad, this paper defines the basic characteristics of low and lower-middle social groups in China, and elaborates the definition and connotation of housing marginalization, thereby proposing that these residents in the Chinese city are facing a problem of housing marginalization. According to data from the fifth and sixth population census and statistical yearbooks of Chengdu, it reveals changes in housing location, housing tenure structure, and housing quality of the study group between 2000 to 2010 by means of spatial and statistical analysis, which indicates that the low and lower-middle social groups are facing the three trends of "living in outskirts," "predicament in tenure selectivity of housing," and "impoverishment of housing quality." In response to these trends, three planning suggestions are proposed: 1 to establish "housing policy areas" suitable for the group of residents to reside and work; 2 to innovate policy measures to support the low and lower-middle social groups to rent and purchase houses within these areas; 3 to guide the residents to integrate into the community life circle in these areas so as to avoid poverty concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2010s, two worldwide trends have reshaped the urban housing system and induced drastic neighborhood change: the financialization of rental housing and the rise of the platform economy. In China, with continued investment from speculative financial institutions, platform companies aggressively acquired rental houses from individual landlords to develop a platform-based housing rental economy. How does this new rental economy affect housing supply, rents and inequality? This research answers this question by taking Chengdu, China as a case study. A mixed method approach of big data analytics, hedonic pricing model, and field investigations were used to unpack: (a) the pattern of platform houses distribution and its indication of spatial strategies of the financialized platform economy to grab land rent; (b) the effect of such new housing rental economy on housing rents; (c) the effect of the degree of financialization on platform houses' rental prices. The results inform the debate on the disrupt effect of platform economy and housing financialization on equitable urban development, particularly the heterogeneity among cities and countries. This paper contributes to understanding financial investors' glocalization strategy and the state's territorialization strategy as two crucial factors for the variegation of rental housing financialization. • Houses with small living room and more bedrooms that can generate more rent. • Platform companies tend to choose houses nearby public transport services. • High concentration of platform houses increases rental price of surrounding normal houses. • Degree of financialization significantly increases the price premiums of platform houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2010s, China witnessed a return of the state in land acquisition and urban (re)development processes. This return of the state has resulted in a new type of neighborhood, namely displaced villagers' resettlement community (DVRC), which is well built by the government and located close to middle-income communities' amenities. The displaced villagers are entitled to full ownership and sale right of their resettlement houses. However, these houses in DVRCs are depreciated in the housing market. This study examines and explains the housing depreciation in DVRCs with a combination of quantitative hedonic models and qualitative field investigations. We explain the housing depreciation in DVRCs through the lens of territorial stigmatization theory. Based on the findings, we argue that the housing depreciation DVRCs is caused by the entrenched prejudice towards the peasantry in Chinese society. This prejudice has mutated into territorial stigmatization of DVRCs as uncivilized and poor neighborhoods. This paper innovatively bridges territorial stigmatization thesis and housing price research to provide a new method to reveal territorial stigmatization in the context of rising market approach to social housing. It contributes to the debate on whether social mix development can avoid the stigmatization of social housing communities. • China witnessed a return of the state in land acquisition and urban (re)development processes. • This return of the state has resulted in a new type of urban neighbourhood, namely displaced villagers' resettlement community (DVRC). • This study examines and explains the housing depreciation in DVRCs. • The depreciation phenomenon in DVRCs is caused by the entrenched prejudice towards the peasantry in Chinese society. • This prejudice has mutated into territorial stigmatisation of DVRCs as 'uncivilised and poor neighbourhoods' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]