In the Name of Inclusion: The Redevelopment of Urban Villages and Its Implications on Citizenship in China

ISBN-13: 9789813361225 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022 / 236 str.

Xiaoqing Zhang

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Urban Village Redevelopment: The Paradox of Social Inclusion

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Urban Village and its Development in Xi’an

1.2.1 Making sense of the urban village in China

1.2.2 Taking Xi’an as the case study city

1.3 Urban Village Redevelopment: From Exclusion to Inclusion

1.3.1 Urban village and inclusion

1.3.2 Citizenship: an alternative approach beyond economic dimension

1.4 The Paradox of Social Inclusion: Some Clarifications

1.5 Research Methods

1.5.1 Selection of study cases

1.5.2 Interviewing

1.5.3 Questionnaires

1.6 Plan of the Book

This chapter explains why the urban village redevelopment in Xi’an is worthy

of study and justified the use of citizenship as the key concept to study social

exclusion and inclusion.

Chapter 2 From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion: Where does

Citizenship Fit in?

2.1 Introduction: A Short History of Concept Evolvement

2.2 The Meanings of Social Exclusion

2.2.1 Definitions: who, what, and how

2.2.2 Social exclusion in China

2.3 The Meanings of Citizenship

2.3.1 Citizenship as a Western conception

2.3.2 Theorising Chinese citizenship

2.4 From Exclusion to Inclusion

2.4.1 The importance of citizenship

2.4.2 The importance of “sense of inclusion”

2.5 Conclusion: The Theoretical Framework

This Chapter discusses how the concepts of social exclusion/inclusion and

citizenship can be adapted in China, and where citizenship fits in the

discourse of inclusion. Social exclusion in China is more than a matter of

economic disadvantages but is also an expression of incomplete citizenship

and rights deprivation. The interpretation of Chinese citizenship can be

explored in four aspects: first, citizenship as membership is closely related to

the household registration system in China; second, citizenship as rights and

obligations in China incorporates a strong sense of Confucianism; third,

citizenship as identity closely links to an individual’s sense of inclusion;

fourthly, citizenship as the process of right extension is an emerging focus.

The four aspects also provide the analytical framework for the following

chapters.

Chapter 3. Government’s Understanding of Social Inclusion

3.1 Introduction

3.2 From Buildings to People: What is Inclusion?

3.3 Citizenship as Membership: Gongmin, Renmin, Jumin, or Shimin?

3.4 Citizenship as Rights, or as Compensation?

3.5 Citizenship as the Process of Struggle for Rights, or as Benevolence?

3.6 Conclusion

This chapter explores how the notion of social inclusion is understood by the

Xi’an government and its implication on citizenship as membership, as rights,

and as the process of struggle for rights. Influenced by the Chinese traditional

philosophies, the local government’s interpretation on inclusion mainly focus

on “urban membership” with associated social benefits, and villagers are

considered as passive actors who receive benefits out of governors’

benevolence. This interpretation implies a trade-off, by which villagers are

made to compromise on property rights in exchange for social rights.

Chapter 4. Villagers’ Understanding of Social Inclusion

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Being Urban Citizen: A Socioeconomic Comparison

4.2.1 Financial status of urban villagers

4.2.2 Living environments and housing facilities

4.2.3 Urban standards? “Look at what we had before redevelopments”

4.3 Citizenship as Identity: Urbanite, Farmer, Somewhere in between

4.4 Being Urban Citizen: What the Villagers Strive for?

4.5 Conclusion

This chapter explores how the notion of inclusion is understood by the

villagers in terms of citizenship as identity and as the process of struggle for

rights. In response to the government’s trade-off policy, villagers do not take a

change to “urban membership” with associated social benefits as a process of

inclusion. What villagers strive for is not only a fair compensation for a

secured livelihood, but also the rights to have a say, and to not being

displaced from urban life in renewed centrality.

Chapter 5. Making a Difference: Inclusion through Active Participation

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Village Self-governance: A Foundation for Urban Villagers’ Participation

5.2.1 Village autonomy: a rural way of citizen participation

5.2.2 Villagers’ participation in the process of urban village redevelopment

5.3 Villagers’ Strategies: How Optimised Solutions Achieved?

5.3.1 W’s experiences: reciprocal communication

5.3.2 X’s experiences: trust and mistrust

5.3.3 R’s experiences: the representativeness of village representatives

5.4 Some Reflections from Villagers’ Differing Strategies

5.4.1 Best practices of villagers’ differing participations

5.4.2 Regarding village committees and independent third parties

5.4.3 Regarding the mode of governance and the elite few

5.5 Conclusion

This chapter continues the discussions on the connection between villagers’

interpretation on inclusion and the citizenship in terms of right extension,

and explores that how villagers’ participation plays an important role in

shaping the course of urban village redevelopment. It demonstrates that

villagers can act as an active agent in the process of inclusion. It concludes

that optimised solutions can be achieved based on three conditions: a

foundation of neighbourhoods’ self-governance, local governments’ neutral

standing-point, and a reciprocal channel of communication and mutual trust

among different stakeholders.

Chapter 6. Conclusions: Social Inclusion, Citizenship and Beyond

6.1 A Revision of the Key Findings

6.1.1 Government’s understanding on social inclusion

6.1.2 Villagers’ understanding on social inclusion

6.1.3 Villagers’ efforts in creating social inclusion

6.2 Theoretical Implications

6.2.1 Chinese citizenship

6.2.2 Social Inclusion

6.3 Reflections on Redevelopment Policies and Urban Future

This chapter discusses a wider theoretical and practical implications on

citizenship and future urban development in China.

O autorze

Xiaoqing Zhang is Lecturer in Public Administration at the Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China. She graduated from University College London with a PhD in Planning Studies. Her research interests include urban regeneration in relation to welfare regimes, and community governance sitting within a broader understanding of local political resources.

Blurb

This book follows the citizenship-based approach and interrogates the policies on urban village redevelopment from a perspective of social exclusion and inclusion. It focuses on two questions: how policy makers and urban villagers understand social inclusion differently, and what makes a difference in enhancing social inclusion. Firstly, an examination of citizenship conceptions, as reflected in the Chinese traditional discourses, provides the basis for questioning the political rhetoric of social inclusion in China. Secondly, a comparison between policy makers’ and villages’ interpretations on urban citizenship helps explore the different understandings of citizenship between them. Finally, by studying six redeveloped urban villages in the city of Xi’an, the book identifies what villagers strive for, and discusses how their strivings make a difference in achieving social inclusion during urban village redevelopment. 

Xiaoqing Zhang is Lecturer in Public Administration at the Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China. She graduated from University College London with a PhD in Planning Studies. Her research interests include urban regeneration in relation to welfare regimes, and community governance sitting within a broader understanding of local political resources.