Search

A major housing policy shift is occurring in the Netherlands in the early 1990s Its main thrust is the decentralisation of control from the national to the regional level. The trend toward deregulation and budget cuts will give market principles more leeway in housing. This paper traces the impact of these policies on the housing situations of low-income groups. Some of the anticipate effects are illustrated in a case-study of housing and neighbourhood change in the Utrecht metropolitan region. The paper starts with a sketch of the shifting housing market positions of various residents against the backdrop of social trends. This state of flux is related to current economic restructuring and to the new housing policies. Competition between population groups is highlighted in the case-study of Utrecht where gentrification and the regional cooperation of housing authorities are changing the rules of the game. At present, displacement is the lesser evil, compared to the debilitating effects of renewe suburbanisation. But in the future, the effects of gentrification will depend o the regional redistribution of socio-economic groups. It may create serious problems if the low-income population is not offered housing opportunities in the suburbs.

This article evaluates the residential mobility decisions of rural migrants with a history of living in urban villages in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu province. Many were displaced by its demolition–redevelopment policy (forced movers); some chose to move voluntarily to improve their housing utility (voluntary movers); others decided to stay put in substandard housing (voluntary non-movers). A survey of their current housing conditions revealed that, compared to voluntary non-movers, most forced movers had not become better-off. But the voluntary movers had done much better than both of the other groups, implying that a timely move could have led to their improved housing conditions. However, even voluntary moves proved to have a downside, namely, that voluntary migrants would likely end up living somewhere more remote from coveted facilities and locations of jobs in the inner city. Logistic regression analysis showed how differences in socio-demographic characteristics between voluntary movers and non-movers could explain why some decided to move. For those who decided to stay, the analysis also indicates how the advantages of the current location may compensate for housing deficiencies. These results correspond to the motives migrants expressed in supplementary in-depth interviews: migrants intending to become permanent residents were most likely to move for better housing. The findings also point to structural constraints on residential mobility. For poor migrants without a Jiangsu hukou, moving to better housing was simply not an option. This suggests that further hukou reform is needed if urban redevelopment is not only meant to improve the image of the city but also the migrants' housing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yangzhou, once a capital city of China, has been transformed into a post-Socialist city. This narrative of its urban development explains its evolution from "a city for the royal family to build its temporary palace" in Imperial China, through "a city as a tool to develop manufacturing industries" during the Socialist regime, to "an ecological garden and a city with an attractive living environment" in Transitional China. Changing value systems interact with economic and political constraints to explain the course of its urban history. The explanation rests on the premise that urban development ultimately depends on the investment potential of the local economy and local power constraints impinging upon adopted plans. This case study explores how political and economic constraints shape the ambitions of local policy makers and planners, thereby reflecting the evolution of those Chinese cultural values that as development imperatives have shaped urban planning practice in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the residential mobility of China’s rural–urban migrants in light of evidence from Yangzhou, a medium-sized city in Jiangsu province. To evaluate the effects of forced moves induced by demolition-led redevelopment, these outcomes are compared to those of voluntary moves. The evaluation is specifically concerned with dwelling attributes and location characteristics. Dwelling attributes consist of tenure and housing facilities, while commuting distance, distance to the city centre and the length of a child’s trip to school comprise the location characteristics. Logistic regression of data from a 2012–2013 survey shows that a voluntary relocation and the intention to move prior to notification of intended demolition are likely to result in positive outcomes. The migrants’ relocation strategy involves making a trade-off between better dwelling attributes and a better location. When housing improvement is their major concern, they tend to move to peripheral areas. However, it seems that children’s educational opportunities are being factored into the trade-off. In that case, migrants purchase an apartment in a specific school district or at least move closer to it. For the sake of their children, they relegate other motives to second place. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the effects of residential relocation on China’s rural–urban migrants’ social networks in light of evidence from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. Our study contrasts voluntary moves with forced moves driven by demolition-led redevelopment of urban villages. Based on data from a survey conducted between 2012 and 2013, the regression analysis shows that voluntarily relocated migrants are more likely than forced movers to use phone/computer to contact their former neighbours, and communication technology allows them to maintain the frequency of their contact. Furthermore, when moving to a gated neighbourhood, voluntary movers are more likely than forced movers to participate in public activities, to have more contact with new neighbours and thereby to get more help from the residents’ committee and new neighbours. The results suggest that forced moves have negative effects on migrants’ social networks in the neighbourhood and that the demolition-led redevelopment programmes do not promote the migrants’ integration in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]