The politics of state-facilitated gentrification in post-socialist China: ideological domination, consumerism and exclusionary redevelopment

Using the case of Chengdu, this research is about neighbourhood redevelopment and residential relocation in post-reform cities of China. In this project, the key process is defined as state-facilitated, new-build gentrification. The thesis attempts to understand why politicaleconomic actors initiate gentrification in the inner city, how consensus building is achieved,
conflicts are mediated, and what are the social outcomes for different social groups. It intends to reveal how state intervention renders a process of gentrification seemingly legitimate and consensual between the state and the society through its ideological influence on residents, and how the outcomes of gentrification mask an essential process of marginalization of subaltern groupings from the housing system in the inner city. Empirically, the project will investigate the
decision-making processes in gentrification and the experiences of residents engaged within gentrification and their life chances before and after resettlement or displacement.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Ley

Student:

Qinran Yang

Partner:

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Globalink