Gentrification in Hong Kong? Epistemology vs. Ontology

This article examines the transferability of the concept of gentrification away from its Anglo‐American heartland to the cities of Asia Pacific and specifically Hong Kong. An epistemological argument challenges such theoretical licence, claiming that conceptual overreach represents another example of Anglo‐American hegemony asserting the primacy of its concepts in other societies and cultures. Past research suggests that if gentrification exists in Asia Pacific cities it bears some definite regional specificities of urban form, state direction and, most surprising from a Western perspective, a potentially progressive dimension for some impacted residents. Closer examination of urban discourse in Hong Kong is conducted through analysis of English and Chinese language newspapers. In both instances, gentrification is barely used to describe the pervasive processes of urban redevelopment, which otherwise receive abundant coverage. Interviews with local housing experts confirm the marginality of gentrification in academic and public discourse, and the power of a local ideology that sees urban (re)development unproblematically as a means of upward social mobility. However, in the decade‐long housing bust after 1997, growing inequality has encouraged a nascent class analysis of the property market, an ontological awakening that may prove more favourable to the identification of gentrification in an Asia Pacific idiom.     

Making the ‘Invisible’ Visible: Redevelopment‐induced Displacement of Migrants in Shenzhen,China

Gentrification in China is intertwined with urban redevelopment, which causes the large‐scale displacement of rural–urban migrants from ‘villages in the city’ (ViCs). Because of the informality of ViCs, migrant renters have very insecure tenancy and during redevelopment they are treated as a negligible (‘invisible’) social group. As they are very difficult to locate after displacement, they are also literally invisible to researchers. To make the invisible visible, this study traced a sample of displaced migrants from Huangbeiling village in Shenzhen. The focus was on the displacement process and on identifying the consequences for the displaced. We found various forms of displacement during the redevelopment process. Nearby ViCs were prioritized by displaced migrants to minimize as much utility loss as possible. However, they generally suffer from decreased proximity, increased living costs, and the loss of social networks and job opportunities. Remarkably, some choose to return to the gentrifying village, enduring displacement in situ caused by increasing rents, drastic physical neighbourhood changes and declining liveability, in exchange for retaining their original social and economic networks. Large‐scale urban redevelopment is causing the rapid shrinkage of informal housing. Recognizing and addressing the housing needs of this impoverished social group is a matter of urgency.     

农村闲置宅基地盘活利用清单管理的制度逻辑

研究目的：通过考察农村闲置宅基地盘活利用和清单管理的制度文本和社会实践,揭示宅基地盘活利用清单管理的整体制度逻辑。研究方法：法律社会学和行政管理学相结合的制度分析方法。研究结果：宅基地盘活利用的政策内涵是促进乡村振兴和城乡融合,清单管理的政策内涵是实施技术治理的科学理性,转变政府职能,清晰界定市场与政府的边界。宅基地盘活利用偏重于私权保护,对管理负外部性和提供公共服务等公权问题重视不足。清单管理存在着权力清单、责任清单和负面清单之间内在逻辑不统一的问题。宅基地盘活利用清单管理需要构建一个统一协调、科学理性的内在制度逻辑。研究结论：三张清单是宅基地盘活利用中界定市场与政府边界的重要制度工具。宅基地盘活利用权力清单着眼于构建有限政府,其适合的理想构造型式为“权力追责”型;责任清单着眼于构建责任政府,其适合的理想构造型式为“职责追责”型;负面清单着眼于构建有效市场,其适合的理想构造型式为“分立耦合”型。宅基地盘活利用权力清单和责任清单要与负面清单的禁入行为和限入行为清单相衔接,权力清单的事前审批、事中事后监管和公共服务事项需要分别与责任清单进行逻辑关联。     

旅游区的再开发策略——以中山市翠亨村为例

结合中山市翠亨村旅游发展规划,分析了早期开发旅游区在开发与保护、项目与形式、竞争与合作等方面的问题,提出了此类旅游区实现科学更新,重获发展动力的再开发原则和若干具体对策.     

基于生命周期理论的无锡市锡山区棕(褐)地再利用环境风险综合评价

研究目的:以生命周期理论为基础,建立定量评价棕(褐)地再利用环境风险的评价体系与方法,并以无锡市锡山区为例验证其有效性。研究方法:系统分析法、层次分析法和灰色评价法。研究结果:(1)棕(褐)地再利用全生命周期可划分为确认准备、控制治理、维护监管三大阶段,各阶段包含政策法律风险、经济风险、组织风险、污染风险等8个要素;(2)锡山区棕(褐)地再利用环境风险处于中等水平,由于棕(褐)地的污染性、复杂性,仍应对棕(褐)地环境风险进行必要的控制。研究结论:运用层次分析法和灰色评价法对棕(褐)地再利用进行环境风险综合评价具有一定的价值与可操作性。     

Allocation,externalities, and building value

Externalities generally are viewed as impacting land values rather than building values. Yet when locational obsolescence is attributed to externalities, the implication is that externalities impact primarily on building values. The presence of negative externalities generally does not determine whether a building suffers from locational obsolescence; the more general cause is a misallocation of land. At the market allocation, there is no locational obsolescence even in the presence of an externality, while at the optimal allocation only an externality can produce locational obsolescence. Because locational obsolescence can exist without externalities, an externality is not a necessary condition for locational obsolescence. Because an externality can be present without accompanying locational obsolescence, an externality also is not a sufficient condition for the existence of locational obsolescence.     

The problem of fair division of surplus development rights in redevelopment of urban areas: Can the Shapley value help?

Many more people are expected to live in urban areas in the coming decades, and much of the physical transformation will take place in the built-up areas of cities. Landownership is a key factor in urban regeneration, and the fair division of benefits is a major obstacle to redeveloping urban land in a cooperative context. This paper aims to show that the Shapley value, a fair division scheme developed within the cooperative game theory framework, can be used to achieve a fair division of the surplus development rights among landowners remolding smaller and irregular parcels into bigger and regular ones, resulting in higher aggregate development rights. The methodology is illustrated by a case study of three parcels selected from the Karabaglar district in Izmir, Turkey, where surplus development rights are available for landowners cooperating for land amalgamation. The findings show that the Shapley values for the landowners satisfy the core conditions of the game and landowners can benefit from the highest possible development rights and share the surplus fairly. However, the current institutional setting has to be restructured to apply such division schemes.