2018 Theses Master's

Displacement Within the City: Perceiving Shanghai’s Historic Alley Communities Through Residents’ Perspective

Xu, Sheng-Yi

Over the past two decades, Shanghai has witnessed dramatic urban renewal process and evolved into a global metropolis. Under the prevailing Chinese urbanization, the city was also faced with physical and social problems. Demolition of entire historic communities allows high-rise construction for residential and commercial uses, resulting in the displacement of local residents. This research therefore focuses on the impacts felt by the residents of the rapid transformation of their traditional neighborhoods. The research studies three historic neighborhoods in Shanghai’s city center, which exemplify some of the different processes of urban renewal taking place in the city today. The aim of this research is to understand the reactions of local residents to the physical and demographic transformation of their traditional neighborhoods and the reasons behind their decisions. The research includes information gathered from community visits, resident surveys, conversations with locals and provides an analysis of the results in order to identify challenges and opportunities. In the end, the research concludes with three recommendations of policy and regulation changes to mitigate the problems seen in the three different types of historic residential neighborhoods.