The role of public space in the upgrading of urbanized villages

Abstract

When it comes to resource input for regeneration, strategic attention, and, finally, of course, quality of living, the maturing of mega-urban regions takes a long period of time that is characterized by severe inequalities among different micro-locations. While a universal trend toward intensification of land use, the upgrading of older building stocks, and outright urban renewal can be noticed, the residents—be they urban or rural population—find their ways to cope with the circumstances they live in, temporarily or in the longer run. This holds especially in areas that have not been covered by mainstreamed redevelopment strategies that are directed toward establishing professional real estate management in fenced-off compounds. People appropriate the immediate vicinity of their habitat and to a certain extent upgrade the semipublic space individually. This chapter investigates those coping strategies in urbanized villages in Guangzhou and shows different types of space production by intermediate use of space resources.