Urban Built Space Under Chinese Social Context Changes

Shenzhen is a newly emergent city with a brief history of36years. The built spaces ofthe city have formed a special context which has been changing rapidly under unique political,economic and cultural conditions. While formally planned urban spaces evolve constantly,there also exist in large quantities informal spaces, mainly represented by the urban villages.Drawing on theoretical insights of the political study of space by Lefebvre and others and thecultural interpretation of architecture by Amos Rapoport, this research focuses on the historic,current and future transitions of built spaces in Shenzhen’s Baishizhou area in general andTang Tou Village within Baishizhou in particular. It also discusses the dynamics mechanismbehind such changes from the perspective of contemporary Chinese social context.The research recounts the spatial transitions and their causes in different times andagainst various historical backdrops, including that of traditional society, from1960s to theend of Cultural Revolution, from the advent of Reform and Opening to the present. Moreover,the research introduces the planning schemes for a future Baishihzou and the new spatialpossibilities brought about by non-governmental organizations. By interviewing a widevariety of stakeholders, including villagers, Shahe Group staff, architects, urban planners,intellectuals, and tenants, and by reviewing archival documents stored at the local chroniclesoffice, the research tries to put forward a fuller picture of the interest-fighting game amongdifferent player groups, to put down a record of their differences in spatial awareness, spatialdemands and spatial strategies, and to examine how such differences might affect once againfuture formation of the spaces.