VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

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Urban villages in China have long been shaped by the interaction of state planning and market forces. Rather than disappearing with rapid urbanisation, they continue to support housing and labour needs, while remaining subject to ongoing regulation and transformation. This study examines several urban villages in Zhengzhou to understand how policy shifts become legible in the built environment. Using GIS mapping, multi-temporal spatial data and interviews with residents and local actors, it traces changes from periods of tolerance and minor upgrading, to selective clearance and the persistence of residual pockets. The findings suggest that temporary structures, makeshift improvements and incomplete demolition sites are not simply signs of neglect. They reveal how uneven development is continually reproduced, as local authorities and developers pursue redevelopment at different speeds and intensities. By focusing on everyday spatial adaptations and the institutional conditions behind them, the research challenges the common view of urban villages as provisional areas awaiting replacement. Instead, it presents them as socio-spatial formations embedded in the dual land system and migration regulations, and as places that continue to provide stability for low-income residents. The study argues for redevelopment approaches that recognise these ongoing functions, and that respond to local conditions rather than relying on uniform models of urban change.