Suchergebnisse

Under the slogan of 'weiquan' (defending our rights), homeowners in urban China are increasingly prepared to stand up for their rights of ownership, often through non-confrontational actions organized by homeowners' associations (yeweihui). There is also a growing concern for the need to create collective platforms on which homeowners' associations can support one another, muster their collective resources against powerful developers and lobby for status as legitimate organizations. The activists involved in this work are well aware of its political sensitivity in a regime that is antagonistic towards autonomous organizations, which are seen as posing a threat to its hegemony. Based on a case study in Guangzhou, this paper traces the tactics that housing activists have employed to create horizontal cooperation among homeowners' associations to defend their rights and devise 'boundary-spanning' strategies that exploit divisions within the state apparatus. The Guangzhou union of homeowners' associations can be regarded as an experiment in organizational infrastructure which has far-reaching implications. This study sheds light on the complexities as well as the institutional fluidity of state-society interactions in contemporary urban China. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

There is now a substantial literature on various aspects of contemporary Chinese urbanization. There are, however, few recent studies of Chinese cities which examine social change and social interaction at the level of the urban neigbourhood. This paper seeks to fill some of this gap in current knowledge. It draws on a social survey of three contrasting neighborhoods undertaken in Guangzhou in the Pearls River Delta, one of the most economically dynamic and rapidly urbanizing areas in the world. The paper explores inter alia the meaning of neighbourhood, sense of local belonging and community, and patterns and incidence of mutual assistance. The paper reflects on the extent to which market reforms are transforming patterns of local social interaction. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

Vietnam has emerged recently as one of the fastest growing economies and widely be perceived as the next transition tiger. State capacity, which is believed to be pivotal to the success of the NIC, is under scrutiny in Vietnam. This paper attempts to examine state capacity of Vietnam in the institutional, political, administrative and technical aspects employing examples in urban and housing development. This paper argues that despite the permeation of state machinery into every levels of society and creates an outlook of a strong socialist party state, state capacity in Vietnam is in fact rather weak. Although the country is striving hard in strengthen its capacity in various areas, such reforms are either yet to take root or being dragged by legacy of the old regime. The unique state-society relationship in Vietnam also shapes the trajectories of adaptation of state capacity in the course of rapidly changing economic and social environment. (Pac Rev/GIGA)

"Younger generations across a wide range of societies face increasing difficulties in gaining access to housing. Housing occupies a pivotal position in the transition from parental dependence to adult independence. Delayed independence has significant implications for marriage and family formation, fertility, inter and intra generational tensions, social mobility and social inequalities.The social and cultural dimensions are, of course, enormously varied with strong contrasts between Asian and Western societies in terms of intergenerational norms and practices in relation to housing. Nevertheless, younger households in China (including Hong Kong), Japan, the USA, Australasia and Europe face very similar challenges in the housing sphere. Moreover, concerns about the housing future for younger generations are gaining greater policy and popular prominence in many countries. All the papers were specially commissioned for a symposium in Hong Kong which took place in summer 2011. This brought together a small group of specially invited international experts, in a round table format, to explore the specific institutional, economic and cultural factors at work in different national contexts"--

Young People and Housing brings together new research exploring the economic, social, and cultural challenges that face young people in search of permanent housing. Featuring international case studies from Asia, Europe, and Australia, Young People and Housing is a collection of groundbreaking work from leading scholars in housing policy.Younger generations across a wide range of societies face increasing difficulties in gaining access to housing. Housing occupies a pivotal position in the transition from parental dependence to adult independence. Delayed independence has significant implicati

This article attempts to contribute to an emerging literature on the link between housing history and society. For Hong Kong, it has always been argued that much of its socioeconomic successes in the past five decades have been heavily attributed to orchestrated public housing policy since 1953. Although this argument is popular, micro evidence to support this thesis is scant. Most studies focus mainly on describing the macro effects of housing policy with little link to the actual household experiences of public housing tenants. The purpose of this article is to make explicit that link through various individual housing trajectories.

"Informal" constructions in Hanoi is commonplace, not just in terms of its extensiveness but also how such extensions been done creatively. Most importantly they refer to a wide range of housing forms and scales: from illegal extentions of balcony and roof-tops to the extra legal apartment hotels in the Ancient quarter, from the single middle class family houses to large scale master planned new urban areas. What is being "illegal" and "authorised" is oftentimes blurry or shifty as regulations are ambigous and conflicting and in constant change. The distinction between practices of resistance (by the residents/entrepreneurs) and complicity (by local government officials) is not always clear. This paper will examine such phenomenon by examining cases of informal/illegal construction covered in the media, studies of the changes and adjustments of building regulations, as well as in-depth interviews with local officials, construction entrepreneurs as well as the residents. Analysing the fluid and negotiating character of state society relationship in the transitional Vietnam, the paper highlights the role of the state and local government in maintaining and reproducing the regime of informality as a means to wield power and exercise of control.