ABSTRACT
Urban planning, in many cases, is highlighted as a background issue in discussions of urban villages. This chapter explores the two cities’ particular way of handling redevelopment, examines the underlying reasons for such differences and discusses the effectiveness of each approach. It attempts to explore redevelopment plans in the context of China’s government-led and land-based economy. Unlike in Western countries, where planning systems are embedded in democratic political systems, liberal economies and vibrant societies, China’s planning system has developed in a completely different context – initially from a centrally planned economy and subsequently from a hybrid system characterised by both state planning and market mechanisms. When the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the country followed the Soviet experience and established a command economy to regulate production and consumption, allocate resources and provide community facilities and infrastructure.
