ABSTRACT
Since the launch of economic reforms in the late 1970s, China has undergone tremendous social and cultural change. Migration and urban renewal, which have become two of the most important transformations in cities, have reached unprecedented levels. With the loosening of the household registration system (hukou), rural people have “freely” moved into cities to work and live. Many migrants in Shanghai live in factory dormitories or on construction sites where they work. The migrants whose accommodations are provided by their company are somewhat fortunate. The others, who are the majority, rent private apartments in “shanty towns,” either in the inner city or suburbs. These areas are precisely the targets of current urban renewal policy. This chapter examines the renewal process from a housing and citizenship rights viewpoint, focusing on a shanty town in Shanghai, called Yuanhenong to preserve anonymity.
