Rent adjustment and housing commercialization : a study of Chinese housing reform policy

Date Issued
December 1, 1996
Author(s)
Lin, Yan Anny
Advisor(s)
David A. Johnson
Additional Advisor(s)
George E. Bowen
James A. Spencer
Permanent URI
Abstract

Chinese housing reform is a political and economic crusade initiated by the Chinese government to deal with the urban housing crisis and to accelerate the privatization process. Before 1978, the Chinese government was responsible for building, allocating, and maintaining housing for urban workers. The concept of housing reform is to eliminate the housing allocation system by promoting home ownership in Chinese cities. In this thesis, I have studied and observed Chinese housing reform in two major areas: housing commercialization and rent adjustment. The purpose of this research is:

  1. to analyze and discuss housing reform policies, reform strategies, and their effectiveness in order to assist future development of Chinese urban housing sector;
  2. to introduce Chinese housing reform to the scholars in the United States.
This thesis is a case study which is based on the improvement of housing conditions in Shanghai. The assumption of the study is that if Shanghai, the city with the largest population, the highest density and the most intense housing shortage, shows considerable improvements in housing after reform, we can say that the housing conditions in other Chinese cities will also be improved as well. The materials of the research are obtained from both the United States and China. Two Chinese scholars and their assistants have dedicated a lot of time and effort to gathering data for this research. Fax, telecommunication, mail and Internet are used to facilitate the research. Also, a hundred of the interviewees in Shanghai were asked to answer a series of research questions which was designed to test the satisfaction level of Shanghai residents. The conclusion is drawn based on this assumption: the samples will reflect the response of Shanghai residents. If most of the respondents agree with the effectiveness of housing reform, the housing reform is accepted by Shanghai dwellers. Since the reform, Chinese urban dwellers have doubled per capita living space. The first three years of reform, the floor space of newly completed residential housing was four times greater than in the previous eleven years (1953- 1965). Only five years after reform, 40 million urban dwellers had new homes. This means that the government houses more than 2 million households in Chinese cities in the early reform stage. Yet, there are some problems that should be solved and could be solved. It is a conclusion of the thesis that the government ought to reduce the proportion of discount housing. Also, the government should set up regulations to restrain excessive profits of the commercial housing sector.

Degree
Master of Science
Major
Planning
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