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| HYBRIDIZATION OF DANWEI NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE EMERGENCE OF URBANISM |
| TA Na1, CHAI Yan-wei1, LIU Zhi-lin2 |
1. Department of Urban and Economic Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
2. School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China |
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Abstract Danwei neighborhood as one kind of traditional communities in China has embarked on the ambitious transition characterized by hybridization, which has resulted in profound changes in social space. In the planned economy, dominated by danwei system, housing was considered as a welfare benefit and danwei neighborhood was the dominant socio-spatial unit in Chinese cities. Through danwei-based housing provision, workplace and residence were linked proximately to form self-contained workplace compounds.
Neighborhood change in danwei is characterized by hybridization. The core of hybridization is evolution from homogeneity to heterogeneity, which is composed of transition in residential composition dimension, social interaction dimension, community identity dimension and behavior dimension. Hybridization of danwei is marked as the reconstruction of the nature of community. Rethinking the nature of community in danwei, this paper demonstrates that danwei neighborhood is changing from "quasi-localism" towards "urbanism".
This paper focuses on the neighborhood change of danwei in urban China from the four dimensions of hybridization, and indicates that hybridization of danwei is the process of transition from quasi-localism community to urbanism neighborhood based on the classical theory of urbanism. This paper demonstrates that danwei neighborhood is changing from "quasi-localism" towards "urbanism". Hybridization of danwei neighborhood results in profound changes to the whole society. Analyzing neighborhood change of danwei can help to establish a theory for the understanding of social space reconstruction in Chinese cities. Also, community development of danwei neighborhood need to balance the relationship between danwei residents and newcomers, therefore, rethinking the changing of the nature of community in danwei is essential to social planning and neighborhood planning.
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Received: 27 October 2011
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2012, Vol. 27 
