CLASSICAL GENTRIFICATION AND ITS MECHANISM IN GUANGZHOU OLD TOWN——A Case Study of Yaohua Street, Liwan District
CHEN Jia-ping1, HE Shen-jing1,2
1. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;
2. Key Laboratory for Urbanization and Geo-simulation, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Abstract Based on the case study of Yaohua neighbourhood in Liwan District, Guangzhou, this paper is to explore the characteristics and mechanism of classical gentrification in large Chinese cities. Located in the heartland of the Guangzhou old town, Yaohua neighbourhood has more than one hundred years history. It used to be residence of rich merchants and the upper class in Guangzhou city. There were therefore many historical folk houses, known as Xiguan Dawu in the neighbourhood. However, the neighbourhood began decayed after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Until recent years, there are many elderly and urban poor living in the community. Based on questionnaires survey with probability proportional sampling (PPS) method, this study collected the basic information of neighbourhood residents, and divided them into two groups, namely gentrifiers and local residents. Gentrifiers are those who have higher income than the average level of Liwan District and live for shorter time than the average level. Targeting the gentrifiers, we carried out a few in-depth interviews. This research shows that bottom-up classical gentrification does exist in large Chinese cities, and it has following characteristics: firstly, petty businessmen have been the major gentrifiers, though recently venture investors started to join the force; secondly, the process of gentrification is slow and there is no obvious conflict between gentrifiers and local residents; thirdly, the built environment of neighbourhood is mainly improved by the local government, only a small number of restored houses are invested by private capital.
2012, Vol. 27 
