Rethinking gentrification in the Chinese context
Received date: 2025-03-24
Revised date: 2025-05-30
Online published: 2025-12-05
Supported by
Research Grant Council, University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, General Research Fund(17616524)
Emerged as a cutting-edge research agenda in urban studies more than half a century ago, gentrification remains an evergreen and debatable topic in the practices and research of urban and rural governance in contemporary China. In response to the lasting and heated debates within the international and domestic academic communities, it is of vital significance to examine and clarify the prevalent discourse of "Chinese-style gentrification" and conduct in-depth exploration and reflections on its historical evolution, conceptual boundaries, research approaches, and theoretical value. This paper situates Chinese-style gentrification into the broader context of the Global East by highlighting its unique features to be distinguished from the Western contexts. We dissect the historical evolution and contemporary identity of the "gentry" class in China under the framework of state-society relationship. The research contends that studies on Chinese gentrification should grasp three fundamental elements: "dynamism", "scale", and "process", namely, to understand the spatiotemporal variations of "the right to the city" conjuncturally, to develop a multi-faceted comprehension of the multi-scalar relationships in urban and rural governance, and to systematically examine the historical evolution of local experiences. Grounded in the specific "state-market-society" interactions in the Global East and China, the inherent complexity and diversity of Chinese-style gentrification will transcend the paradigms of Western gentrification research and make distinctive contributions to international debates. Currently, the processes of gentrification in China have engendered more profound social and spatial ramifications compared to that in the Global North. Balancing efficiency and equity will be a key task for promoting effective governance in urban and rural communities in China. In this new era, exploring innovative approaches to enhancing urban and rural governance and residents' well-being, engaging in comparative studies and constructive dialogues with international researchers should be our utmost tasks. In light of this, researchers should re-examine Chinese-style gentrification in an open-minded yet rigorous, critical yet scientific manner, drawing on but not being constrained by local experiences to make significant contributions to this ever-green and ever-evolving research field.
HE Shenjing , ZHANG Qingyuan . Rethinking gentrification in the Chinese context[J]. Acta Geographica Sinica, 2025 , 80(12) : 3324 -3339 . DOI: 10.11821/dlxb202512012
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