Massive migration is one the most significant phenomena of China's urbanization. In the thirty years since the "Reform and Open Up" policy began, Guangzhou has experienced economic growth and urban expansion and attracted a vast number of migrants. Seen as the product of the rapid urbanization, urban villages accommodate the majority of migrants by providing low-rent housing, but at the same time cause many social problems. This thesis aim at improving the migrants' standard of living, helping them gradually integrate into the city, and enhancing the potential for social interactions in the neighborhood. / Master of Architecture

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Chinese urban villages which have grown over time have difficulty to operate as a healthy urban environment. As a consequence, residents are often forced to move to the boundary of the city although many prefer its narrow streets and the informality of life. This thesis proposes a modern infrastructural architecture to collaborate with the fabric of the urban village and infuse the environment with new possibilities and potentials. / Master of Architecture

Over the past thirty years, China’s transition to a semi-open market economy has manifested as a process of rapid urban development. Low-income, migrant populations who arrive in the city in search of better work opportunities are being integrated into a class of new urban poor and must contend with limited housing options. Urban villages, which are recognized as rural, collectively owned land located within the urban boundary, are now becoming targeted for government supported urban renewal. Because the urban villages’ land lies outside the regulatory reach of the municipal government, these areas tend to develop in an informal manner and attract low-income migrant tenants. However, urban village tenants are being excluded from the renewal process. The aim of this research is to examine these widely debated concerns within the case of the ongoing Caiwuwei urban village renewal project in Shenzhen. Through this research, I reconsider the functionality of power relations within China’s rapid economic growth, particularly between the urban development decision makers and the marginalized migrant tenant groups. These groups of migrant workers who rent housing units in urban villages have a stake in the urban renewal process because they participate in the urban village social network supporting the need of cheaper supply from the surrounding area. By applying theories of public participation to the process of giving avenue to speak up what they need, which is empowering from the urban village tenant groups, I identify challenges and possibilities for the inclusion of public voices in future government processes in China. I suggest that the project finance model of a public-private partnership could be structured around this collaborative process of renewal, in order to develop a platform for ongoing public participation, particularly in the provision of social services and institutions within the urban village community. Such an arrangement for urban redevelopment will facilitate the balancing of influence among disparate income groups. / text

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The purpose with this thesis is to explore the urban landscape in post-apartheid Johannesburg, investigate the concept of the growing numbers of various types of urban villages and moreover look into the open urban village of Parkhurst. The main questions that are addressed in the thesis are: How would the urban landscape in post-apartheid Johannesburg be described and which types of urban villages can be identified? What would the residents in Parkhurst explain to be the reasons for living in an open urban village and what are their opinions on safety, public space and closed urban villages? Qualitative methods were used as in observation studies and inductive in-depth interviews during the field study in Parkhurst, Johannesburg. The study shows that the concept of urban villages can create both a negative spatial situation and a positive spatial situation – depending on the type of urban village. The thesis also shows that it is possible to feel safe living in a open urban village in a city with high crime and that thoughtful design and effective management of spaces in the city are essential factors that can prevent places from becoming ‘hot spots’ for crime.

Shelter is one of mans most basic needs and the progression of its development over time has had to deal with an ever increasingly complex world that even now places renewed demands on the way we build, live, and work. The location of the site is at Kew Bridge, London, United Kingdom. It is at the important landmark junction of Kew Bridge north circular road and Kew Bridge road, with the immediate context consisting of 3 to 4 storey high built fabric to the north and west boundaries of the site. The Kew Bridge road slipway forms the eastern boundary of the site adjacent Kew Bridge, and the River Thames forms the southern boundary of the site. The aim of the project is to evaluate the existing condition of high-rise residential developments and to compare this to leading environmentally sensitive projects, which utilise sustainable development strategies and renewable energy sources. These strategies and energy sources will be applied in the residential high-rise typology in the form of the Kew Bridge Urban Village. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Architecture / unrestricted

The project is to develop practical strategies for an urban village in Beijing which integrates programs of infrastructure, public space and community life. First, it contains research which clarifies what is urban village and its formation process under Beijing’s extension background; the inhabitants, the value, and the situation of urban village. Second, it includes clear analyses of the location, land-use, spatial condition, and typology of streets and nodes; the main problems and corresponding interventions, and develops the strategy as integrated & centralized program system. Finally, the project develops the masterplan, the system model and the layers in which the programs really integrate and work together.