In the last two decades, China's economic reforms in general, and rural reforms in particular, have had an immense effect upon China's urbanization patterns. A large rural surplus labor force has transformed itself into irresistible migration waves sweeping across most of China's big cities. / An essential question is how could Chinese cities avoid going through the same process of trial and error as other Third World cities, or what are the feasible ways to accept and integrate migrants within the existing urban systems. The answer to this question could only be explored to a large degree by examining the current situations in existing migrant communities. / This thesis focuses on the study of the use of domestic space in migrant houses as a means to examine the question from an architectural perspective. A case study of Zhejiang Village, the most influential migrant community in Beijing has been conducted. From 30 survey samples, 15 are analyzed according to the range of economic activities pursued by the migrants. Two other samples from Zhejiang vernacular houses are also examined in order to conduct a comparative study. Detailed drawings and analysis are arranged to show how ingeniously they combine their businesses within their meager domestic space. / The study shows that economic activities and cultural traditions are the vital factors that influence the use of domestic space in migrant houses. It also confirms that the physical integration of migrants must take into account their cultural background and spatial traditions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.27981 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Liu, Xiaoli, 1964- |
| Contributors | Bhett, Vikram (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Architecture (School of Architecture.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001619644, proquestno: MQ37248, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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