Urban Regeneration under National Land Use Control: Guangdong's “Three-Old” Redevelopment Programme

by Zhi Liu, Zhiji Huang, Zihan Yin and Lixin Zhang

This article is the latest research result from the Peking University-Lincoln Center team, accepted by the English-language academic journal China Quarterly, and published online by Cambridge University Press on October 13, 2023.

Abstract

In 2009, Guangdong province initiated a programme of regenerating its blighted urban neighbourhoods, outdated industrial plants and dilapidated villages (also known as “three-old redevelopment”), which continues today. While the academic attbyention focuses mainly on the city and project levels, few studies give a full and up-to-date account of the overall programme. This paper documents the background, purpose, scope, policy framework, project types, implementation modalities and initial outcomes of the programme. Unlike most urban regeneration projects around the world, the Guangdong programme – the largest coordinated effort in the global history of urban regeneration – is primarily driven not by the potential increases of land value but by an urgent need to find solutions to the conflict between the local demand for urban land and the rigid national land use control. The expected land value increases are harnessed to attract the participation of market players at the project level. The Guangdong experience opens up a new way for urban spatial development in China, especially at a time when China further strengthens national land use control under the newly established national territorial planning system.

Keywords

three-old redevelopment, urban regeneration, national land use control, urban villages, Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta, Guangdong province

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