Rethinking Gentrification in Shanghai: Evaluating Xintiandi

Gentrification, displacement, and the erosion of cultural heritage are significant issues associated with urban renewal and economic transformation. In Shanghai, these issues are often found in the Shikumen, traditional lane houses that are fast-disappearing due to the pace of urban change.

The Taipingqiao neighborhood in Huangpu district offers a poignant example. Initially built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to accommodate the growing population during Shanghai's colonial era, Taipingqiao was founded on a mixture of working-class families, intellectuals, and small businesses. Its architecture combines traditional Chinese courtyards with Western-style stone door frames, forming an integral part of Shanghai's cultural heritage that fuses Eastern and Western influences.  

The Taipingqiao neighborhood before urban renewal (Yang and Chang)

In the 1990s, Taipingqiao was redeveloped by the Shui On Group with support from the Shanghai government. It was transformed into Xintiandi, a Shikumen-style tourist destination filled with upscale restaurants and boutiques. Many have hailed it as a successful model of urban gentrification, but I am skeptical. The loss of cultural heritage and the displacement of its traditional working-class residents are the antithesis of inclusive and sustainable urbanism.

While the brick facades of Xintiandi incorporate features of Shikumen architecture, they only hint at the traditional architectural style. Taipingqiao had been torn down and completely rebuilt; behind the pristine exterior are wildly altered interiors with late-night bars and Italian pizzerias. With little attention given to protecting the integrity of old buildings, the gentrification of Xintiandi has produced an ostentatious modern rendition of the Shikumen.

Xintiandi is now a popular upscale destination after gentrification (SOM)

Architecture serves as a symbol of the character and lifestyle of a city, factors seldom looked after by gentrification projects. Small and cramped Shikumen dwellings can hardly be considered comfortable. Yet these spaces also fostered tight-knit and communal residential spaces that became engraved into Shanghai life for most of the last century.

Detached from its down-to-earth role as humble dwellings, Xintiandi is an idealized high-end area that does not stay true to the Shikumen's style or character. A cluster of expensive shops and restaurants has little relevance to the unique Shikumen lifestyle of Shanghai.

It is undeniable that Xintiandi has received newfound popularity. The World Bank acknowledges that Xintiandi generates "significant socio-economic, political and cultural benefits," especially from the tourists that flock to its streets each year. However, it crucially points out that "neither the value created nor the amenities developed have directly benefited the original residents" (World Bank).

Indeed, by transforming the Xintiandi neighborhood into a high-end commercial and residential area, urban redevelopment has significantly driven up property prices and rental costs and displaced lower-income residents and small businesses. Many original residents have been forced to relocate to more affordable areas, primarily the city's outskirts or other less central areas. Most of the 2,000 families displaced by the project were relocated to the suburbs, where house prices are lower, but daily life is much less convenient.

Therefore, although the glitzy reconstruction attracts tourism income, it doesn't improve the lives of its original inhabitants, leaving them alienated in unfamiliar high-rises without the communal warmth of the Shikumen. Xintiandi reminds us that gentrification is often a force that exacerbates social inequality.

Instead of lavish projects driven by profit, gentrification should be down-to-earth. Preserving Shikumen neighborhoods is about maintaining buildings and safeguarding the communities and traditions associated with them. While most urban renewal projects in China currently adopt Xintiandi's model of redevelopment, policymakers should reconsider ways to balance the forces of modernization with the preservation of communal identity and affordable housing for residents. Here are some proposals:

1. Local residents should be involved in the planning process to ensure their needs and cultural values are respected.

2. Developers should be required to include a percentage of affordable units in new projects, providing financial assistance to low-income residents or developers of affordable housing.

3. Guidelines could be established to limit how much landlords can increase rent.

4. Grants or incentives for the preservation of historic buildings and cultural practices should be established.

Admittedly, these proposals take time and effort to realize. But when it comes to irreplaceable historical memories, this should be a price we are willing to pay. Appearances are easy to replicate. The character and community, however, are not.

Sources

“Shanghai.” Shanghai | Urban Regeneration, https://urban-regeneration.worldbank.org/Shanghai.

‘Shanghai Taipingqiao & Xintiandi Specific Plan’. SOM, https://www.som.com/projects/shanghai-taipingqiao-xintiandi-specific-plan/.

Yang, You-Ren, and Chih-hui Chang. ‘An Urban Regeneration Regime in China: A Case Study of Urban Redevelopment in Shanghai’s Taipingqiao Area’. Urban Studies, vol. 44, no. 9, Aug. 2007, pp. 1809–26. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980701507787.