Second Home, New Home

Abstract: As a unique form of rural-urban transition settlement in China’s rapid urbanization process, the “urban village” plays a very distinctive part in promoting urbanization, being a transit point for many rural people entering urban areas. The term “informal employment migrants” usually refers to those people, who have no formal employment status and work in informal, low-skilled, low-paying jobs in the city. These people often have no stable job security or social protection, facing problems with housing, education and healthcare, as well as a lack of social interaction and cultural and recreational activities, etc. They are the main force in the industry, promoting urban development and securing the service base, while having little power in terms of economic ability and social status.  The rights and interests of the millions of these non-local residents living and working in urban villages, are very important aspects but are usually overlooked by current planning instruments. In the daily life of an urban village, such as Kangle village, not only do the profits from the rental of collective land and property village-owned enterprises benefit only the household residents of the village, but the organization and participation in any public activities within the village have nothing to do with the tenants. As a result, these migrant tenants, who have come to Guangzhou to make a living in the case of this project, are mere outsiders in terms of the distribution of benefits or the share of spiritual entertainment in the urban village. As outsiders, they are often the most affected by the regeneration, the most opposed to it and suffer most directly from its benefits, however, have the weakest voice in the planning progress. Therefore, in urban regeneration planning, we planners should pay more attention to the existence and living needs of these informal employment migrants, provide them with better living and working conditions, improve their quality of life, and promote the equal development of urban society.