Deciphering the Prevalence of Neighborhood Enclosure Amidst Post-1949 Chinese Cities: A Critical Synthesis

Abstract

With a literature review of China's urbanism after the establishment of the communist state in 1949, this article brings into readers' attention that post-1949 urban China has been characterized by various types of enclosed neighborhoods throughout the Maoist and post-reform eras. The main purpose of this review is to trace the social, economic, and political contexts of diverse practices of enclosure, and analyze how these practices work to consolidate dominant economic and social relations in specific historical periods. This distinct aspect of Chinese urbanism is interwoven with particular sociopolitical institutions and processes of place making and space production. © The Author(s) 2013.