Improving tenant rights in urban village renovation : reflections on the unified rental scheme in Baimang village

Abstract

This study takes the practice of Shenzhen's urban village Unified Rental policy in Baimang Village as a case study to explore in depth the challenges and opportunities faced by the government in pursuing policy intersectionality and multiple objectives. Theoretically, policy intersectionality can promote the optimal allocation of resources and maximize benefits. However, in practice, the game of multiple interests may lead to complicated policy implementation, unintended consequences, and even deviation from the established goals. Specifically, Shenzhen's Unified Rental for urban villages, a policy that integrates the three main directions of housing, talent and economy, encountered public opinion controversy and faced implementation obstacles in the implementation of Baimang Village. Nevertheless, the continued promotion of the policy in other regions and the restart of the Baimang Village renovation project highlight the need for an in-depth analysis of the policy. Through field research and interviews, this essay systematically analyzes the practices of different implementing entities in urban village renovation, and combines theories of institutional economics, such as transaction costs, to analyze the causes of disputes over the practice of Baimang Village's Unified Rental in the form of policy evaluation. It is found that the disputes and implementation difficulties of the multiple objectives policy in practice mainly stem from the conflict of interests among the participating subjects caused by the plurality of objectives, as well as the increase of transaction costs brought about by the plurality of objectives, and this dilemma especially stems from the insufficient attention paid to the tenants, the "marginalized group" in the policy. Taking into account the case studies, this essay proposes adjustments and improvements to the policy to bring it closer to its stated goals, such as taking tenants' rights into account and reducing transaction costs. Ultimately, this study concludes that the government should consider transaction costs and other institutional factors at the policy design stage, balance the needs of multiple stakeholders, and, in particular, identify and consider the needs of marginalized groups in policy analysis and evaluation to ensure policy fairness and effectiveness.