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Project

Collective Spaces in Workers’ Villages in Northeast China: A Critical Socio-spatial Analysis

Workers’ villages were collective housing districts built for industrial employees and their families in the early period of New China. Collective spaces in workers’ villages were a crucial mainstay for the novel socialist life in the 1950s-1970s period. Since 1978 when China launched fundamental reforms nationwide, the once-exclusive workers’ villages have experienced vital changes in many aspects, which have put and are putting pressure on the original private and collective spaces. This doctoral project focuses on collective spaces in workers’ villages situated in Northeast China, which was “the cradle of socialist industrial construction” and suffered the biggest shock during the transformation period. From the socio-spatial perspective, this research, based on the historical examination, seeks to unveil currently performed societal activities and dwelling in such a collective living environment, and by this to reveal the complexity and significance of the collective space. Through the collective space we explored, the project also provides an understanding of how this knowledge can contribute to the future development of the workers’ villages.

Date:1 Oct 2019 →  1 Oct 2023
Keywords:architecture, heritage, urban regeneration
Disciplines:Architecture not elsewhere classified
Project type:PhD project