Reforming the Slums and Rebuilding Community

Guoqing Li

（ Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Ligq@cass.org.cn

I. The Slum Era: A Complete Break with Mainstream Society

• First, following the loss of employment with the collapse of industries, residents lost the ability to improve their living situation and began to lose hope in the future.

• Second, safety and governing of the slums continuously worsened over the years.

• Third, sanitation and health deteriorated.• Fourth, loss of employment was an attack on the family

unit, leading to lower marriage rates and increasingly high divorce rates.  

• Fifth, community groups lost their vitality  and dedication to the community.

II. Characteristics of Slum Residents

• 1, Slum residents’ social position slid downward.

After expulsion from mainstream society these slums couldn't even count as belonging to the lowest level of society; they were places outside of the entire social system, stripped of all ability to return to mainstream urbanization or industrialization.

• 2. Poverty as an attack on family stability.• 3. The disintegration of the work units resulted in

the collapse of local society.• 4. The emergence of a culture of poverty led to a

decline in public security.• 5. Deteriorating order in the residential

communities only increased the graveness of the public security issue.

• 6. Loss of work-unit medical service was the leading factor in the deterioration of community health.

III. Changes in Slum Life

• 1. Changes in residential community groups.

• 2. Strengthening social security, establishing social order.

• 3. Evident improvements in residents health.

• 4. Residents Rise in Social Position and Change in Appearance and Attitude

IV. Managing Renovation of the Slums and Creating a System of Social Organization

• 1. Reestablishing Community Groups, Building a Governing Body

• 2. Complete provision of services, stronger services

• 3. Providing community services, helping set up a healthy living system.

• 4. Eliminating the culture of poverty, promoting integration into society.

• 5. Raising levels of culture; rebuilding residents.

V. Core Experience and Future Development 

• First, reformation of the slums was an important turning point, with the merging reformation of the slums and construction of the residential communities, building of effective local groups, and establishing of a complete set of social services all combining to establish a new grounds for life and society.

• Second, reformation of the slums has been highly effective in destroying and preventing the recurrence of a culture of poverty and helping residents to reform themselves.

The unfinished project

• First, returning the mainstream urban economic market is much more difficult than returning to mainstream society.

• Second, after residents are able to establish an economic base, resculpting the people’s character and leading them into modernization will be the next steps in this ongoing plan.

Thank you!