Detailed design of the Wugang residential unit

Historical, political or economic context in which the plan/project is proposed

This plan was proposed as part as the first 5 year plan of the newly founded People Republic of China. Inspired by the Soviet advice, this plan proposed a standard model of housing compound (jiefang) that integrated other urban functions necessary to the daily life of the workers (open space, school, local health centre…) and that could be easily replicated. Heavily criticized for its inappropriate density and morphology, it has evolved afterwards into the new worker village (xincun).

Bibliography

André, G., Temporalités de la métropolisation et appropriations locales : les mutations des secteurs résidentiels à Wuhan, une grande ville chinoise de l’intérieur, PhD dissertation (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), 2020.

Bray, D., Social Space and governance in Urban China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005.

Yang, C., Mutations sociales et transformations spatiales des quartiers ouvriers de Shanghai (1949-2010) : le cas de la cité ouvrière de Caoyang, PhD dissertation (EHESS), 2012.