Housing and Family in Contemporary Urban China

Abstract

Up until now, the problem of housing in urban China has been examined from the perspective of investment of from that of urban planning, and few studies have been made on the relation between housing and family.

In the autumn of 1987, the authors conducted a survey in six urban centers in China in order to collect data for an investigation on "Family and Social Change in Urban China," and they found that the topic of housing was crucial for an understanding of the internal structure of the family, its economic and social status, and its relations with other social entities. Moreover, the use of the housing distributed by the State as a political weapon and one for social control, was evident. Some of the above-mentioned aspects are examined within the wider perspective of the housing problem in general. To that effect, both Chinese and Western sources were used, aside from the findings of fieldwork.