For the Communist Party of China, housing has always been a tool to control the population. State-run businesses initially delivered units under the aegis of the Party. Nowadays, even though housing is delivered through the mechanisms of a market economy, the Party?s hand is still felt. The city and the government continue to determine who benefits, where constructions and demolitions occur, and where people can live. The lack of housing is also a way to control the population, its flux and movement to and from the city.
Living in Beijing from 2008 to 2012 shattered many of my preconceived ideas about the country, its people and its urban development. I felt compelled to undertake my own research, assisted by Dutch photographer Tanja Houwerzijl and four of my students at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. I interviewed people in fifteen Beijing households: from the poorest to the wealthiest, from dwellers of dilapidated traditional houses and young migrants squatting in dingy flats to those living in luxurious towers and posh houses hidden in gated suburban developments. Each talked about their lives and relationship to their housing. Through their voices, I slowly discovered the complexities of Beijing?s housing policies and urban development mechanisms. From our interviews, it became clear that precariousness is accepted as normal by many, and that evictions and relocations are a regular part of the lives of Beijingers. Even if people are not di...