The rise of “foreign gated communities” in Beijing: between economic globalization and local institutions

Wu, F. and Webber, K. (2004) The rise of “foreign gated communities” in Beijing: between economic globalization and local institutions. Cities, 21 (3), 203-213. (doi:10.1016/j.cities.2004.03.002).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Foreign gated communities in Beijing are produced by the intertwined forces of economic globalization and local institutional changes. Since China’s economy was opened up to the world, Beijing, as the capital, has seen tremendous growth of foreign direct investment and the establishment of the branches of multinational companies. As a result, there has been increasing demand for expatriate housing. However, such demand could not be accommodated by the housing provision system and the production of foreign housing has been materialized through the newly established sector of commodity housing. Foreign housing is built into gated communities, which is attributed to more than security requirements and status differentiation; the formation of foreign gated communities should be traced back to the unusual way in which housing is produced and consumed. Spatially, foreign housing projects are clustered in the northeastern area of Beijing, along the highway leading to the airport. Such an uneven distribution has exacerbated the differential global orientation of the urban areas and laid down the basis for further social spatial differentiation.

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