Reforming the Slums and Rebuilding Community

1. Reforming the Slums and Rebuilding Community Guoqing Li（Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)Ligq@cass.org.cn

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Thank you!