Redeveloping ageing communities under state entrepreneurialism in China: The case of Xiaoxihu,Nanjing

Abstract

This article conceptualises habitability as a bridging mechanism between inclusive growth and state entrepreneurialism, and examines how welfare provision and capital accumulation are co-produced through urban redevelopment in contemporary China. Drawing on the emblematic case of Xiaoxihu, an ageing community in Nanjing, this paper analyses the governance rationale that sets the Chinese experience apart from inclusive urbanisation as practised under urban entrepreneurialism. Drawing on six rounds of fieldwork and 35 interviews, it reveals how local authorities have employed the Urban Redevelopment Fund to support environmental improvements and to restructure community economies. While residents have benefitted from substantial asset appreciation, their right to live well has been progressively eroded. This reflects the broader consequences of neighbourhood assetisation and the state’s gradual withdrawal from eldercare provision. The article argues for repositioning habitability as a core objective of urban development, in order to better address inclusive growth’s persistent reliance on capital accumulation.