Gangxia Village: A Critical Gaze at the Urban Paradox

The urbanization of Shenzhen has kept accelerating for dozens of years. Amidst the sleek skyscrapers and bustling commercial hubs, remnants of the city's rural past stubbornly persist. Gangxia Village, along with others like Shixia and Xinzhou Villages, stands as a stark juxtaposition to the modernity surrounding them. These enclaves, termed "Urban Villages," present a poignant symbol of the socioeconomic disparities within burgeoning metropolises.

Gangxia Village, particularly renowned, stands as a testament to this contrast. While affluent denizens inhabit the soaring towers above, the village below houses the city's working class in tightly packed, affordable apartments. Despite being integral to the city's vitality, these residents remain marginalized, grappling with substandard living conditions while contributing to the city's dynamism.

The village's buildings are so dense and close that they have a nickname as "handshake buildings". It might sound funny. Unfortunately, the nickname itself represents tenants’ plight rather than their optimism. No wonder people living in urban villages never talk about privacy, light, and fresh air, which are basic human needs but rare and strange to them. In many cases, we often hear stories of residents being laughed, judged, and ignored for their address. These migrant workers or common employees themselves get basic accommodation only in the urban villages while the address brings them discrimination.

The persistence of Gangxia Village in Shenzhen's much expensive real estate market signals systemic issues: inadequacies in urban planning, wealth distribution, and housing policies. This spatial inequality raises critical questions about the real beneficiaries and contributors of urban growth and the hidden costs of rapid development. Gangxia Village serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when cities expand vertically and economically but not socially or equitably.