MSC THESIS

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Zishan Cong | 940510161110

MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning | Land Use Planning chair group

What kind of solutions can scale down the gated

communities to small blocks with responding to the

controversies of people in China?

Zishan Cong

MSC THESIS

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Zishan Cong | 940510161110

MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning | Land Use Planning chair group

What kind of solution can scale down the gated

communities to small blocks with responding to the

controversies of people in China?

Study Programme: MSc Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning

Specialisation: Spatial Planning

Course code: LUP-80436 MSc Thesis Land Use Planning

Credits: 36 ECT

Submission date:

Registration number: 940510161110

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Zishan Cong | 940510161110

MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning | Land Use Planning chair group

Abstract

Due to economic development and special land transfer system since the reform and

opening, China's residential construction has been dominated by large-scale gated

communities since 1978. So far, the gated communities have become the basic model

of Chinese communities. Although gated communities have solved the demand for

housing by urban populations in a certain period, which has stimulated economic

development, it has also exposed many complicated problems. For example, the scale

is too large, and the excessive number increases traffic congestion in the city. The

enclosed space of the wall leads to the privatization of urban public space and wastes

urban space resources. The gated boundary reduces the vitality and diversity of the

street, and the function monotonously reduces the life of the residents. In 2016, the

Communist Party of China Central Committee released a document mentioned

“Narrow road, dense road network”(MOHURD, 2016) and advocated to develop the

small block system. However, until now, the gated communities still dominate the real

estate market in China.

Based on the above background and problems, this research will take the small block

system mode supported by the current policy as the study object. Finding the people’s

daily and basic factors of small blocks and based on them to propose urban design-

led solutions. The research mainly focuses on five controversies faced by the small

block system, proposing design principles to a gated community case in Tianjin, China.

Key words: gated communities, block system, urban design-led solution,

controversies, residents

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Zishan Cong | 940510161110

MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning | Land Use Planning chair group

Table of Contents

Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iii

Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1

1.1. Research Background ............................................................................ 1

1.1.1. Space unjust problem of the gated community ............................ 1

1.1.2. The development of gated communities in China ........................ 1

1.1.3. The characteristic of the gated community in China .................... 3

1.2．Problem Description .............................................................................. 4

1.3. Research Objective and Questions ........................................................ 4

Chapter 2 Research methodology ............................................................................. 6

2.1. Literature Review .................................................................................... 6

2.1.1. Research of controversies faced by small block system in China

................................................................................................................ 6

2.2. Regulation support ................................................................................ 13

2.2.1. Related new regulation introduction ........................................... 13

2.2.2. Changes of the new standard content ....................................... 13

2.3. Research of the New Urbanism ............................................................ 16

2.3.1. Introduction of New Urbanism .................................................... 16

2.4. Case Study............................................................................................ 18

2.4.1. Case selection reason ................................................................ 18

2.4.2. Field Research............................................................................ 22

2.5. Design strategy recommendations ....................................................... 22

2.6. Q Methodology ...................................................................................... 22

2.6.1. Why choose Q methodology in this research............................. 22

2.6.2. The participant group choose ..................................................... 24

2.6.3. Steps of Q methodology ............................................................. 24

2.6.4. Data Collection ........................................................................... 29

2.6.5. Data Analysis .............................................................................. 32

Chapter 3 Results.................................................................................................... 34

3.1. Q Methodology results .......................................................................... 34

3.2. Four types of participants (not finished yet) ......................................... 35

3.2.1. Type1 Questioning the Future .................................................... 35

3.2.2. Type2 Breaking the Limit ............................................................ 36

3.2.3. Type3 Step by Step .................................................................... 36

3.2.4. Type4 Cautious Selection ........................................................... 36

Chapter 4 Cultural Theory ....................................................................................... 36

4.1. Why choose Cultural Theory ................................................................ 36

4.2. Cultural Theory...................................................................................... 37

4.2.1. Individualism ............................................................................... 39

4.2.2. Fatalism ..................................................................................... 39

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Zishan Cong | 940510161110

MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning | Land Use Planning chair group

4.2.3. Hierarchism ............................................................................... 40

4.2.4. Egalitarianism ........................................................................... 40

4.2. Match Cultural Theory with the results of Q method ............................ 41

Chapter 5 Discussion .............................................................................................. 41

5.1. Limitation of research .......................................................................... 41

5.1.1. Limitation of data collection of Q methodology .......................... 41

5.1.2. Limitation of fieldwork ................................................................. 42

5.2. Reflection on interview with Chinese planner ..................................... 42

Chapter 6 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 43

Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 43

Appendixes ............................................................................................................. 48

Appendix A Q methodology statements Chinese version............................ 48

Appendix B Wantong Community owners survey form ............................... 49

Appendix C Q sorts for four factors ............................................................. 50

Appendix D Interview on Chinese planner Lan ........................................... 52

List of figures ........................................................................................................... 52

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1. Research Background

1.1.1. Space unjust problem of the gated community

The privatization of public spaces caused by building a large number of gated

communities has become an injustice problem in spatial distribution (Xu Rongsheng,

2015; Xu Kai & Klaus Semsroth, 2013). The concept of gated community was

originated in the United States and defined by Blakely and Snyder, “Gated communities

are residential areas with restricted access in which normally public spaces are private”

(Blakely, E., & Snyder, M, 1997, p2). In Blakely and Snyder’s book, they made a classic

division of gated communities and identified three main types of gated communities in

the United Stated (Cao Haijun, Huo Weihua, 2017). Lifestyle Communities such as

Retirement village and leisure club community reflected the privatization of public

spaces and local entertainment places. The Prestige communities might lack some

sharing facilities for lifestyle communities. The third one is Security Zone communities,

which aimed to avoid crime and the disturber (Blakely, E., & Snyder, M, 1997, p55; Cao

Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017). Although these three types of gated communities are the

division of ideal states, in reality, their characteristics and distinctions always overlap.

However, because of the differences between the development of historical conditions,

socio-economic and so on in different countries, subsequent scholars have studied

gated communities from various background and research perspectives. Thus, they

have not reached a consensus on the study of gated community forms and patterns

(Cao Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017; Grant, J., & Mittelsteadt, L, 2004). However, the

gated community always contained a variety of different types of high-quality activity

places only available to people who live there, but not open to the public. Actually, a

gated community can be considered as an enemy to the public (Xu Kai & Klaus

Semsroth, 2013).

1.1.2. The development of gated communities in China

The reasons for the gated community phenomenon in China are traced back to a series

of market-oriented economic system reforms initiated after 1978, which including

housing reform. The local government adopted active land finance under the condition

of lack of finance and tight public construction funds and encouraged private capital to

carry out large-scale communities’ development and management, which directly led

to the popularization of the gated community in China (Xu Miao, 2016, & Yang Zhen,

2010 & Yuan Yuan, 2015). In Xu Miao’s research on gated communities, she argued

that “as for the problem of the street area, the road network and the wide road

mentioned in the file, it belongs to the planning and control of the spatial scale of the

city and the degree of land use, also it belongs to the lack of management awareness

and policy of the relevant departments. The gated community itself is in fact not directly

related” (Xu Miao, 2016).

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China's land transfer system is one of the reasons for the popularity of gated

communities. Before the reform and opening-up of China (1978), they organized the

housing system for the distribution of physical benefits, employees live in a house

provided by the state in form of a lease (Cao Haijun, Huo Weihua, 2017). However,

with the development of urban construction and the increasing of population, the

problem of housing shortage was highlight day by day. Also, the budget burden of the

state and governments become increasingly heavier due to the long-term

implementation of the low-renting policy. In order to change this situation, the

government first allowed the real estate companies and individuals to participate in the

housing construction by the way of the capital injection (Cao Hongtao, Chu Chuanheng,

1990). Besides, under the conditions established by the Chinese socialist market

economy, the public housing was privatized, which means the families already living in

the public housing are encouraged to buy the public housing they used at subsidized

prices or to buy commercial housing at market prices (Walder, A. 1993). Finally,

because of the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Chinese economy has

been seriously affected, and the economic growth has become a breakthrough in

national development by expanding domestic demand. Therefore, at that time, the real

estate industry was considered to be a new growth point for China’s national economy,

which also promoted the marketization and monetization reform of the housing

distribution system. The China State Council issued a document in 1998 that

requesting the cessation of the public housing supply and the establishment of a

market-oriented housing system (Cao Haijun, Huo Weihua, 2017). The process of

reform due to a phenomenon that Chinese real estate developers can get a large piece

of land for construction, which is unimaginable in many privately-owned countries. For

instance, a Chinese community usually covers 12-20 hectares and contains 2,000-

3,000 households. In the United States, there are only 291 gated communities, half of

which are only 150 or less. Developers are also more willing to increase the value of

their land by building gated communities (Wei, Y. 2018).

In the last twenty years, the gated community has grown into a typically spatial mode

for urban living development in the age of Post-Fordism, it has generated heated

debates in the international academic society about varied urban issue in the wild fields

of politics, geography, economics, law and urban planning (Xu Miao, 2016). Therefore,

the gated communities’ problem cannot be solved by the simple method “Demolish the

wall”.

Choon Piew Pow said “the emergence of private gated communities in China needs to

be understood within the context of China’s economic reform and urban restructuring,

more specifically the housing commodification polices, intensification of social

stratification and class differentiation, as well as the liberation of urban consumption

forces” in his study of gated communities in Shanghai (Pow, C, 2007). As mentioned

before, the gated community become a new type of urban space, different from the

gated island community in the United States, the Chinese-style gated community has

become the basic unit of urban residential development. This also means the gated

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communities can be regarded as residential areas. To a large extent, it is controlled by

government discourse and market factors, and government discourse and market

factors largely serve the local government's social order and development strategy

(Pow, C, 2007; Cao Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017). This is also due to domestic scholars

stay on the urban scale rather than community scale when they study the relationship

between outdoor space and communication (Deng, F, 2015). Although the privatization

of public space arising from the existence of gated communities violates the principle

of spatial distribution justice in social justice, the emergence and development of gated

communities are inevitable and rational. Therefore, it is a challenge faced by urban

design, policy development and government management in China (Zhang Jia, 2015;

Cao Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017).

1.1.3. The characteristic of the gated community in China

Although the academic community usually defines the access control community as “a

residential area that is gated or closed to residential area that prohibit non-members

access, and members of the area agree on certain legal contracts and maintain a

common understanding of the public environment in the area,” (Atkinsonger, Blandys,

2005). In fact, the situation is very diverse.

There is a completely closed one, which is accessed by swiping; there is a gate, but

only occasionally interrogates a small number of entrants; it is also completely open to

pedestrians, and the gates are only for vehicles. In fact, in China, the first batch of

demonstration projects that were rated as national residential areas, such as the Lotus

North residential district in Shenzhen and the Longhu Nanyuan in Chongqing, did not

have a wall at first, and pedestrians were free. Through the walk, its green space and

public service facilities are open to the surrounding public. However, with the rapid

increase of urban population, the scarcity and competition of environmental resources,

the interference of vehicles and pedestrians, and the hidden dangers of community

safety, these commodity housing and accommodation areas have chosen the closed

management mode and become the access control community (Xu Miao, 2016).

When Chinese residents purchase housing in the access control community, they not

only pay for the construction area but also pay for the use and maintenance of public

green space, and service facilities in the community. According to the "Property Law",

the public part of the community belongs to all owners. Therefore, in theory, these

gated communities are based on private property rights, and community residents

have the right to determine the community management model, including whether to

open internal roads, green spaces, and public facilities. However, whether or not the

access control is set, and the strictness of the access control is often flexible depending

on the state of the urban environment (Xu Miao, 2016 & Xu Miao, 2009).

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1.2．Problem Description

There are some social controversies faced by promoting small block system in China

now. Residents’ concerns about the block system and the voice of opposition can be

explained by the “NIMBY” (Wang Aiguo,2016). The NIMBY mainly refers to residents

or local units arousing people's disgusting feelings because they are worried about the

negative impacts of construction projects on physical health, environmental quality and

asset value. It breeds the psychology “do not build in my backyard” and strong, highly

emotional, collective opposition and even resistance of people. The worries and

resistance of residents about the block system are the results of the entanglement

between rational economic people and irrational social people (Wang Aiguo,2016).

They cannot be handled simply and rudely. Therefore, the implementation of the block

system cannot be expected to solve overnight, to clearly understand the main concerns

of residents' concerns and misunderstandings is necessary.

According to Yang Baojun & Gu Zongpei (2017), after the document released by the

State Council, the focus of debates mainly focused on five aspects: security of walls,

traffic conflict, planning model, property rights division, and social equity (Yang Baojun,

Gu Zongpei, 2017). These five controversies will be specifically introduced in the

Chapter 2. Among them, traffic conflicts and social equity can be changed and

improved through urban design-led solutions, while the other three security of walls,

planning model and property rights division need government policy support and

improvement in the processing of implementation. In this research, suggestions of both

design-led solutions and implementations respond to these five controversies will be

the final result.

1.3. Research Objective and Questions

There is a lack of research on the motivation of the conflict between people’s attitude

and the document issued by the policy. Also, promoting the block system and

conducting research on the design strategy of the block system is inevitable and

necessary. Before the document was issued, the research on “open communities,

construction of blocks” mostly focused on its feasibility and applicability, and there were

few researches on the block renovation proposed based on China's current gated

communities. Therefore, how to form a small block under the current conditions, with

transforming the gated community to small block as a core is the main problem of this

research.

The objective of this research is to contribute to filling the lack research of the

motivation of users’ negative attitude and help to change it. Meanwhile, starting from

the two aspects of people’s daily needs and basic factors of small blocks, obtain the

necessary conditions of China’s cities from the “big street area, wide road network” to

“small blocks and dense road network”. Providing urban design-led principles to

transform the gated communities to block system.

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- Central Research Question

What kind of solutions can scale down the gated communities to small blocks with

responding to the controversies in China?

- Sub-Research Questions

1. What are the controversies faced by the small block system in China?

2. What are the design principles for scaling down the gated communities to small

block? (New Urbanism approach & literature review)

3. What is residents’ attitude to the five controversies faced by promoting the block

system? (Q methodology & interview)

4. What are the solutions respond to problem in the implementation process of scaling

down the gated communities to small block? (Culture Theory & literature review)

- Reason for the order of the sub-research questions

After expounding the problems arising from the current closed communities in China,

the social controversies and difficulties faced in promoting the block system need to

be explained in detail. And in order to response to these controversies, according to

the study of interviews and new urbanism, a set of urban design-led strategies for

specific case study will be presented as results in Chapter2. Subsequently, the Q

methodology study for the case study selected for this research was conducted in

China, and the collected data was used to analyse residents' attitudes towards gated

communities and block system (Chapter3). Then, according to the theoretical study of

cultural theory, the different types of rationalities are matched with different participants,

so as to give corresponding management suggestions (Chapter4). Finally, the first

three sub-questions are combined to compile a set of solutions both cover design and

management (chapter6).

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Chapter 2 Research methodology

2.1. Literature Review

2.1.1. Research of controversies faced by small block system in China

At the beginning of 2016, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of

China(MOHURD, 2016) proposed a document stating that new residential buildings

should be promoted as the block system. In principle, gated residential quarters will no

longer be built. The completed residential quarters and unit complexes should be

gradually opened to realize internal road publicization. To solve the problem of traffic

road network layout and promote land conservation and utilization. Establish the urban

road layout concept of 'narrow road, dense road network', and build a road network

system with fast roads, primary and secondary trunk roads and tributary level allocation.

The discussion on "open block system" has caused widespread debates both in the

industry and in society. Various expert interpretations and various social comments

have emerged in professional journals, newspapers and magazines, and television

media. There are many intricate explanations, but there are also a large number of out-

of-sentences views(Baojun, 2016). The discussion is beneficial because it deepens

the audience's understanding of the “open block”, but on the other hand it also creates

confusion in understanding. In order to explain some of the deviations in understanding

and systematically sort out the controversy facing the open block, the researchers

elaborated on the problems faced by the block system in the following five perspectives.

1. Security of walls

The gated community is the most important form of living space in Chinese cities. As

the part that the development of the gated community in China mentioned, after the

founding of New China, the closed economic operation mode under the planned

economic system created the urban living space with the working unit as the basic

living unit, which constructs the wall and the gate, forms a relatively closed inward-

facing space, while forming a relatively independent unit in the city (Cao Haijun, Huo

Weihua, 2017). From the 1980s to the 1990s, after the reform of the housing system

in China, although the residential development model under the market economy has

changed, the gated community has always been the dominant mode of residential

planning. In this context, the proposal of “open gated community” has changed

people's conventional cognition of living space, and it has caused people's heated

discussion (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). The document covering many contents

were even simply understood by the users as “demolition of the wall”, without the wall

may lead to increased cases such as theft of the community, the vehicle can easily

walk the pedestrian and affect the safety of the elderly (Wang Aiguo,2016). The wall is

the main feature of the gated community, which is together with the access control,

security and monitoring system, it separates the community from the surrounding

urban areas and forms internal and external points. Proponents of many gated

communities have emphasized the “safety” of the wall, although this “security” has long

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been proved by scholars to be an “illusion” (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). The first

American scholar Blakeley et al. (1997) thought that the wall's de facto security was

minimal, "the wall is very easy to pass through. Gated communities residents seek

security, but more precisely they are seeking control, they want to control crime and

transit traffic, want privacy, stability and peace, the existence of the wall repeatedly

hints at the inner residents, the world outside the wall is dangerous" (Yang Baojun, Gu

Zongpei, 2017).

2. Traffic conflicts

The street is the main public space form of the city. In the traditional urban form, grid-

like, dense, and homogeneous urban roads are often closely linked to the surrounding

buildings and have multiple functions. However, urban road planning under the

functionalist ideology that emphasizes “dividing people and vehicles and grading roads”

has broken this tradition (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). Similar to the “main street

area” of the city, “Wide Road” was also born in the early 20th century. The pedestrian

traffic was separated from the motor vehicle lane, and the end road was adopted inside

the residential area to avoid cross-border vehicles. In the neighbourhood unit theory,

the boundaries of each neighbourhood unit should be limited by urban trunk roads to

ensure smooth transit traffic; at the same time, the design of internal roads should

avoid crossing traffic (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). These concepts have been

fully used in the design of residential areas in China. In the Code of Urban Residential

areas planning & design (GB50180-93), it is clearly stated that “the crossing of transit

vehicles should be avoided in the community, and the roads are not smooth, avoiding

round trips." However, this block originally designed to solve motor vehicle traffic

problems has brought more urban traffic problems. The “wide road” and the “high street

area” destroyed the micro-circulation of urban traffic, causing traffic congestion outside

the block; at the same time, this road network structure also reduced the accessibility

of the walk, further improving people's daily life (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). The

dependence on motor vehicle traffic and the increase in the number of motor vehicles

have led to more serious congestion outside the block, making urban traffic into a

vicious circle. On the other hand, urban streets gradually lose the public space function

of traditional streets, which intensifies the inward and agglomeration of urban public

space. The external continuous urban public space is either transferred or

differentiated into the inner part of the block, thus causing the privatization of public

space. A series of problems such as fragmentation of urban space. It can be seen from

the description of the document that the main purpose of "promoting the block system"

is to solve the urban traffic problem, and the corresponding disputes stem from the

residents' concerns about transit traffic. Therefore, how to use the model of “pedestrian-

vehicle mixed use” to take people as the main body of street space, put the car in a

secondary position, reduce the negative effect of motor vehicles on residents' lives and

pedestrians, and let the street space return to pedestrians is the core of the problem.

Traffic problem of the gated community

With the Communist Party of China Central Committee released a directive about how

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to further strengthen urban planning and development management on February 21,

2016, the problem caused by gated communities has been emphasized in China (Chen

Jie, 2016). It proposed not to build any privatized streets in principle and to make the

existing privatized streets of residential areas accessible to the public. Especially, it

suggested building “Narrow road, dense road network” ideas of urban road system by

opening existing residential and corporate compounds gradually and realize the interior

roads can be put into public use (gov.cn, 2016; CEFC, 2016). In short, the main

purpose of the government is to promote the "block system", optimize urban land

resources, and solve traffic congestion problems.

At present, the mainstream sound from Chinese scholars against the gated

communities is from the perspective of urban traffic efficiency. Many people believe

that most of the gated communities have cut the urban space grid, which is one of the

main reasons of increasing congestion of urban traffic in China (Chen Jie, 2016; Cao

Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017). From the perspective of urban planners, the wall outside

the gated communities can restrict the public responsibility of residents in the

residential area, then reduced the probability of civics’ will to participate in the public

action (Chen Jie, 2016; Cao Haijun & Huo Weihua, 2017).

Figure 1 Traffic routes of block Figure 2 Traffic routes of a gated community

The large-scale communities have led to the pattern of “wide roads and roads” with

Chinese characteristics. The road width of international developed cities is generally

moderate, and the phenomenon of wide roads is not common. Compact land layouts

are often associated with small-scale roads. The small distance of the building recedes,

making people feel the width of the road is also smaller. Higher road density and

modest road area rates contribute to a fine urban texture. As can be seen from the

figure4 and the comparison of road density in different cities(table1), foreign developed

cities known for their humanized space environment are mostly small-scale

neighbourhoods and fine road networks. The development of these cities tends to be

relatively compact, with high building density and a large amount of open space. The

road network density in the central city is generally above 10 km/km2, and the

connectivity of the road network is good. However, over the past 30 years, in the

process of China's efforts to increase road supply, urban planners have paid attention

to scale and neglected density, resulting in the expansion of road scales. “Wide Road”

has become a typical configuration of many Chinese cities.

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Berlin 100-200m block Barcelona 100-130m block Boston 100-200m block

Japan 30-100m block Paris 50-150m block London 50-200m block

Shanghai 400-800m block Hangzhou 300-800m block Beijing 500-800m block

Figure 3 The scale comparison of blocks in different cities

International cities Road

Density(km/km2)

China’s cities Road

Density(km/km2)

America New York 13.1 Beijing 6.3

Chicago 18.6 Shanghai 6.7

Japan Tokyo 18.4 Wuhan 9.8

YOK 19.2 Shenzhen 5.7

Osaka 18.1 Dalian 6.0

Spain Barcelona 11.2 Hangzhou 5.2

Chengdu 5.9

Table 1 Comparison of road density in different cities

In the case of insufficient crossing facilities in the road, the same starting point, the

travel distance of the descendants and bicycles in the large-scale sparse road network

condition is longer than that in the small-scale and dense road network conditions. The

city's walking and bicycle accessibility are lower. That is to say, people have to travel

far to reach the destination opposite. Crossing the street is difficult, leading to "Chinese

style" crossing the road. This also means that the scale of road intersections is getting

larger and larger. At large-scale intersections, the signal period is generally longer, and

pedestrians and bicycles have to wait longer for the street. Longer crossing distances

and limited green time may increase people's anxiety and reduce fit. This also led to

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the "Chinese style" crossing the road phenomenon: a small group of people,

regardless of the red light to go. At the same time, long-distance crossings that lack

protection are also prone to security incidents.

Figure 4 Travel distance comparison

Figure 5 "Chinese style" crossing the road phenomenon

（source: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1434659）

However, considering the special background of China, the problem of traffic

congestion and road network cannot be attributed solely to the emergence of the gated

communities.

3. Planning model

China's governance model has undergone a development from the typical dual

structure of “government-urban residents” under the planned economic system to

“central government-local government-market capital-urban residents” under the

socialist market economy (Zhang T& Xia C & Zhang X, 2017). From the government's

point of view, in the context of increasing population and social mobility, gated

communities can effectively protect community safety while reducing urban

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management costs. Therefore, based on financial costs and social security

performance considerations, local governments are living in the form of residence

(Yang Hongping, 2011). From the perspective of local government and growth alliance

space production, the local government has transferred the space rights and

obligations through the land transfer system and the development model of the

developer's “generation and replacement”, which has caused the developer's will to

determine the space for gated communities’ morphological characteristics (Zhang T&

Xia C & Zhang X, 2017). From the perspective of the power class and the social elite,

the privacy, resource advantages and social space significance of the gated

communities are loved and supported by the group; and because the public is affected

by the living pattern of the unit compound and the promotion of real estate propaganda,

the gated community has also become a habitual choice (Yang Hongping, 2011).

Therefore, the respective interests of the government, the market and society have a

driving role in the formation and development of gated communities. In addition, from

the perspective of the relationship between the government, the market and society,

the Chinese government still has absolute authority in the process of urban

development. Market capital is subject to or profitable from government decision-

making, while social supervision and social decision-making ability are weak(Zhang

T& Xia C & Zhang X, 2017). Therefore, under this governance model, the current

practice of promoting the block system is guided by the central government policy, and

the market and public response and choice are the key factors for its successful

implementation.

4. Property rights division

For most urban residents in China, housing is the most important property, and

people's attention to their own property rights is the fundamental reason why the

document can cause widespread concern (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). In the

process of “promoting the block system”, the discussion on residential property rights

is mainly in two aspects: first, the influence of block scale on the negotiation

mechanism of the community users; second, the impact of “opening the gated

community” on the public environment of the residential area (Yang Baojun, Gu

Zongpei, 2017). A gated community usually consists of multiple buildings, each of

which is divided into a number of units that are owned by different owners. This

situation has led to an increasingly diverse ownership of residential and residential

buildings, and their internal relationships have become more complex. For individual

buildings, increasingly difficulties and problems will be hard to coordinate in how to

divide and exercise each property owner’s individual rights to his/her home and the

overall rights of the entire building. For the community, due to the larger number of

owners, the negotiated cost is obviously higher than a single building. The China

Property Law requires the owners to jointly decide on major issues in the community.

It is necessary for more than two-thirds of the owners to agree to the maintenance,

alteration and reconstruction of the building and its ancillary facilities. For other major

issues, more than half of the major issues are required. The owner agrees. China has

only started to build commercial residential areas on a large scale since the 1990s.

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Therefore, many problems have not yet appeared. Such as the age of buildings, more

and more maintenance funds will be used, and there will be more between the owners.

More questions need to be negotiated together. The "new residential area to promote

the block system" mentioned in the document can be said to prevent such problems to

a certain extent and reduce the negotiation cost in the future community management

but in the process of "opening the gated community" (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017).

How to protect the property rights of residents is a major focus of residents' controversy.

5. Social equity

Walls of gated communities are a visible sign of isolation. Residential segregation is a

spatial representation of social differentiation. The emergence of gated communities is

the most direct social differentiation and unfair distribution. The spatial isolation created

by the main street area reduces the social connections between different groups in the

city, and together with the price of the property catalyzes the spatial differentiation of

social classes (Yang Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). In China, the popularity of gated

communities has unique historical reasons, but it is also the result of a joint choice

between the government, enterprises, planners and the public. From the perspective

of development model, China's urban housing has always been a large-scale

centralized development and construction. After moving from unit welfare to market,

housing has become a kind of “product” that developers bring to the market. Each

gated community has its own uniqueness, the "packaging" has resulted in a split

relationship between communities, communities and cities. From the perspective of

buyers, the goods they buy not only the residence but also the social status and identity.

Whether it is "high-end" or "personality", it seems that it needs to be closed to create

a distance from others. From the perspective of public resources, the emergence of

“landscape houses” and “school district houses” mean that high-priced communities

occupy better public resources, and poor people are excluded from the periphery of

cities and areas with poor environmental resources. The inequality in the occupation

of public space resources is not only a spatial reaction to social contradictions, but also

aggravation of social differentiation with residential segregation, the commercial

residential area will separate the citizens according to income and will solidify different

social classes at the material and spatial level through the wall and the gate (Yang

Baojun, Gu Zongpei, 2017). Therefore, how to let urban residents accept the open

urban space form and open, diverse communication methods must be resolved in the

process of promoting the block system.

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2.2. Regulation support

2.2.1. Related new regulation introduction

According to Chinese new national standard Code for planning design of urban

residential area GB50180-2018(CAUPD, 2018)（hereinafter showed by “Standards”）,

some regulations have been changed in this “Standards”, regulations related to the

promotion of the block system have also been added to the new “Standards”. The new

“Standards” standardizes and guides the planning and construction of residential areas

to further improve supporting facilities with technical methods such as goal orientation,

control requirements and indicators. Moreover, in order to embodying the social

benefits of “people-centred”(CAUPD, 2018), providing technical support to improve the

level of living services, suppress excessive development of high-intensity, effectively

control living patterns, and optimize living environment; by giving prior to walking,

increasing public green space, optimizing the green space system, and implementing

technical regulations and requirements such as “small block, dense road network” and

“construction of sponge city” to reflect the environmental benefits of green

development; to promote the planning and construction of residential areas to

scientifically and rationally land use by pushing unified planning, compact and intensive

development, comprehensive utilization and other technical regulations, so as to

ensure the basic promotion, appropriate living and moderate development and

realizing better economic benefits(CAUPD, 2018).

2.2.2. Changes of the new standard content

1. Chapters change

The new “Standard” has changed in the chapter, from the original "11 chapters" to "7

chapters", lack of "residential, green space, vertical, pipeline" chapters but added the

"living environment" chapter; There is a chapter on “Public Service Facilities” and a

chapter on “Supporting Facilities”(CAUPD, 2018). Superficially, there are a lot of

chapters missing, but in fact those contents are already involved in each chapter, it

provides more freedom for practice. The new “standard” mainly emphasizes matching,

small and comprehensive, such as the supermarket; weakens the road; has the idea

of sharing blocks; the new “standard” can better reflect "people-centered" and create

a good living environment for "people”(Li, 2017).

2. General provisions change

The new “Standard” emphasizes “scientific use” and “ensure the living conditions of

residents”; it is applicable to “establishment of planning, implementation of planning,

supervision and inspection”, and is not only “urban design” anymore(CAUPD, 2018).

This embodies that planning should not be just planning thinking. Planning is for people

to live better, not only now, but also the future. In China, the planning work is usually

more biased towards urban design, which can easily lead to unequal or even

disconnected design plan, implementation of plan and post-management of the plan(Li,

2017). The expanded scope of the new “Standard” can provide stronger protection for

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the implementation and management of the later stages of design.

3. Terms and concepts change

3.1 the concept of living district changes

In the old version of the standard, the concept of residential area has both general and

specific meanings. The general meaning refers to the residential districts with different

living populations; the specific meaning refers to a residential district with a fixed size

of population (30000-50000 people) boundaries by the broad thorough-fares, and it

should be equipped with a set of well-established public service facilities that can meet

the material, cultural and living needs of the residents of the area(CAUPD, 2018).

However, the original enclosure nature of the residential area has been weakened in

the new version of “Standard”, and it only refers to the living districts with different size

of living populations in the city.

3.2 the hierarchy system of living district changes

In the past, Chinese living hierarchy system was divided into residential district,

residential quarter and housing cluster; in the new “Standard”, this concept of grading

has been replaced by the concept of “life circle”(CAUPD, 2018). The biggest change

is to take people's walking time (15 minutes life circle, 10 minutes life circle, 5 minutes

life circle, living block) as the starting point for the facilities grading, highlighting the

residents can meet the corresponding living services within the appropriate walking

time, which is easy to guide the rational layout of supporting facilities (MOHURD, 2018).

At the same time, it is also convenient for the renovation of old residential areas, urban

renewal work, the carrying capacity of the calibration facilities and the coverage of

facilities and services(MOHURD, 2018).

The "Standard" takes residential quarters (not a community anymore) as the basic

living unit, and at the same time limits the size and scale of residential quarters (about

2 hectares to 4 hectares)(CAUPD, 2018). The periphery is urban roads, docking "small

blocks, dense road network" to implement "open blocks" and “Road network density”

enables residents to reach surrounding service facilities or bus stops with a shorter

walking distance, while the opening and sharing of urban branch roads is conducive to

alleviating traffic congestion(Li, 2017).

In addition, the new “Standard” is based on people's basic living needs and walking

distance. It considers the distribution of residents and the scope of travel, and takes

into account the reasonable service radius and operation scale of the main supporting

facilities. For example, the service radius of kindergartens does not exceed 300m

matches the five-minute life circle(CAUPD, 2018); the new “Standard” is no longer

based on population, but is based on both the time and the size of the population; the

new “Standard” involves isochronism*, the intersection of circles can be avoided to a

certain degree(for the overlap of the circles of people in different life circles and the low

or even wasted usage of supporting facilities). The intent is to break the inherent

impression of the enclosure and single function of the residential districts in the past

and adding new mix-use features(MOHURD, 2018).

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3.3 the concept of public green space changes

According to the new “Standard”, the per capita public green space index in residential

areas has increased significantly, while emphasizing the functional requirements of

green space closer to home and convenient for residents(MOHURD, 2018).

The "public green space concept" in the new “Standard” is no longer "concentrated

green space", but "green space and square green space for urban land use

classification standards", and the scope of coverage is also different(CAUPD, 2018).

Among the residential areas at all levels, the green space of the three life circles

belongs to the urban public green space, and the auxiliary green space in the

residential block belongs to the residential land in the urban land classification. The

new “Standard” public green space refers to the green space open to residents in the

different life circles of the residential area, that is, the green space and square land

classified by urban land, mainly including park green space, square and other land(Li,

2017). Here can be understood as during the process of transforming the gated

communities into block system, the original green space in the gated communities will

be transformed from club good to public good. The new “Standard” also adds the

concept of “central green space”. The green space attached to the block has a central

green space for the house. The central green space refers to the green space of a

certain scale and capable of carrying out sports activities concentrated in the living

circles and residential blocks at all levels. This groundbreaking change has made the

green space more open and closer to the residents' homes(MOHURD, 2018).

4. Supporting Facilities specifications change

The new “Standard” adds “the basic principles that should be followed in the planning

of supporting facilities”. The concept of supporting facilities in residential areas has

changed. The concepts are different, the classifications are different, and the

corresponding residential area is different, therefore it is very different from the original

standard compliance principle; the supporting facilities of the 15 minute life circle and

10 minute life circle in the residential areas belong to the urban public management

and public service facility land, commercial service facility land and utility land; the

community service facilities in a 5 minute life circle belong to the service facility land in

the residential land; convenience facilities in the residential block belong to the

construction facilities in the residential land. Therefore, this “Standard” separates urban

public service facilities from community service facilities and convenience service

facilities.

According to the new “Standard”, “Street Public Activity Center and Formation” can be

compared with the old one “Public Activity Centers and Formations in Residential

Areas”(MOHURD, 2018). The former matches the 15 minute life circle, and the latter

one matches a residential area; the former is a centralized arrangement of commercial

services, financial post and telecommunications, cultural and sports, and the latter is

centralized for public management and public service facilities and commercial service

facilities. form. Due to the concentration of service populations, in order to increase the

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usage rate, it is sometimes necessary to centralize the layout to form a center. At the

same time, the new standard also proposed the changes in the index of the parking

lot/space, and according to the “recommended use of underground parking, parking

buildings or mechanical parking facilities”, the new standard focuses more on the use

of public spaces and the efficient use of land(Li, 2017).

5. Road specifications change

The road hierarchy system in the original residential area was changed to a new

standard of “Residential roads include urban roads in residential areas and auxiliary

roads in residential blocks”, and “walking systems” have also been added(CAUPD,

2018).

The residential roads are divided into two types-urban roads in residential areas and

auxiliary roads in residential blocks; The change used the “narrow roads and dense

road networks” concept on urban road layout; walking system illustrates the

humanization of the “Standard”. Urban texture refers to the characteristics of the city,

and the differences with other cities, including morphology, geology, function, etc., and

the road is an important element that forms the urban texture(Li, 2017). The

“Regulations on the Contents and Planning of Urban Roads” proposed in the new

standard, the road network density requirement for residential functional is 8km/km2

at least; residential neighborhoods are the basic units that constitute urban residential

areas, generally separated by urban roads. It is conducive to the formation of a dense

road network; the scope of the urban branch road is the scope derived from the

combination of regulations, basic needs, and narrow roads(CAUPD, 2018).

2.3. Research of the New Urbanism

2.3.1. Introduction of New Urbanism

The new urbanism was considered as a replacement of the suburban sprawl in urban

planning and architecture in the United States, which inspired the construction of new

communities and help to solve the social isolation, cultural integration and environment

problems (Wey, W., & Hsu, J, 2014 & Bohl, 2000).

Congress for The New Urbanism (2002) proposed three principles to guide the policy,

development of urban planning: (1) The region: Metropolis, city, and town; (2) The

neighbourhood, the district, and the corridor; (3) The block, the street, and the building.

There are 10 design principles of the New Urbanism on the official website of the New

Urbanism, which aim to cover all scales projects from single architecture to the whole

community: (1) Walkability; (2) Connectivity; (3) Mix-used & Diversity; (4) Mixed

Housing; (5) Quality Architecture & Urban Design; (6) Traditional Neighbourhood

Structure; (7) Increased Density; (8) Green Transportation; (9) Sustainability; (10)

Quality of Life (newurbanism.org, 2018).

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The idea “Narrow road, dense road network” issued by Communist Party of China

Central Committee in 2016 can be considered as an advocated method of the New

Urbanism, which means it will be more accepted by Chinese cities. The practitioners

of New Urbanism are still contributing to push the “small block” principle realize in

China although it faces many obstacles such as existing technical specifications

(Calthorpe Associates & China Sustainable Transportation Center Glumac. 2017).

Meanwhile, based on the practical experience of Chinese cities, Peter Calthorpe

(2017), one of the founders of New Urbanism, and his team summarized ten

development principles of the “Emerald City” that responded to China’s specific

problems, including controlling urban growth boundaries, public transportation

orientation, mixed-use, small blocks, etc.

In this research, the New Urbanism theory and its 10 principles in the book “Emerald

City” showed following will be used to guide the design strategies for transforming the

gated communities into small blocks.

Principle Description

Urban Growth Boundary Plan for compact growth, while preserving

natural ecologies, agrarian landscapes, and

cultural heritage sites.

Transit-Oriented Development Focus density around transit with mixed-use,

walkable neighborhoods.

Mixed Use Create mixed-use neighborhoods and

districts that bring destinations close.

Small Blocks Create dense street networks that generate

human-scaled blocks and enhance walking,

bicycling, and vehicle traffic flow.

Walk and Bike Design walkable and bikable streets to

encourage non-motorized transportation.

Public Space Provide human-scaled and accessible civic

clusters, green space, and parks.

Transit Transit must become a first-class option, not

a second-class necessity.

Car Control Increase mobility by regulating parking and

road-use.

Green Buildings Employ best practices in building energy and

resource conservation.

Sustainable Infrastructure Reduce energy use, waste production, and

water use through renewables, recycling,

and efficiency in public infrastructure.

Table 2 10 principles of New Urbanism (Source: Emerald Cities: Planning for Smart and

Green China, p26.)

(not finished yet)

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2.4. Case Study

2.4.1. Case selection reason

Choose Tianjin TEDA site that consist of three gated communities and one open

community. Since the space created by gated communities and social issues are most

typical in China, the choice of case was initially set in China. At the same time, because

the researcher's hometown is in Tianjin, China, the choice of communities in Tianjin as

cases can provide a lot of convenience for researcher such as in terms of accessibility

of transportation, control of the time of investigation, choice of respondents and

familiarity with customs. After online data collection and screening process, only the

Tianjin TEDA site in Tianjin's downtown area has both gated communities and small

blocks, which can provide a comparison for data analysis. Therefore, the plot is the

best choice for case study.

2.4.1.1. Original TEDA design introduction

The planning of Tianjin TEDA started from 2004, it is the work of the famous Dutch

architect MVRDV, the architects from MVRDV have applied their design concepts “high

density, multi-functional compounding, complex in the chaos that they have been

advocating for many years to the planning and design of Tianjin TEDA (Bian Hongbin,

2010).

Figure 6 Original design by MVRDV in 2004 (source: Architecture and Urbanism, 2007)

TEDA site is located in the Santiaoshi area of the old handicraft base on the bank of

Tianjin Haihe river, which is an old traditional historical town of Tianjin. The site retains

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the urban texture of Tianjin since the 17th century. Although the building on the ground

has been destroyed after levelling the land, most of the trees are still kept. In the design

specification of MVRDV (2005), they wrote:

“in today’s China, many original neighbourhood relationships have been replaced, and

the rapid development of Chinese economy has superseded the original urban-town

model with new and different modes” (Zhou Ying, 2005).

The reason for the appearance of this situation is obvious because build a new city is

much easier than reforming a city conform to its original urban fabric. Therefore, the

development of Chinese real estate models is to remove the old ones and replace

them with a completely new point-type or plate-type high-rise model, which dues to the

urban fabric has been completely changed (Bian Hongbin, 2010).

Figure 7 TEDA site introduction

In the old block, there was at least character and atmosphere although the living

environment in the old neighbourhoods is generally poor (Architecture and Urbanism,

2007). Regrettably, those personalities are hard to preserve when the new

development plans are planned. In addition to the respective land occupation of each

real estate project, the urban life of the original ground level is absorbed into the vertical

tower, and the public space between them is large and useless.

At first, MVRDV took a different path from Chinese architects, and they proposed two

design concepts-sea of tower and street feeling.

“Sea of tower” concept came from the increase in floor area and the current regulations

about light and air, all the apartments have the same height, equal spacing, and all the

houses inside are facing south (Architecture and Urbanism, 2007). Tianjin is a harbour

city next to Beijing, and the TEDA site is situated next to the central market and the

main city river. The old labourers’ residential area in the base has been demolished,

only leaving small monument and trees that line the street. The main challenge of

design is how to connect history and the future, and to restore the characteristics of

green blocks in Tianjin urban area with the high-rise and no trees (Architecture and

Urbanism, 2007). In order to resolve the challenge, they proposed the second concept”

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street feeling”. The overall planning continues the original street fabric while retaining

the neighbourhood and trees of the neighbourhood. The benchmark for building

density has led to the development of high-rise buildings and the potential development

of land parcels.

Figure 8 TEDA site design concept generation

By properly combine the original urban fabric, an appropriate road network system was

established, and the existing streets were used as much as possible (Bian Hongbin,

2010). The old street trees were arranged on both sides of the new road, highlighting

the traces of history. A new neighbourhood was born by inserting high-rise buildings in

an ancient maze of land, and a new neighbourhood was born (Architecture and

Urbanism, 2007). This new relationship is created that echoes the feeling of old streets

and combines urban density with the traditional fabric (Architecture and Urbanism,

2007). By designing different types of living styles, an urban residential area that is

dynamic and attractive and sustainable can be realized.

Some plots have also built some 2-3 low-rise buildings along the road, including low-

rise houses and patio houses to meet the different needs of building density, functional

zoning, light, air and profit, and fully consider the sunshine regulations (Architecture

and Urbanism, 2007). In the plan, a narrow line of street space was formed through

the uniform housing, and the city function outside the residence was added along the

street. Low-density residential and commercial buildings are combined, low-rise

buildings provide space for urban streets, and high-rise buildings provide adequate

floor space. In this high-volume, high-density open community, designers emphasize

the morphological diversity of multiple building types, the revitalization of streets with

narrow and density network, the creation of multiple urban functions in small blocks,

and the residential structure of “open community, closed group” (Bian Hongbin, 2010).

2.4.1.2. Consequences of TEDA site design

This was an advanced planning that broke the planning of the original gated community

at that time. Although it has been recognized by experts in the evaluation process, it

has been hindered in the implementation process. First of all, the urban management

department cannot accept this less straightforward design. The design defined by

multiple, complex, mixed, and ambiguous words leaves the uncertainty and growability

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of the city, which makes managers very worried. Secondly, the “mixed-use”, a

commonly used foreign reference, cannot find corresponding regulations and norms in

China, and it is difficult to classify the project, which makes the developer encounter

many difficulties in the implementation process. Therefore, in the end, most areas of

TEDA site are still developed in the traditional gated community mode, and only one-

fifth of the land (Wantong Upstream International Community) is built in accordance

with the MVRDV concept.

2.4.1.3. Wantong community’s introduction (An open community example)

Figure 9 Wantong community design effort

The area of Wantong Upstream International Community is 11.5 hectares. The

designer divides the land into 8 parts through a dense road network. Each part is not

divided equally, but the comprehensive use requirements and the original texture of

the land are divided. The plots range from 0.5 hectares to 2 hectares, with a narrow

road network of 6-8m between the plots, which dues to the average length of the plot

is only 119m. Building types in Wantong community can be divided into low-level and

high-rise types according to their height. The lower-level parts can be divided into

multiple types such as patio house type and townhouse type (Bian Hongbin, 2010).

Each type has multiple sets of standard areas. In the planning, high-rise residential

buildings are mixed with low-rise residential buildings.

In the planning, the designer emphasizes the role of the street and makes an in-depth

design of the street interface. Meanwhile, the commercial format on the street is

effectively divided. The size of the store is mixed, from the large store such as three-

story gallery to small shop such as 150 square feet (14 meters), space becomes a

complex combination. The streets also increase the attractiveness by adding rich

public space such as squares, green spaces and street furniture.

Over the past 14 years, the Wantong community of the MVRDV design in TEDA site

has been built and put into use, making it became the most distinguished living area

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of the region. Through the survey by Bian Hongbin (2010), it is found that the people

from different classes and different social backgrounds described in Wantong

community have met in a multi-scenario setting, met, and interacted in a residential

area, which really happened in real life. Compared with the homogenization of other

residential communities, the Wantong community is much more complicated due to the

variety of building types. Compared with other gated communities, Wantong

community space organization is more complex. In the interweaving of various

architectural forms, diverse functional configurations, multiple types of residential

modes, and multi-level spatial structures, the idea of “micro-shrinking the society” that

MVRDV hopes to establish has generally been realized (Bian Hongbin, 2010).

2.4.1.4. Other three gated communities’ introduction

There are three gated communities built in the TEDA site and some basic information

showed in below table.

Name Jinling Community Qianji Community Beikai Community

Area 7.8hectares 7.5hectares 15hectares

Picture

Location

Average

length of plots 280m 300m 373m

Table 3 three gated communities’ comparison and illustration

2.4.2. Field Research

2.5. Design strategy recommendations

(not finished yet)

2.6. Q Methodology

2.6.1. Why choose Q methodology in this research

Q methodology is more like a bridge connected the quantitative and qualitative

research method. it is more focus the subjectivity, a person’s viewpoint, opinion, beliefs,

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attitude, and the like (Brown, 1993).

Q-methodology is a great way for respondents to participate in planning research in an

entertaining and interactive way, to increase planning research and re-energize

methodological debates(Eden, Donaldson, & Walker, 2005). Q-methodology is a useful

tool to understand which members have a good participatory process to facilitate policy

making. It is in the form of policy or consultative research(Eden et al., 2005) especially

useful for researching practical questions directly related to participant life(Doller,

2017). People tend to sort rather than write or answer questions and think it is a simple

and a pleasant way to reflect the reasons for their own participation. Not only did they

gain new insights, but they also hope to have the opportunity to consider the project

again. Q-methodology has plenty of time during the interview to allow the respondents

to consider and reflect, so this method is very suitable as an icebreaker for interviews

or researchers need to reflect on the answers they give(Doller, 2017). This method is

also used by those who are not good at expressing or expressing opinions in interviews,

because the statements provided can be highlighted in the transcribed content.

In addition, the Q method can distinguish and interpret different opinions on a certain

subject in a group of subjects, which is difficult to do by traditional questionnaire

methods, and the results obtained by the Q method can be used as a basis of the

making questionnaire (Brown, 1993; Chengzhi & Fengqin, 2010). The Q method treats

all the related items as interrelated information items that can comprehensively depict

subjective subjectivity(Chengzhi & Fengqin, 2010). Although group interviews and

focus groups can provide information on possible different perspectives, they lack

quantitative means. And Q methods can reveal the results through factor analysis to

avoid omissions and misinterpretations. The Q method integrates the personal

opinions and opinions of the research subjects when collecting the set of topic

statements, thereby avoiding ambiguity(Brown, 1993), and the participants' sensibility

of the new measurement method can mobilize their enthusiasm. Moreover, some

methods only review the items by experts, and often ignore the real ideas and needs

of the research objects, thus making the research objects and research content

disconnect. Through the Q method, the same subject can be classified in different

instructions to examine the differences between the subjects from different angles and

starting points(Chengzhi & Fengqin, 2010).

Therefore, the Q methodology is suited for this research because from the various

literature researches researcher can collect a trend of people’s attitude to open the

gated community, which is most users are negative towards the policy. The researcher

does not need to do large numbers of surveys and questionnaires to know people’s

response by categories. While, the researcher can get interviewees’ subjective

opinions and feelings by providing them different statements to do the Q sorting, as

well as the researcher can do an individual analysis according to the significant clusters

of correlations of the consequences. Therefore, by knowing people’s specific

requirement or attitude is the best way to produce a design-led solution.

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2.6.2. The participant group choose

Q methodological research does not require a large number of participants(Watts &

Stenner, 2016). The Q approach aims to reveal and illustrate some of the main points

that a particular group of participants favor. When the group of participants contains 40

to 60 people, it may do this most effectively (Stainton, 1995). This is just a “rule of

thumb”, however, for more efficient Q research, fewer participants can be conducted.

Of course, a significant point of view can be revealed by reference to a single

participant. On the other hand, if we want to prove that this idea is shared by several

people in the “group” and thus understand our subject (rather than a specific individual)

on the basis of this consistency, we obviously must go beyond a single

individual(Stainton, 1995). However, hiring a large number of participants in the context

of Q methodology creates problems in and of themselves. In fact, this approach easily

negates many subtle nuances, complexity, and many of the basic qualities contained

in the data. In the context of qualitative technology, this is obviously

counterproductive(Brown, 1993).

Those seeking to publish in mainstream psychology journals will also find that

statistical arguments hinder research that attempts to use "too many" participants.

Therefore, in order to maintain a small amount and maintain a focus on quality, the

pattern and consistency can still be detected in the data(Stainton, 1995). However, in

general, the size of the respondents is not very important(Stainton, 1995). The exact

composition of the participant group must also be considered. In some cases, it may

be wise to sample participants strategically, especially if they seem likely to express a

particularly interesting or critical point. However, in the case of Q studies aimed at

investigating specific concepts, participants may not be significantly divided according

to the boundaries defined by demographics. In this case, it is best to avoid a priori

assumptions, especially if these assumptions are based on a preconceived

demographic concept(Stainton, 1995). The focus of the Q approach is to allow

individuals to classify themselves based on the Q sorting they make and through the

opinions they express until a series of Q-method analyses provide empirical

justification for certain views of a particular population group that “belong” to a specific

category(Stainton, 1995).

2.6.3. Steps of Q methodology

Performing a Q methodological study involves the following steps:

(1) definition of the concourse; (2) development of the Q sample; (3) selection of the P

set;(4) Q sorting; (5) analysis and interpretation. A comprehensive discussion of each

step follows. Brown (1986 as cited in van Exel & de Graaf, 2005)

In this research, the specific steps of Q methodology are showed follows:

1. Collecting different ideas from the literature and internet reviews, which can be

considered as a concourse. Then selecting or summarizing the sample statements

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from the concourse.

2. Preparing 42 small cards with 1 statement per card, and dividing them into three

categories: Disagree, Neutral, Agree.

3. Then selecting people who have different ideas and let them do the Q sorting in

the prepared score sheet according to their personal subjective judgments.

Figure 10 Q methodology sorting

4. Finally, inviting interviewees to do a brief interview about the reasons of their

choices and their backgrounds (age, gender, education, work and so on), as well

as their personal attitude to problems caused by gated communities.

Because of the Q methodology believing in the subjectivity of respondents, and each

interview will spend a long time.

STEPS Q-METHODOLOGY ACTIONS CHAPTER

STEP1 Literature review Formulate the drivers 2.1.1.

STEP2 Q-set Write the statements 2.3.1.

STEP3 P-set Select participants 2.3.1.

STEP4 Q-sort Execute the fieldwork 2.3.2.

STEP5 Data analysis Formulate factors 2.3.3.

STEP6 Factor interpretation Analyse factors 3

Table 4 steps of Q methodology

The Q-set consists of 42 statements: a Q-set consisting of between 40 and 80

statements is considered sufficient (Watts & Stenner, 2005). This means that each

controversy corresponds with 8-9 statements and each attitude with 2-3. According to

the previous literature review, the drivers of the Q statements all come from the five

controversies faced by the small block in China, and the table following shows the

sorting of Q statements. The test rounds and the fieldwork itself are executed in China,

MSC THESIS

26

because the case projects are China. See for the final Chinese Q-set appendix A. It is

good to have several statements to ask about a topic because that allows to ask about

a topic by different ways, installing a control for diverse interpretation of statements.

Also, a Q-set should not consist of too many subjects to gather clear results. An

interview after the sort will identify any missing important topics.

Controversies Statements

Security of

walls

5. When the community is gated people can be stolen, if it is

open, people is more likely to be stolen.

8. The quality of life in the gated community I live in is very high,

I am very satisfied with it.

11. After the gated community was gradually opened, I was most

worried about security issues" (Ye, Zhou & Wang, 2016).

16. Since the focus of the public is on security issues, the

government should provide more effective security protection

than the original, such as installing a monitoring system and

setting up a police station (Chen, 2016)

19. Demolition of the wall must be based on a sense of security

in the city and the community, and a sense of trust between

people. The establishment is not easy, and it could be a long

process (Chen, 2016).

20. Resolving the safety problem for residents before the

implementation of the block is the key to the smooth promotion

of the block system (Chen, 2016)

36. Not all communities open will affect security, and not all

communities open can help to traffic, it is depending on the

relationship between the gated state of the community and the

traffic context (Ma & Sha, 2016).

38. The security of the community is not only solved by closure.

It depends on management and prevention, such as

strengthening patrols (Ma & Sha, 2016).

Traffic conflict 1. Whether the residential community should be open or not, the

decision is based on all owners rather than the government, and

the property management method is determined by the owners'

meeting and the government has no right to intervene.

3. Now the parking problem is so difficult, if open the gated

communities, when the car is parked outside, how about the

parking space I rent.

7. It is good to learn from the experience of developed countries,

but our "software" is still not developed, such as driving

ceremonies, and the level of urban management is not enough

(Han & Yu, 2016).

17. Gated communities not only break the road network traffic,

but also affect urban life in many aspects (Ma & Sha, 2016)

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18. There should be a better relationship on most living streets

(Ma & Sha, 2016).

25. People walking on the streets, if there are some small shops,

walking spaces, green belts, rest places, etc., will make people

very comfortable. If a street is just a wall next to it, you will feel

that this road is very long (Ma & Sha, 2016)

26. The essence of the demolition wall is to make the gated

community no longer a “obstruction” to the city, and to realize the

transition from “this road is only open to me” to “extends in all

directions” (Ye, Zhou & Wang, 2016).

28. According to the provisions of the Property Law, the land use

right of a residential community belongs to the owners. These

roads are not only accessible, but also have many other functions

such as parking for the owners (Ma & Sha, 2016)

40. Undoubtedly, breaking gated communities will change

China's traditional residential mode, but only by moving out of

isolated urban islands and transforming traditional concepts can

we build a convenient urban transportation network that is

“connected in all directions” (Han & Yu, 2016)

Planning

model

2. Block system is not as simple as demolishing the wall, it needs

to make up for and solve the shortcomings after opening, making

it feasible to open, to reduce the resistance of opening and create

a positive atmosphere (Chen, 2016).

6. Openness is not as simple as opening a wall, the open mind

of the leader is more important. Don't always think about being a

parent of the people, please respect the rights and choices of the

public (Han & Yu, 2016).

15. It is normal for the block system to be questioned as a new

thing (Chen, 2016)

21. The wall of the gated community can be demolished, but the

relevant service facilities must be kept up (Chen, 2016).

30. This policy is being misunderstood. The promotion of the

block system cannot be understood as a simple “wall-breaking

movement” (Han & Yu, 2016)

33. The completed gated communities mentioned in the

document should be gradually opened, the government can

choose to change it when the land use right expired, or change it

when the community is no longer available for rebuilding (Ma &

Sha, 2016).

42. Before the implementation of the block system, a series of

supporting measures must be taken to resolve the worries of the

residents (Chen, 2016).

Property rights

division

4. The problem of the pool area should be solved. The public area

of the community is that everyone pays when they buy a house.

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22. Gated community is the place to collect money by property

management company, and the owners' committees are not

working.

23. I am still willing to pay if the fees id received by sanitation

personnel and community personnel rather than the property

management company.

27. Whether the green space, roads of the community are

included in the pool area when buying a flat, and if so, the

opening of the community should compensate the owners(Ma &

Sha, 2016).

29. The open community involves not only the maintenance of

the rights and interests of the community owners, but also the

follow-up of security and supporting facilities, it is still necessary

to introduce supporting policies in the law, and it is also

necessary to properly handle the openness according to the

characteristics of the location of the residential area (Chen,

2016).

31. The starting point of promoting the opening of gated

communities is good, but we must respect the wishes and needs

of the people. We must invite the community to express opinions

and demands and fully protect the legitimate rights and interests

of the residents (Han & Yu, 2016).

32. For existing communities, whether they are open or not

should be decided by the owners (Ma & Sha, 2016).

34. Fully opening also involves issues such as security and

people's perceptions. The government cannot enforce it (Ma &

Sha, 2016).

35. Compensation includes land transfer fees for the remaining

years, road construction costs, and remedies for inconvenience

caused to residents, including noise, pollution, etc., which must

be coordinated (Ma & Sha, 2016).

9. The basic idea of solving traffic is to develop public

transportation and limit private cars instead of occupying other

space resources. After all, space resources are limited (Ye, Zhou

& Wang, 2016).

Social equity 10. After the gated community was gradually opened, I was most

worried about “the problem of occupation of public resources

such as parking lots, green spaces and fitness” (Ye, Zhou &

Wang, 2016).

12. “Open community” must find a balance between the interests

of the residents and the public interest and let “open” make our

lives better.

13. I am not willing to open a gated community / live in an open

community because I paid for the use of resources in the

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community when I bought a house.

14. I am very satisfied with the comprehensive service facilities

(including restaurants, supermarkets, medical care, parks, etc.)

in the gated community I am currently living in.

24. I have a personal feeling that the garden downstairs only left

the dog and smokers in the winter. Too wasteful, it should be

used.

37. During the implementation process, a large number of

investigations are needed, such as social security and a variety

of coordinated work (Ma & Sha, 2016).

39. Streets and communities are an important factor in how the

school district is divided into major considerations. After the gated

community is opened, if you do not change the jurisdiction of the

street, it should not have much direct impact, otherwise it may

affect the school district (Ma & Sha, 2016).

41. The purpose of opening gated communities is to maximize

the benefits of resources and related resources. This is a

forward-looking urban development concept (Sun, 2016).

Table 5 five drivers correspond with Q statements

2.6.4. Data Collection

There are four communities in the plot of the case, one is block system community,

and the other three are traditional gated communities. Due to the limitation of time,

weather and other conditions, five residents of each community were invited to

participate in the filling out of the ranking form of promotional opinion statement about

the block during the data collection process. A total of 42 of the statements are written

on 42 small cards, statements are associated with the five controversies of mentioned

above, and then ask them to sort those cards according to the arrangement of the

extent to which they agree with statements scores from - 4 to + 4 (figure 13).

Figure 11 Statements Scores

Since the issuance of the block system promotion policy two years ago, it has received

a lot of doubts and resistance. In addition, China's real estate market is still dominated

by gated communities, which is also the result of rational choices of residents. This

may be the result of the continuation of people's living habits for a long time, due to the

low participation and awareness of the new policy. Therefore, the purpose of this study

is to investigate people's attitudes towards the government's promotion of block system.

On the news websites and BBS from China, 42 statements covering the 5 social

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controversies faced by the promotion of block system were collected. This Q study was

conducted through the on-site interview. I used in the study of this Q sorting as an

example of the categories listed in Appendix A of 42 Q analysis reveals that the five

social controversies faced by the small block system: the security issues of the interior

and outside of the wall, road traffic problems, the government's planning model,

property rights division such as its in community facilities and social justice. Among

those statements, poles of each disputed case are described in detail. This study can

help to understand people's current community conditions and their attitudes and

behaviors towards the promotion of block system. And then improve the formulation of

policies and designs based on the survey results.

2.5.4.1. Data from Wantong Community (open community)

As a typical case, Wantong community fully adheres to the characteristics of block

system from the perspective of architecture and planning design. Some high-rise

buildings contain commerce at the bottom, and the community also has open

commercial streets (including supermarkets, express delivery points, restaurants,

Banks, barbershop and other service facilities). However, its usage is not satisfactory.

During the interview, the researcher also learned that the environmental problems of

restaurants in the community have seriously interfered with the lives of residents,

especially the fumes of restaurants that prevents the upstairs residents from opening

their windows. According to the stipulations of article eighty-one of the law on the

prevention and control of atmospheric pollution: ban in residential buildings, did not

form a complete set of special flue of commercial residential buildings and residential

and commercial complex and living within the commercial floor layer adjacent building,

rebuilding and expansion of fumes and peculiar smell, exhaust gas of catering services,

the purpose is to residents from lampblack and peculiar smell, the influence of exhaust

gas, the health of the residents in the protection. According to the original design of

Wantong community, restaurants are only built in the commercial street of the

community to serve the residents, so there is no specified flue duct in the residential

building. This also shows the disconnection between the design and the later

management of the project.

What needs to be emphasized here is that in the process of investigating the residents

of Wantong community, it is learned that the community will be transformed from the

original open block system into a gated community. And from 2019, Beijing Wantong

ding 'an international property service will replace the original owner committee to

manage the community. Fortunately, through the community residents, the researcher

got a survey form (Appendix B) of owners issued by Wantong property. According to

the content of the questionnaire, it can be known that the community owners are

concerned about and urgently need to solve the problems, combined with the actual

situation of Wantong property will carry out the key work:

1. Dismantle 87 illegal storehouses in the underground garage and 1 illegal storehouse

on the ground;

2. Repair 600 square meters of wall and floor tiles;

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3. Use emergency maintenance funds to maintain the firefighting system in the

community and the suspended elevator in the high-rise building;

4. The road between phase ii and phase iii shall be repaired with the participation of

the owner;

More than 1000 trees of all kinds are planted in the park;

6. Beautify the park owners and add 3 new landscaping sites;

7. Coordinate with real estate for the maintenance of phase iii Windows;

8. Effectively control the order of main roads and underground garages in the park;

9. The property coordination department shall demolish the occupied green space;

In addition, the property is about to add new monitoring systems (including elevator

car, lobby, ground floor in front of each building and main roads, underground garage

main roads and entrances and exits), increase access control system and elevator

ladder control to prevent foreign personnel, increase road lock system to prevent

foreign vehicles.

2.3.4.2. Data from other three gated communities (Qianji community, Beikai

community and Jinling community)

The remaining 15 respondents were from Beikai community, Qianji community and

Jinling community (5 for each community). In the process of Q sorting, most

interviewees hold a negative attitude towards open communities, believing that the

disadvantages of block system outweigh the advantages. In addition, the three gated

communities are all adjacent to the Wantong community (open community), and the

interviewees also have heard some problems with the usage of Wantong community.

Due to the flaws in its later management mechanism that have different degrees of

impact on the normal life of its residents, the majority of respondents from gated

communities are not optimistic about the promotion of block system. There are two

interviewees said that the block system had a good starting point, but the focus should

be on the implementation and management in the later stage. As time went by, more

and more problems were exposed. Another interviewee said he supported the

development of block system and accepted to live in block system if he was given the

opportunity, but the related facilities and policies must be prepared. And the

government should do a good job in popularizing public knowledge and policies.

"People around me don't know much about the block system," he said, “No matter what

the government says, block system is good for traffic and good for space utilization.

The first concern of the public is whether their own interests have been damaged.”

Another interviewee also said that the newly built communities on the market are all

gated communities, and people have little chance to choose. Because the housing

policy of the school district affects the schooling conditions of children, most people

regard it as the primary condition to buy a house, and then choose the best according

to the location of the community and transportation conditions.

The birth of a large number of new gated communities in the real estate market makes

the government think that it is the natural choice of the public. However, in the eyes of

the public, they think that the developers and the government have not given the public

MSC THESIS

32

the opportunity to choose between the two. At the same time, based on the previous

case design analysis and interviews with residents, the small-area block system (a

single open community) plays a small role in the presence of a large number of gated

communities.

2.6.5. Data Analysis

The Q analysis and the factor analysis basically have the same statistical process, and

the variable classification is based on the similarity of common factors that may exist

between the variables. The difference between the two is that the factor analysis takes

the item as a variable and extracts the latent factors for the item. In this research, factor

analysis in the Ken-Q analysis function was used to assist in grouping. During the

factor analysis process, a 20X20 respondent correlation matrix was first generated,

and then Principal Components Analysis was used to extract the factors. Kaiser (Kaiser,

1958) advocates the method of extracting factors: the eigenvalue (variance) is greater

than 1.0, and selects the number of significant factors. After selecting the number of

factors, based on the need for factor naming and interpretation, using the maximum

variation axis method (Vaeimax Rotation), the relationship between individual latency

factors and behavioural variables is clearer, and the correlation between factors is

reduced. According to Steohenson(Solomon & Stephenson, 1955), the factor load

must be greater than the 2.58 times the zero correlation is significant, that is, must be

greater than 2.58√n, where n is the number of statements (Schlinger, 1969); Schlinger

(1969) suggested that the group factor of the subject is consistent with the calculated

weight value, and the weight of the subject is weighted by the subject, and the weighted

scores of the subjects of the same category are added to obtain the factors of each

question. The factor score is sorted by size according to the factor scores of each type

to obtain the highest to lowest item, and the following table is listed.

Personnel number Factor load Weight value

Type1 12

8

11

6

16

7

9

0.6541

0.6102

0.5823

0.5291

0.4216

0.3358

0.1985

Type2 20

1

13

0.9042

0.5626

0.382

Type3 2

5

3

14

4

15

0.8316

0.7907

0.5933

0.5634

0.5235

0.3385

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Formula: weight value=loading/1-loading2, source: (Schlinger, 1969, p. 58)

This research is based on the Q methodology analysis steps, summarizing the

following four types of descriptions as follows:

Num. Factor1 Factor2 Factor3 Factor4 Gender Age Education

12 0.6541 0.0518 0.3741 0.0547 Female 22 Junior

college

8 0.6102 0.0754 0.3613 -0.1007 Female 31 Bachelor

11 0.5823 0.2241 0.2535 -0.838 Male 35 Bachelor

6 0.5291 0.0994 0.0634 0.0451 Female 35 Bachelor

16 0.4216 0.294 -0.0145 0.2091 Male 23 Master

7 0.3358 -0.3112 0.0154 -0.3158 Female 38 Bachelor

9 0,1985 -0.0383 0.1798 -0.0659 Female 39 Bachelor

20 0.1192 0.9042 -0.1578 -0.1067 Male 31 Master

1 0.28 0.5626 0.2901 -0.0515 Male 42 Bachelor

13 0.1132 0.382 0.3326 0.1284 Female 46 Junior

college

2 0.231 0.0974 0.8316 -0.0911 Female 54 Bachelor

5 0.1875 0.1094 0.7907 -0.0909 Female 56 Bachelor

3 0.3975 0.4154 0.5933 0.1031 Female 30 Master

14 0.0932 -0.0204 0.5634 -0.081 Male 30 Bachelor

4 0.421 0.5193 0.5235 0.1128 Male 70 Junior

college

15 0.0949 -0.2568 0.3385 -0.2973 Female 44 Bachelor

17 -0.0166 0.0306 -0.0694 0.8288 Male 28 Bachelor

19 0.0907 -0.1333 -0.167 0.826 Female 24 Master

18 0.1444 -0.0516 -0.0971 0.7853 Female 32 Bachelor

10 -0.069 0.0683 0.0424 0.1581 Female 39 Bachelor

Table 6 Types of Policy Promotion Recommendations and Demographic

The research is organized as shown in Table 6, in gender part, there are 7 males and

13 females; in terms of age, there are 3 in 20-25 years old, 4 in 26-30 years old, 4 in

31-35 years old, 3 in 36-40 years old, 3 in41-45 years old, 1 in 46-50 years old and 3

above 50 years old; education level is mainly 3 junior colleges, 13 colleges and 4

masters. Due to the time limitation of the survey, the weather and the location

restrictions, the researcher used a non-sampling survey method in order to collect data

as much as possible within a limited time.

Type4 17

19

18

10

0.8288

0.826

0.7853

0.1581

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Chapter 3 Results

3.1. Q Methodology results

According to the results by ken-Q software, there are four figures show Q sorts for four

factors (see appendix C).

Type Questioning the

Future

Breaking the

Limit

Step by Step Cautious

Selection

Number 7 3 6 4

The 5

statements

of most

agree

7. It is good to learn

from the experience

of developed

countries, but our

"software" is still not

developed, such as

driving ceremonies,

and the level of

urban management

is not enough.

9. The basic idea of

solving traffic is to

develop public

transportation and

limit private cars

instead of

occupying other

space resources.

After all, space

resources are

limited.

6. Openness is not

as simple as

opening a wall, the

open mind of the

leader is more

important. Don't

always think about

being a parent of the

people, please

respect the rights

and choices of the

public.

1. Whether the

2. Block system is

not as simple as

demolishing the

wall, it needs to

make up for and

solve the

shortcomings after

opening, making it

feasible to open, to

reduce the

resistance of

opening and

create a positive

atmosphere.

1. Whether the

residential

community should

be open or not, the

decision is based

on all owners

rather than the

government, and

the property

management

method is

determined by the

owners' meeting

and the

government has

no right to

intervene.

4. The problem of

the pool area

should be solved.

8. The quality of life

in the gated

community I live in

is very high, I am

very satisfied with

it.

4. The problem of

the pool area

should be solved.

The public area of

the community is

that everyone pays

when they buy a

house.

2. Block system is

not as simple as

demolishing the

wall, it needs to

make up for and

solve the

shortcomings after

opening, making it

feasible to open, to

reduce the

resistance of

opening and create

a positive

atmosphere.

10. After the gated

community was

gradually opened, I

was most worried

about “the problem

of occupation of

7. It is good to learn

from the

experience of

developed

countries, but our

"software" is still

not developed,

such as driving

ceremonies, and

the level of urban

management is not

enough.

6. Openness is not

as simple as

opening a wall, the

open mind of the

leader is more

important. Don't

always think about

being a parent of

the people, please

respect the rights

and choices of the

public.

11. After the gated

community was

gradually opened, I

was most worried

about security

issues.

12. “Open

community” must

find a balance

between the

MSC THESIS

35

residential

community should

be open or not, the

decision is based on

all owners rather

than the

government, and

the property

management

method is

determined by the

owners' meeting

and the government

has no right to

intervene.

14. I am very

satisfied with the

comprehensive

service facilities

(including

restaurants,

supermarkets,

medical care, parks,

etc.) in the gated

community I am

currently living in.

The public area of

the community is

that everyone pays

when they buy a

house.

5. When the

community is

gated and stolen, if

it is open, it is more

likely to be stolen.

3. Now the parking

problem is so

difficult, if open the

gated

communities,

when the car is

parked outside,

how about the

parking space I

rent.

public resources

such as parking

lots, green spaces

and fitness”.

9. The basic idea of

solving traffic is to

develop public

transportation and

limit private cars

instead of

occupying other

space resources.

After all, space

resources are

limited.

interests of the

residents and the

public interest and

let “open” make our

lives better.

37. During the

implementation

process, a large

number of

investigations are

needed, such as

social security and

a variety of

coordinated work.

Implication Questioning the

Future

People of this type

are in doubt about

all possible

changes.

Breaking the

Limit

People of who do

not pay more

attention to their

property and

personal rights,

refuse any form of

restriction.

Step by Step

People of this type

accepts the

situation

unconditionally

and rarely shows

concern about

possible changes

in policy.

Cautious

Selection

People of this type

think that the

choice of the

individual needs to

be extremely

cautious, and all

changes require

experts to make

decisions.

Table 7 illustration of four types

3.2. Four types of participants (not finished yet)

3.2.1. Type1 Questioning the Future

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36

3.2.2. Type2 Breaking the Limit

3.2.3. Type3 Step by Step

3.2.4. Type4 Cautious Selection

Chapter 4 Cultural Theory

4.1. Why choose Cultural Theory

In the research of the problem of gated communities, the cultural theory can be used

to understand the motivation of the development of gated communities in China and

motivation of people’s rejection to “open the gated communities”, also help to know

how to realize and promote the open community or block system by changing those

motivations underneath. According to the cultural theory by Douglas, there are four

equal quadrants divided by two axes represent four rationalities separately (figure4):

hierarchism, individualism, egalitarianism and fatalism (Hartmann, 2012). These four

rationalities show four possible expectations when people face a societal problem or a

regime, although not everyone can notice. Meanwhile, this theory provides a

manageable method to these rationalities and a possible to analyse its pluralism

(Douglas,1999:411; Hartmann, 2012).

Besides, when people concern the rationalities in the urban realm, the management of

urban space is an essential point. In a city, according to different morphology of urban

land use, there are differences in the subtractability, which means different land use

products match difference performance of users. Therefore, there is a relationship

between the morphology of urban space and the management of their users (Thomas,

2018). Based on the definition of the four types of economic goods (figure5) as

outcomes of different rationalities, the gated communities in China can be considered

as club goods, and the aim of this paper can be explained as transforming the club

good (gated community) into the common good (open community). When the

transforms realised, the morphology of the communities changed. Therefore, this

paper will mainly focus on the management change of users to a different type of urban

space.

Figure 12 Four types of economic goods

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37

4.2. Cultural Theory

Cultural Theory is a social- constructivist theory, stems from the efforts of

anthropologist Mary Douglas and political scientist Aaron Wildavsky. Mary Douglas

noticed many groups followed a series of patterns of social organizations and

environmental perception and aimed to analyse social interactions and cultural

diversity. She and her followers have systematically turned these similarities into four

basic worldview plans: individualism, fatalism, hierarchy and egalitarianism

(Thompson, Richard, & Wildavsky, 1990). The cultural Theory claims, the structure of

social organizations gives individuals the idea of strengthening structures that compete

with other structures. More simply, it proposes that the human physical model is the

argument for social construction. When different institutions intervene in the natural

ecosystem, their behaviour changes greatly, but does not show complete randomness.

Their actions and the motives and logic behind them are learned through a natural

world model called natural mythology(see figure13)(“CULTURAL THEORY AND RISK

PERCEPTION,” 2014). The name “Grid-Group Cultural Theory” comes from Douglas’s

way of building four basic worldviews or “rationalities” (Hartmann, 2012) using what

she calls “grid” and “group” (Danielson, n.d.). Originally, the Cultural Theory is used in

research on understanding how different people come to different perceptions of

risk(Danielson, n.d.). But now the framework of Grid-Group Cultural Theory can be

applied and discussed in planning theory(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018).

In the Grid-Group Cultural Theory model, four rationalities are divided into four areas

by the two axis “grid” and “group”. “Grid” shows the extend of individual’s choices are

circumscribed by their position in the society. Therefore, the high grid refers to an

individual is highly restricted; a weak grid means a high degree of self-

determination(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018). The “group” indicates the extend an

individual intends to join a group, the degree of solidarity among members of the

society. The higher the group dimension, the more individual behavior is restricted by

the group(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018; Thompson et al., 1990). The specific description

of these four rationalities indicated as follows.

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38

Figure 13 Myths of Nature and the Grid/Group Model. (Dustin S. Stoltz, 2014)

The figure13 above shows the four worldviews or rationalities in Cultural Theory by

Douglas. This model can be used when individuals or organizations try to understand

the relationship between themselves, their actions and the surrounding

environment(“CULTURAL THEORY AND RISK PERCEPTION,” 2014). Each

rationality is represented by a sphere placed on the surface. The surface of

individualism is curved like a cup, it always tends to a safe equilibrium. Therefore, the

ball will fall back to the bottom no matter how unshakable it is or how much the external

environment is affected. The surface of fatalism is flat, the world is inherently

unpredictable, which means that only a little impact can cause the ball to roll

unpredictably in any direction. The surface of the hierarchy is a lowlip cup, which

means that any interference beyond this limit will cause the ball to fall and roll off, it is

necessary to be very careful before any interferences. The surface of egalitarianism is

a peak, the balance of the ball is not stable, therefore, any interference could due to a

disaster(Thompson et al., 1990).

These four natural models implicitly illustrate the behavior of some people or

organizations. For example, if a person holds an individual attitude, then this will prove

that even under “multiple trials”, changes in the surrounding environment will only allow

one to remain more laissez-faire (the ball will always fall back to the bottom). In contrast,

under the hierarchy, one must ensure the stability of the “ball” and thus the desire to

determine the certainty and predictability of the “ball” (environment)(“CULTURAL

THEORY AND RISK PERCEPTION,” 2014). Although no single model can fit the

environment around us because everything around it is dynamic and changing, this

model can tell governments and institutions how to guide the environment and society

to a stable equilibrium in planning. The rationalities are characterized respectively as

MSC THESIS

39

follows part.

4.2.1. Individualism

Individualism is based on the free worldview of individuals seeking for wealth and

status. Individualists believe that as long as no artificial restrictions are imposed on

anyone, the market will allow the best and most worthy to rise to the top, while those

who lag behind can only blame themselves (Danielson, n.d.). Individualists tend to

think that the environment is incredibly flexible and robust, and can greatly promote

the status quo without irreversible consequences(Dustin S. Stoltz, 2014). Nature will

take care of itself and recover from what people do. According to the Grid/Group model,

the individualist ball is difficult to be launched into the valley, because the individualist

worldview has weak social bonds and minimal social structure, and their corresponding

natural myths are naturally benign and will adapt Human behavior(Thompson et al.,

1990). Therefore, people are free to use it for success - there is no need to impose any

restrictions on freedom to promote protection(Danielson, n.d.).

In this way, it is the most liberal rationality. In cities, it considers spatial planning and

urban design as effective commodity distribution (Hartmann & Jehling, 2018; Sorensen

& Day, 1981). Therefore, private property is seen as a driving force for economic

growth and welfare, and public goods are seen as the root cause of market failures.

Therefore, this rationality is beneficial to cities to increase private property to promote

individual freedom(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018).

4.2.2. Fatalism

Fatalism is based on a worldview of luck. Fatalists do not control their own destiny,

they believe that social and environmental forces are unpredictable and

uncontrollable(Thompson et al., 1990). Moreover, the ”Fatalist” believes that the

environment has no rhymes or reasons, and it is impossible to determine the

consequences of our actions(Dustin S. Stoltz, 2014). As figure 13 shows, the world of

fatalism can be rolled anywhere. The worldview of fatalism is a weak social bond, a

hierarchical society dominated by rules; nature is capricious, fundamentally random

and unpredictable(Thompson et al., 1990).

In the urban realm, fatalists usually do not feel connected to the community or group,

others are considered strangers, which means that people in different ways in the

public space of the city are complex and difficult to be affected(Hartmann & Jehling,

2018). The fatalists also accept the rules of using urban space (such as not destroying,

abusing infrastructure, etc.). Although these rules can prevent fatalists from doing what

they want to do in public (such as creating their own urban gardens), they feel that they

are powerless to influence and change these rules(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018). From

a fatalistic point of view, all you can do is enjoy your good fortune as it continues, and

when your luck deteriorates, you will kneel down and work hard to survive. Any attempt

to develop a long-term plan or achieve social change is a waste of energy(Danielson,

MSC THESIS

40

n.d.). For them, the rules for the use of public goods are defined by local public

institutions. Although some rules can be influenced by public participation, the number

of people who need to decide the rules is too large, and the personal impact is

negligible(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018).

4.2.3. Hierarchism

Hierarchy is a culture based on emphasizing and promoting order(Danielson, n.d.).

The hierarchism seeks a society in which everyone knows where they are in the overall

plan and who are arranged in the order of expertise, qualifications or other

organizational principles. In this system, the lower rank people in the chain are

obligated to obey, and those who hold power have the responsibility to pay attention

to the best interests of all of them. The hierarchy believes that the world has clear limits

on how people legally interact with it. The use of resources is good, but only a certain

limit can be reached. It is necessary for an expert or scientist to determine where these

restrictions are located and then create and enforce rules so that no one violates them

(Danielson, n.d.). The ball in Figure 13 will always be included in the valley unless it

exceeds the limit. Hierarchism believes that the surrounding environment is flexible

and can tolerate some human-induced changes to adapt to human actions, but must

be carefully managed and operated, preferably identified and planned by scientific

experts to avoid the point of no return (Dustin S. Stoltz, 2014; Thompson et al., 1990).

Therefore, the hierarchical worldview has strong social ties, mainly vertical, and is

subject to numerous rules(Thompson et al., 1990).

The world of hierarchy means that the integrity of the organization is important, and

rules and regulations are more appropriate as a governance model. But note that in

the rationality of the hierarchism such systems do not necessarily need to be

governments (Douglas, 1999; Hartmann & Jehling, 2018). Ultimately, this rationality

tends to regulate goods rather than using market methods or community plans to

distribute and distribute goods. Therefore, the regulation of goods does not necessarily

come from official institutions (such as planning agencies), but it may also come from

the group itself. However, from the perspective of a local-scale urban design, this

control of the rules means that the user himself has established rules for using urban

space(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018).

4.2.4. Egalitarianism

Egalitarian is a culture based on equality and solidarity(Danielson, n.d.). The goal of

egalitarians is to live by sharing the creed of a brother/sister relationship, in which no one

has power or power over any other person. An egalitarian way of life depends on the shared

commitment of all members - everyone must "work hard" for the benefit of the group. The

"egalitarians" think that the environment (and by extension, the situation) is very fragile, so

we should be careful (because the ball is easy to dump down the mountain), do not to roll

the ball (Dustin S. Stoltz, 2014). Therefore, the egalitarian worldview has strong social

connections, only internally agreed rules and general collective philosophy(Thompson et

al., 1990) . The fear of a catastrophic collapse - whether it is the end of the world or a core

collapse - helps to keep people focused on the interests of the group and avoids the

MSC THESIS

41

enthusiasm for seeking personal progress (Danielson, n.d.).

In the urban realm, egalitarian rationality ignores government intervention and market

planning, but emphasizes the community. This is in line with participatory and collaborative

planning methods. Urban planning should be less law and regulations, and more

consensus and cooperation. Therefore, urban design should create more public social

space to allow people in communities gathering and collaboration. Urban design should

also promote social control, which means that common goods - public pool resources - are

important to this rationality(Hartmann & Jehling, 2018).

4.2. Match Cultural Theory with the results of Q method

(not finished yet)

Chapter 5 Discussion

5.1. Limitation of research

5.1.1. Limitation of data collection of Q methodology

In this research, the process of collecting data was difficult and time consuming due to

time and weather limitation (approximately one month of fieldwork data collection and

Q sort collection in selected cases in China). Moreover, the season of data collection

is winter, Tianjin is located in North China, so the weather is cold and people are not

willing to stay outdoors. And because the number of prepared statements is large (42

statements), it takes a long time, so it is more difficult to invite respondents to do the

Q sort. Most of the residents live in communities that the researcher who met outdoors

were reluctant to participate in interviews, especially older residents. They generally

rejected the investigator's invitation for reasons such as cold weather/interviews and

Q sorts that were time consuming/statements are difficult to understand/student

surveys did not provide substantial meaning. Therefore, during the research, the

population of Q sort is difficult to meet the demographic characteristics. The non-

probability sampling (Non-probability sampling, also known as unequal probability

sampling or non-random sampling, is the method by which the investigator draws

samples according to his own convenience or subjective judgment)(Strauss & Corbin,

1990). Therefore, in this research, the majority of respondents were between 20-40

years old and had a large number of women. The non-random selection of the subjects

and the limitations of the sample size make the conclusions of the study not universal,

but can only represent different opinions in a particular sample or specific organization,

so the reliability of the Q method and the scalability of the results may be questioned.

In addition, due to the time limitation, the researcher only doing short interviews(about

minutes) after the Q sorting by the respondents, which also can affect the consequence

of data collection.

MSC THESIS

42

5.1.2. Limitation of fieldwork

One difficulty in the research of this project is that all four cases are in Tianjin, China.

Therefore, the researcher must return to China from the Netherlands to collect data,

so the time of data collection has great limitations.

Another difficulty is that there is no database of all projects and contact information of

participants. Among the four selected communities, Wantong international community

was designed by the Dutch MVRDV landscape design company. The other three gated

communities were all designed and built by Tianjin local architectural design

companies. Due to the company's project data protection, the design process and the

database of those three communities are difficult to obtain. So, this makes it time

consuming to do the research of the case study and the process of data comparison.

For example, for this study, some public databases were used, but it turned out that

the information on the website was not necessarily correct. Therefore, it is necessary

to collect case projects and participate in contact methods from an early stage, as this

may take a lot of time.

5.2. Reflection on interview with Chinese planner

The researcher contacted Lan, a planner in Tianjin, China (in order to protect the

privacy of the respondents, and did not reveal the full name of the respondent).

Interviews were conducted because of the time difference between China and the

Netherlands. The theme of the interview focused on the reasons for emergency of the

current large-scale gated communities in China, the problems caused by the exited

gated communities, and the difficulties encountered by the government and society in

the process of promoting the block system.

For the reason of emergence of gated communities in China, Lan said, first is the

difference in living patterns, China and European countries have great differences in

population / area and other scales, resulting in different focus of the problem. The

second one is the problem of the state system. Although China is a public-owned

country, the way of trading state-owned land is more like private property. For example,

A large amount of land in the market is purchased and built by real estate developers,

the maintenance management of land after construction should also be the

responsibility of real estate developers. But developers often outsource the

management of the community to the property company. Due to the lack of government

supervision and the unclear sharing of responsibilities among various departments, the

management is prone to many problems such as loopholes, faults and so on. Then is

the issue of inheritance rights. The inheritance rights of the United States and some

countries in Europe are very strict, but in China, the situation is opposite. Therefore,

Chinese people often regard their own houses as part of their privacy, there are certain

requirements for the privacy of the houses. Finally, it is the huge population mobility

unique to Chinese society, people always have a strong sense of territoriality due to

they rely on the “home” (or the place they live in).

MSC THESIS

43

When referring to the difficulties encountered in promoting the block system, Lan said

that the decision made by Chinese government sometimes is too one-sided. It will

introduce a high-pressure policy without comprehensive consideration of the problem,

and reach the provincial and city governments. After that, it is often performed

mechanically without targeted improvement. The Chinese government likes a one-

size-fits-all approach to many issues. In the face of many social problems, too much

emphasis on economic development, but lack of long-term planning thinking. Moreover,

the one-sidedness of the government's thinking has also led to a gap between the

reception of information and the public. The Chinese government often likes to learn

from the solutions and strategies of developed countries, but has not been able to

comprehensively consider the Chinese market and national conditions.

During the interview, Lan also highlighted the focus of the current problems - traffic

issues. He said that Chinese traffic problems did not happen overnight, not even only

caused by gated communities. For example, the central government has adopted

the limiting use of cars with certain license plate number in order to solve the problem

of excessive private cars. However, according to market survey, the promulgation of

this policy has stimulated the purchase of private cars (a family often purchases two

private cars for travel). Therefore, in order to solve the traffic problem, it is not enough

to solve the travel problem first. Only the problem of "stopping" can be solved first.

Finally, Lan made several suggestions for the promotion of the block system. There

are great misunderstandings in improving traffic problems by opening existing gated

communities. Many existing communities do not meet the conditions of openness

(including private car traffic and public transportation) because of the need to consider

technical issues such as fire exits and road widths in the communities. Therefore, to

open the existing closed community, planners must do all the preliminary research and

evaluation work. While, new communities can consider introducing an open strategy.

Also, business districts and other large public buildings (such as university campuses)

can be prioritized for openness (or limited time opening) to address traffic problems.

Chapter 6 Conclusion

Not finished yet

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Appendixes

Appendix A Q methodology statements Chinese version

Sorting arrangement of the promotion opinions about the block system

1. 住宅小区应否开放，决定权在于全体业主，而不是政府。其物业管理方式，由业主

大会决定，政府无权干预。

2. “开放式小区”不是把围墙拆了那么简单，需要弥补和解决开放之后的弊端，使得开

放具备可行性，才能减少开放的阻力，营造积极氛围。

3. 现在停车问题这么难，搞开放式小区，到时候外面车的都停进来，我租/买的停车

位怎么办。

4. 公摊面积问题要解决了，小区公共面积是买房时大家都有付钱的。

5. 小区封闭着都被盗，如果开放了更有可能被盗了。

6. 开放不是开放围墙那么简单，领导者的开放心态更重要，不要总想着当老百姓的家

长，请尊重大众的权利和选择。

7. 想学习西方发达国家经验是好的，但我们的“软件”还不发达，比如行车礼让、老幼

先行、不侵道占道；还有城市管理水平还不行。

8. 我现在居住的封闭式小区生活品质很高，我挺满意的。

9. 解决交通的基本思路是发展公共交通、限止私家车，而不是抢占其他空间资源，毕

竟空间资源永运是有限的。”

10. 封闭小区逐步打开之后，我最担心“停车场、绿地、健身等公共资源占用问题”。

11. 封闭小区逐步打开之后，我最担心安全问题”。

12. “开放式小区”必须在小区居民利益和公共利益中间找到一个平衡点，要让“开放”使

我们的生活变得更加美好。

13. 我不愿意打开封闭式小区/居住在开放式街区是因为在买房时我支付了小区内资源

的使用费用。

14. 我现在住的封闭式小区里的服务设施很全面（包括餐饮，超市，医疗，公园等

等），我很满意。

15. 街区制作为新生事物，受到质疑是很正常的现象。

16. 既然民众关注的焦点是安全问题，那么政府在开放封闭小区的同时，应该提供比原

来更有效的安全保障，比如安装监控系统，设立警务站等。

17. 封闭式小区不仅割裂了路网交通，而且从多个方面影响了城市生活。

18. 大部分生活性的街道上，应该有更良好的关系。

19. 拆除围墙必须建立在对城市及社区的安全感、人与人之间的信任感等基础之上，这

种建立并不容易，很可能是一个漫长的过程。

20. 在推行街区制之前为居民化解安全之虑，这是街区制能不能顺利推广的关键。

21. 小区的围墙可以拆，但是相关的配套设施一定要跟上。

22. 封闭式小区就是物业公司的敛财地盘，业主委员会都是不起作用的。

23. 如果不再收物业费，而是由环卫人员，和社区人员服务的话，我还是愿意的。

24. 我有切身感受，楼下的花园冬天就剩下遛狗和抽烟的了。太浪费，应该利用起来。

25. 人走在街道上，有一些小商店，步行空间、绿带、休憩场所等，会让人很舒服。如

果一条街上，旁边只是围墙，就会觉得这条路很长。

26. 拆围墙的本质是为了让小区不再成为城市的“阻碍”，实现了从“此路是我开”向“四通

MSC THESIS

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八达”的转变。

27. 小区的绿地、道路等是否计入到买房时公摊面积，如果是的话，小区开放应给买房

的业主予以补偿。

28. 按照物权法的规定，住宅小区的土地使用权是属于小区内部业主的共有，这些道路

不只有通行功能，还有小区业主停车等其他很多功能.

29. 开放小区既涉及小区业主权益的维护、治安与配套设施的跟进等问题，仍需在法律

上出台配套政策，也需要根据小区所在地段特征妥善处理开放方式。

30. 这一政策正被误读，不能把推广街区制理解为简单的“拆墙运动”，更不是说全国所

有城市都要拆围墙。“

31. 推进封闭社区和单位大院开放，政府的出发点是好的，但一定要尊重百姓意愿和需

求，要邀请社区百姓发表意见和诉求，充分保障居民的合法权益.

32. 对于已有的小区来说，是否开放，应该由业主共同决定。

33. 《意见》中提到的已建成的住宅小区和单位大院要逐步打开。可以选择小区土地使

用权到期时再变更，或小区已经无法居住需重建时再变更。

34. 完全打开也涉及安全和民众观念等问题，政府不能强行推行，要尊重《物权法》。

35. 补偿包括剩余年限的土地出让金、道路建设成本，以及由此给居民带来不便进行的

补救措施，包括如噪音、污染等一系列问题，都要统筹进行。

36. 不是所有小区打开就会影响安全，也不是所有小区打开就对交通有利，要看小区的

封闭状态和大交通之间的关系才能确定。

37. 在推行时，需要进行大量的调查工作，如社会治安各种手段相互协调的工作等等。

38. 小区的治安并不仅仅是靠封闭来解决，封闭也不能解决安全问题，要靠管理和防范

等多个方面，如加强巡逻、守护等多种措施加强治安.

39. 街道和小区，是学区如何划分主要考虑的一个重要因素。小区打开后，如果不改变

街道的管辖，应该不会有太大的直接影响否则，可能会影响到学区房”。

40. 打破封闭式小区和大院无疑将改变我国传统居住模式，但只有走出过去封闭的城市

孤岛，转变传统观念，才能构建“四通八达”的便捷城市交通网.

41. 开放封闭式社区目的是为了实现物和有关资源效益的最大化，这是一个具有前瞻性

的、与时俱进的城市发展理念。

42. 在街区制推行之前，必须做好一系列的配套措施，以化解居民的后顾之忧。

Appendix B Wantong Community owners survey form

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Appendix C Q sorts for four factors

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MSC THESIS

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Appendix D Interview on Chinese planner Lan

List of figures