Toward Inclusive, Vital and Livable City Scenarios: The Transformation of Urban Villages in Shenzhen

Currently Shenzhen is experiencing industrial upgrading and city reprofiling, transforming from a world factory to a world city. It is a crucial moment to rethink the future of urban villages in the city, informal settlements that emerged extensively along with rapid industrialization and urban development in the past three decades, and played essential roles as “arrival cities” for migrants. This chapter investigates the formation process of urban villages as well as planning strategies for future development, from the perspective of urban form and governance. Urban vitality, livability, and inclusiveness are addressed as multidimensional urban values that could generate common interests among stakeholders, which therefore could be considered desirable and possible future scenarios for such neighborhoods in Shenzhen.