Wu, Meiling;
(2023)
Second Home Impacts and Community Development in China.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Abstract
Traditional narratives on second home impacts have drawn on economic "blessings" as well as socio-environmental "curses", which are produced through regular channels (housing and tourism spending). In the context of hyper-mobility, seasonal residents may not only consume local resources, but construct hetero-local identities through interactions with the place and local communities. This research examines whether regular channels of second home impacts are outweighed today by "relational channels" of impacts in the context of hyper-mobility, and whether relational impacts and linked development opportunities, have become greater than regular ones. This research builds on two China-based second home communities: a purposed-built one - Xingfu Village - and a converted one - Gangmen Village. Utilizing qualitative data collected through non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews and diary keeping, this research untangles different sets of second home consumption to understand the diverse impacts they generate on both cases and the opportunities of local development generated. The exogenous development of Xingfu is underpinned by seasonal residents' mobile capital (second home purchases and tourism spending). Housing purchases and tourism spending not only drives exogenous change in the rural economy, but brings landscape transformation and community heterogeneity. The endogenous development of Gangmen is community- directed: locals flout housing rules for monetary exchanges from informal housing. As seasonal residents are embedded into broader socio-economic structures, they drive not only an economic boom, but contribute new skills and community governance which, combined with the capacities of the local community, underpin a range of endogenous development outcomes. Through these two cases, this research interrogates the emerging practices of second home consumption under China's distinctive land and property governance regime. This research makes a critical contribution to understanding different forms of second home consumption and the variety of impacts they bring to rural and semi-rural settings, revealing their complex interactions with common development narratives.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Second Home Impacts and Community Development in China |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10169546 |
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