Courtyards to be for owners only
- Source: Global Times
- [08:28 March 25 2011]
- Comments
Homes line Huashi Shangtoutiao Hutong, southeast of Chongwenmen, in September 2009. Photo:CFP
By Xu Tianran
Beijing authorities have announced plans to evict "redundant" courtyard residents in order to protect the capital's old town.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning published its "famous historical city protection and preservation plan for the 12th Five-Year Plan period" on its website Wednesday and is soliciting for public opinions until April 22.
According to the plan, some indigenous residents will be allowed to continue living in the city's overcrowded courtyards, while others will be relocated to districts outside the Second Ring Road. Liu Zheng, a member of the China Cultural Relics Association, defined indigenous residents as people who own their courtyard houses.
The idea first came up in the 2004-2020 Beijing City Master Plan, issued in 2004, but at that time there was no basis for implementation, according to Liu.
"In the past there was only demolition and not enough affordable housing to accommodate the tenants," Liu explained. "With the construction of affordable housing and massive development of public transportation, the premise of the evacuation has matured."
According to Liu, evicted tenants can go on to rent or buy various kinds of affordable housing, and then rely on public transportation to get downtown for work.
"They can also rent rooms in community buildings," Liu said.
The plan also stated that the relocations will bring development opportunities to the city's newer districts.
"The evacuation will greatly benefit the old town's preservation and protection work, " Liu said, adding that some government institutions will also leave the downtown area.
He Shuzhong, founder of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, believes that the evacuation should target government institutions as a top priority.
"When talking about evacuation, we should first recognize the core nature of the old town, which is a cultural heritage site," He said. "So the institutions that have nothing to do with that nature should move out first.
"Outside the Second Ring Road, there is enough land to accommodate these institutions," He said.
Beijing is currently in a phase of courtyard restoration, as reported in the Global Times on March 4.
The publicity office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and the Old and Dilapidated Housing Renewal Office of Dongcheng and Xicheng districts, which are to carry out the program, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
