Lecturer Wei-Hao Tseng's course is one of the most popular credits at Wanhua Community College. Known for seamlessly weaving important examples into lively discussions, he adeptly delivers professional knowledge on urban planning and land administration in an engaging and approachable manner, earning enthusiastic praise from students. This lecture focused on a critical topic in urban sociology: urban renewal. From the perspective of urban power dynamics and social production, informal governance alliances formed by political and economic elites often dominate urban planning. Wealthy and influential real estate developers frequently manipulate urban spatial reproduction by lobbying the government or leveraging market competition and capitalist accumulation. This process conditions society to accept or conform to a specific logic of production and reproduction, ultimately leaving developers profiting handsomely while citizens unwittingly enable this cycle. Tseng began his talk by discussing Taiwan's overall urban renewal policies and quickly narrowed the focus to Taipei. He highlighted that Taipei, like a select few local governments with dedicated urban renewal agencies, faces unique pressures due to early development, high population density, aging infrastructure, and a flourishing real estate market. These factors create a demand for urban renewal and justify establishing relevant agencies. In such cities, urban renewal and the issue of aging buildings are often framed by the government as addressing safety or aesthetic concerns, paving the way for commercialization and creating opportunities for capitalists to exploit, resulting in increased social inequality. For instance, developers often entice property owners into signing joint construction contracts under the guise of dealing with aging buildings, offering the lowest construction costs while selling at the highest prices to maximize profits. Similarly, powerful developers may use land-share schemes to acquire complex property rights, leveraging urban renewal as a tool for capital accumulation. Tseng argued that addressing the social injustices caused by these asymmetries of information requires active **citizen participation**. Citizens must take charge by becoming familiar with relevant regulations and influencing policy agendas to ensure fairer urban renewal processes.

Implemented by Center for Teaching and Learning Development
Date: 2024/05/08