A Study On Characteristics And Causes Of The Ultra-high Density Residential Communities In Shenzhen

Residential space is one of the basic types in urban area, also an important typein terms of function. Community-scale residential space does better in reflecting thereal needs of its residents. By comparing with the national and local planningguidelines for urban residential construction and based on the national Sixth Censusdata, it is found that about one-fifth of the communities in Shenzhen have muchhigher population density, or with lower per capita residential land use. Thus, thephenomenon of communities with ultra-high population density in Shenzhen isworthy of deep study and exploration.Firstly, by referring to the city planning standards and related documents,combining with the status of communities in Shenzhen, including the use of the“Sixth Census” population data and Shenzhen’s spatial construction data, theultra-high population density residential communities are defined. Taking Arc-gis asthe spatial analysis tool, the spatial distribution of the ultra-high density residentialcommunities are analyzed as well as their population combination. It is found thatalmost all the ultra-high density residential communities are located within in theoriginal Special Economic Zone, and mainly concentrated in or around the citycenters. In terms of population combination, by comparing with other communities inShenzhen, non-hukou and younger migrants take more, and with lower educationlevel,Secondly, combining with the residential location choice theory, the causes forresulting the ultra-high density residential communities are studied from differentscales of space and the perspective of people. The community demographics revealedthat residents in these communities mainly live in houses by renting. Most of them areyoung with much lower income. This resulted that they can only afford for a very small living space in the urban central area with high level of rent, which may lead tothe high residential density. From the perspective of macro-scale in space, closing tothe workplace is a major driving force, which may be used to explain the phenomenonof ultra-high density residential community gathered in or around the city centers.Some special function zones in the city, which gather or provide a large number ofjobs, have great influence on the formation of the ultra-high density residentialcommunities. From the perspective of micro-scale, or in the spatial scale ofcommunity, the high development strength in these communities provided an essentialcondition for accommodating such a large numbers of people.Finally, taking the ultra-highest density residential community as a typical case,using interviews and questionnaires, etc, the feelings of the residents there andproblems faced are analyzed. It is showed that the residents living in the ultra-highestdensity residential community are generally satisfied with their living environment,which remind us that planning for people should based on the reality.