30 SEP 2026 (WED) 15:05 - 15:35

Spatial Visibility and Neighbourhood Transition: A Comparative Study in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou

Miss ZHENG Xuechao (Graduating student)

( Supervisor: Prof Ben Gerlofs )

Abstract:

In recent decades, cities throughout the Greater Bay Area (GBA) have witnessed farreaching transformations in demographic composition, built form, infrastructure, economic base, and cultural atmosphere. Rooted in interwoven processes of spatial restructuring, these evolving urban landscapes produce patterned outcomes that simultaneously resonate with and deviate from canonical pathways of global urbanisation, as predominantly theorised from Western contexts. This thesis examines the interaction between spatial visibility, understood as the degree to which certain groups, uses, or landscape changes become publicly perceptible and discursively recognised in urban space, and neighbourhood transition, through a comparative study of three of the GBA's most significant cities: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. The research integrates three empirical threads: first, a study of spatial visibility among sex workers and foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong; second, a comparative analysis of urban renewal policies and resident attitudes in Shenzhen’s Baishizhou urban village versus its planned residential estates in Lifang Neighbourhood; and third, a neighbourhood development analysis from the perspective of diverse residents in Guangzhou’s Dongshankou. Methodologically, the study employs a hybrid approach, combining an analysis of policy documents with ‘aesthetic surveys’ (including semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations, land use cataloguing, and landscape photography). The findings reveal that spatial visibility operates differently across these contexts. In Hong Kong, the spatial visibility of marginalised groups is profoundly shaped by local norms and expectations, reflecting ongoing negotiations between survival and public recognition. In Shenzhen, divergent policy designs and implementation pathways demonstrate how renewal processes, resident aspirations, and urban landscapes interact in complex, often unintended ways. In Guangzhou, the Dongshankou case illustrates the challenges of balancing historical preservation, commercialisation, and resident well-being amid the ongoing integration of cultural, commercial, and tourist-oriented industries.

Drawing on these findings, this thesis offers two central contributions. First, it demonstrates that there is no single, cohesive pattern of neighbourhood change across the GBA; rather, spatial visibility serves as a critical indicator of the dynamics and inequalities embedded in local transition processes. Second, it argues that Chinese urban redevelopment must balance efficiency and equity, integrate heritage protection with development needs, and attend to the spatial visibility and legitimate claims of marginalised groups and long-term residents. In so doing, the thesis challenges linear narratives of urban transition and proposes a context-adaptive, people-centred framework which holds relevance not only for China but also for developing regions grappling with similar tensions between global aspirations and local particularities.