Relocated families say goodbye to aging, cramped neighborhood
Print Edition
YESTERDAY morning, a group of families bid farewell to their cramped, decrepit quarters in downtown Jing’an District as they set off for new homes in the suburbs.
Those who packed up their belongings are among the 600 or so families living in a crumbling, decades-old shikumen neighborhood off Kangding Road. They include Ma Ruifen, 58.
“Finally, we can get relocated,” she said in a display of happiness.
Ma and her family, including her 91-year-old mother-in-law, had been packed into a 20-square-meter apartment for more than 30 years. Their home was originally a single room, which they partitioned into three separate areas: a kitchen, a bedroom for her mother-in-law, and a sleeping area for herself and two other family members.
“We cooked and used a chamber pot in the same room, and so did our neighbors. Many times, the family living upstairs accidently knocked over their chamber pot, and... its contents just leaked through the ceiling and into our house,” Ma said. “It was also very common to see mice and cockroaches running around.”
Another frustration for Ma was that her 2-year-old grandson rarely visited her crowded apartment, which was too small for an active toddler.
At the community level, the neighborhood has faced a number of quality and safety issues. Weakening structures mean old homes often shake if heavy trucks drive past. Many residents also built cooking stoves in the community’s alleyways, creating a fire hazard for the entire area, according to officials from the Caojiadu Subdistrict.
Over recent years, the community has also witnessed rising tensions between low-income migrants and local seniors, officials added.
The neighborhood was zoned for urban renewal in December 2017, and officials began soliciting resident opinions on the matter in April. So far, officials say more than 99 percent of residents have agreed to be relocated.
Subdistrict officials say experts will be invited to examine the condition of the shikumen buildings after residents leave, and those with historic value will be preserved.
Plans for future development on the neighborhood’s land are still being discussed by authorities.
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