Public sector housing in Urban China 1949–1988: The case of Xian

The literature on housing systems and housing policy in different countries has made an important contribution to the analysis and understanding of key issues relating to the origins and nature of state intervention in housing, and to the interaction of specific social, political and economic forces. The most important initial contributions to this literature referred principally to the advanced industrial economies of Western Europe and North America. This paper aims to broaden the base of comparative research in housing and add to the understanding of public sector housing provision and policy in China. It examines the development of public sector housing in urban areas between 1949 and 1988 through a study of Xian City, and provides detailed analyses of distinctive features of the Chinese urban housing system. The objectives are to fill the gap in the existing literature on housing provision in China through reference to the inland area of the country. This paper concludes that the current urban housing system reflects the particular social, political and economic relationships between the people, the employers and the government. Housing reform in China will not only bring about a major privatisation process, but it will involve a fundamental re‐organisation of the urban society.