Focusing on the highly ‘successful’ China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), this study taps into a less explored topic of housing development in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) through the conceptual lenses of housing regime and enclave urbanism. Drawing on empirical evidence garnered from interviews, survey, observation, and secondary sources, this study transcends methodological nationalism and cityism to present a situated and close-up examination of housing regime at the intra-urban level. It also enriches the concept of enclave urbanism by delving into the nested enclave structure in SIP. A hybrid housing regime featuring a (neo)liberal logic in the disguise of the semi-social democratic regime for landless farmers and a productivist regime for the variegated workforce is identified. Two key players – the local state and transnational corporations, via formal and informal institutions, gave rise to a nested enclave structure. Instead of ‘a zone of exception’, SIP epitomises the ubiquitous neoliberalisation and aggravated precarity endured by low-skilled migrants, and foregrounds housing stratification and segregation within SEZs.

Participatory governance has been increasingly promoted in China since 2006. Whilst the state appears to be supportive of nurturing self-governance at the community level through providing financia...

There is little robust quantitative evidence on how community gardens impact on physical activity and other health-related behaviours. This natural experiment study aimed to examine the effects of a community garden within a Chinese neighbourhood on health-related behaviours during the COVID-19 epidemic. The study design was a repeat cross-sectional pre–post study, assessing differences between the non-epidemic period and epidemic period. Camera-based systematic observations were conducted at two locations within a community garden. A total of 180 h of video recordings were collected and coded by two researchers during a “non-epidemic” period when there were no COVID-19 restrictions (120 h) and the “epidemic” when COVID-19 restrictions were implemented (60 h). Observations of these video recordings assessed the total number of users, physical activities (Sedentary, Walking, Vigorous), social interactions (Connect), and people taking notice of the environment (Take Notice), followed by a breakdown of observed gender and age group. Data were analysed using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, comparing outcomes during the epidemic period and non-epidemic period. Results showed a significant increase in total number of users during the epidemic, particularly in females, older adults and children. Sedentary and moderate physical activities were significantly higher during the epidemic period. The increase in the total number of users of the community garden during the 2022 epidemic outbreak in Suzhou shows the importance of community gardens as a primary space for outdoor activities. This robust natural experiment study demonstrated that the community garden contributed more to physical activity, such as walking, but less to interactions between people (connecting) or people–place interactions (taking notice of the environment). More natural experiment research on community gardens like this is needed to better understand how the health and well-being benefits of community gardens can be maximized.

Background: The quality of open space within the neighbourhood becomes crucial post- coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This paper enriches the concept of health niche (Sarkar et al., 2014) by relating well-being-related behaviour with small neighbourhood open space configuration. Methods: The dataset is 216 hours of video observation of elderly’ activities in 9 different open spaces of resettlement neighbourhoods. The baseline was in October of 2019 and follow-up was in October 2020. The sampling of sites has two levels: density and location. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the total number of older adults observed per hour pre- and post-COVID-19, by five well-being-related behaviours: walking, connecting, vigorous exercise, taking notice, and sedentary activities (Benton et al. 2018). Results: There was a decrease in the total number of elderly people observed per hour from pre COVID-19 (median =14.5, IQR =21.5) to post COVID-19 (median =12.5, IQR =21.5). The Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that these differences were significant (Z=−2.774, P=0.006). For high density neighbourhoods, the Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that these differences were only significant in sedentary (Z=−3.073, P=0.002) and vigorous (Z=−2.625, P=0.009) activities, and insignificant in the total counts. The decreases were not significant for the medium density neighbourhood (Z=−0.394, P=0.694), except for taking notice activity (Z=−2.867, P=0.004). In terms of location, decreases of elderly people were mainly significant at the open spaces near doorway of buildings of low density neighbourhoods, with significant decreases in total elderly (Z=−2.23, P=0.026) and sedentary (Z=−2.67, P=0.008), walking (Z=−2.949, P=0.003) and vigorous (Z=−3.064, P=0.002) activities. The decrease was also significant for sedentary activities occurred at the doorway of high-rise buildings (Z=−2.732, P=0.006). Conclusions: The study found an absolute decline in elderly outdoor activities within resettlement neighbourhoods, but only significant for low density neighbourhoods. The health niche being affected the most by the COVID-19 pandemic is open space at the doorway. The main change in the built environment is the government’s prohibition of informal self-made sitting furniture, as a social distancing control measure. This measure should be revisited to restore the health niche for the elderly.