A pilot case study of brownfield high-density housing development in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transformation of inner‐city sites previously developed for industry use in Chinese city, which is driven by the unique social, economic and political settings in China featured by the emergence of the market mechanism for urban land use. The existing body of knowledge about urban brownfields suggests a lack of understanding and information about the transition‐led inner‐city brownfield development in China.Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a case study approach using the R&F high‐density apartment project in the inner‐city of Guangzhou built on a former chemically polluted site to provide factual evidence for the state of inner‐city brownfield development in China. The paper identifies institutions, processes and practices that are related to the reclamation of inner‐city brownfield sites for high‐density residential use and preliminarily assesses its impact.Findings – The paper suggests that, although issues about environmental impa...