The Reform of the Urban Housing System and Improvement of the Urban Residential Environment in Tibet

He Yimin　Li Jie

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2020.04.013Abstract：Housing is the core of the residential system in the urban residential environment. It is directly related to people  s lives.  Satisfying the housing needs of residents， the quality of housing construction， and the quality of the living environment are also important elements for measuring the level of the environment for urban residents. After the period of reform and opening up， China began to accelerate the pace of economic construction; the market economy was further developed; the function of the urban economy was continuously strengthened; the housing system reform was gradually implemented nationwide; and the living quality of urban residents was gradually improved. In the early 1980s， the Tibet Autonomous Region conducted a preliminary attempt to reform the urban housing system through a series of ways， such as transforming dilapidated houses， constructing commercial housing， and implementing  a new rental system. After the 1990s， the Tibet Autonomous Region initiated a comprehensive reform and development phase of the housing system. After longterm development， the commercialized model of housing in Tibet gradually replaced the previous model in which houses were physically distributed to residents. With the ongoing reform of the housing system， the housing needs of Tibetan urban residents have been further met， and a more comprehensive and multilayered system for house security has gradually been formed. At the same time， with the development of the real estate business， the quality of modern urban housing in Tibet has improved even more， the function of housing has become more perfect， the community environment has become more superior， and the city itself has taken on a new look. The urban residential environment has been greatly improved on this basis.

First， the reform of the housing system hasenabled the housing needs of Tibetan urban residents to be better met. After the period of “reform and opening up”， the reform of the Tibetan housing system promoted the rise of the real estate business. The process of the commercialization of housing and socialization was accelerated. The scale of housing construction became larger， and the supply more sufficient. People began to satisfy their living needs through various ways， such as purchase and rental. This effectively eased the urban housing contradiction that existed before the period of “reform and opening up”， and people  s living conditions continued to improve. In addition， since the period of “reform and opening up”， the Tibet Autonomous Region  s affordable housing policy also improved. The construction of affordable housing was faster， the scale of construction larger， and the quality of houses higher. These improvements included the construction of lowrent houses， publicly rented houses， and a turnover of houses in various cities， as well as the transformation of shanty towns. The construction of affordable housing has effectively solved the housing problems of families in more difficult circumstances and people in the city， and improved their quality of life. This is an important manifestation of the construction of a “peopleoriented” living environment.

After the period of “reform and opening up”， the per capita housing area and level of consumption and living standards of Tibetan cities increased rapidly. The urban per capita housing area increased from 13.4 square meters in 1981 to 32.05 square meters in 2018（DHUC of Tibet）， which exceeds the standard value of per capita housing area of Chinese cities and towns in 2018. This indicates that the living conditions of urban residents in Tibet have greatly improved when compared with the past， and the quality of life has also significantly improved. Meanwhile， the urban living environment greatly developed. The per capita living consumption of Tibetan cities and towns increased from 27 yuan in 1990 （TARSB，2001） to 3589 yuan in 2015 （TARSB，2016）. In 2002， the sales volume of commercial housing in the Tibet Autonomous Region was 250 million yuan. In 2015， it increased to 2.11 billion yuan， an increase of 8.44 times （TARSB，2016）. The sales area of urban real estate also continued to increase. This shows that people are increasingly able to choose and purchase housing that suits their needs， which is an important manifestation of the development of their living standards. Finally， the livability aspect of Tibetan cities has also greatly improved.

Second， the reform of the housing system promoted theimprovement of the quality of housing construction， modern indoor kitchen and bathroom facilities， and the community environment in Tibet. The overall urban residential environment in Tibet has been greatly improved. In terms of the quality of urban housing construction， after the period of “reform and opening up”， with the development of the real estate industry in the Tibet Autonomous Region， urban housing design， construction technology， and materials used have made tremendous progress. The traditional and old mud brick houses began， more and more， to be replaced by units made from reinforced concrete.   Modern housing is not only durable， safer， but also more spacious and brighter. The use of modern building materials and technologies， such as solar energy， waterproof materials， sound insulation materials， wooden floors， and doors and windows made from plastic and steel， has enhanced thermal insulation， lighting， waterproofness， and sound insulation of the house. These aspects are all important aspects of the development of living comfort， and also improve the wellbeing of the local residents. In the meantime， the living environment has also been improved step by step.

In the construction of modern kitchens and toilet facilities inside the residence， both the kitchens and toilet facilities inside the residence are more complete. More and more families are now beginning to have modern facilities， such as kitchens and toilets， and household flush toilets have become more popular. This shows that the house functions are constantly improving. With the development of modern indoor kitchens and bathroom facilities in Tibet， people have begun to use tap water， gas and other kinds of household energy devices in their home life. These energy devices not only make life more convenient， but they also help people to avoid getting sick from drinking unclean water. These new devices also have reduced the environmental pollution caused by burning firewood， cow dung and other traditional energy sources， and promoted the improvement of the urban environment. At the same time， the development of modern kitchens and toilet facilities has also promoted concepts of hygiene among Tibetan residents. More urban residents have begun to use indoor toilets and bathroom facilities， and have further developed good hygiene habits such as brushing their teeth and bathing. As a result， the level of people  s physical health has also improved. The development of the urban environment is not only a development on the material level， but is one which also shows progress on the spiritual level.

In terms of the construction of the residential community environment， since the period of “reform and opening up”， the implementation of the housing system reform in the Tibet Autonomous Region has also promoted the growth of the real estate industry. While the quality of new housing has improved， the environment of the residential community has become much better.  There is a unified planning and design of the layout of the housing in the urban community of Tibet. The houses are arranged more neatly and beautifully. The community roads are also more spacious， strong and durable， and they are regularly maintained and upgraded. The work of greening the community has also been vigorously carried out. The Tibetan community is gradually transforming into an energysaving， landsaving， hightech， highquality residential area. In addition， the level of public security in the community has continued to improve. In recent years， many communities have vigorously carried out the creation of “harmonious communities” based on public security， and community safety has greatly improved. The development of modern urban communities and newstyle housing has also promoted the improvement of the livability of Tibetan cities. The reconstruction work of the old cities in many places in Tibet has replaced most of the dilapidated houses in modern cities with modern apartmentstyle residences and residential quarters. The newstyle residences not only have a beautiful appearance， but their quality is also greatly improved  compared with the past， and the facilities are also more complete. These have promoted the improvement of housing quality. In recent years， more and more modern communities and new houses have emerged in many cities in Tibet such as Lhasa， Shigatse， Qamdo， etc. At the same time， the streets of various cities have also become cleaner and tidier， the greening facilities are more complete， and the ecological environment is much better. The livability of Tibetan cities is constantly increasing， and great achievements have been made in the construction of residential areas.

All in all，by carrying out the reform of the urban housing system in Tibet since the period of “reform and opening up”， the commercialized housing model has been promoted， the real estate business has been accelerated， the housing contradictions of urban residents have been alleviated， the demand for urban housing has been greatly satisfied， and those people in difficult circumstances  also have  housing security. Based on these aspects， the quality of the urban living environment has been developed. At the same time， the quality of house construction is higher， the modern facilities inside the house are more complete， and the community living environment has become much better  Compared with the past， the convenience， safety and comfort of housing in Tibet have made great progress， and the overall living quality of the city has been significantly improved. The happiness of people  s lives is strengthening，  and the urban living environment has been greatly improved. In the future， the construction of urban housing and the residential environment in the Tibet Autonomous Region still needs to continue to move forward. It is necessary to continue to make developments in Tibet with regard to the actual local situation， and integrate housing construction work more closely with a “peopleoriented” urbanization development path for Tibet. This means one should create a more comfortable， convenient and environmentally friendly highquality residential system， and better promote the sustainable development of the urban residential environment in Tibet.

Key Words：Tibetan urban housing system reform; urban residential system; residential environment; improvement

References：

DHUC of Tibet（Department of Housing and UrbanRural Construction of the Tibet Autonomous Region）. cinzhongguo chengshi 70 zhounian Xizang zhufang chengxiang jianshe qude huihuang chengjiu （The 70th Anniversary of the New China City Achieves Glorious Achievements in the Construction of Urban and Rural Housing in Tibet）[EB]. 2019-10-09. http：//www.xzcs.gov.cn/ggtz/27558.jhtml

TARSB （Tibet Autonomous Region Statistics Bureau）. xizang tongji nianjian （Tibet Statistical Yearbook 2001）. Beijing： China Statistics Press， 2001：125.

TARSB （Tibet Autonomous Region Statistics Bureau）. xizang tongji nianjian （Tibet Statistical Yearbook 2016. Beijing： China Statistics Press，2016：133.