Hyun Bang Shin’s work explores the complex intersections between urban development, social justice, and the contested concept of the “right to the city.” While drawing on the influential ideas of David Harvey and Henri Lefebvre, he goes beyond these Western frameworks to investigate the unique socio-historical dynamics of rights awareness and urban struggles in non-Western contexts.
In his research on China’s urban transformations, Shin examines processes of large-scale demolition, eviction, and the emergence of “property rights activism.” Through detailed fieldwork, he analyses how local residents and migrants perceive the resistance of “nail households” who refuse to vacate their homes. He highlights the limitations of rights awareness in China, which often centres on distributional justice without addressing deeper structural inequalities. By advocating for cross-class alliances that unite diverse groups—such as migrants and local citizens—Shin reimagines urban activism as a more inclusive and transformative political force capable of challenging the dominant forces driving urban development, including property hegemony.
In his broader critique of speculative urbanisation in China, Shin describes it as a political and ideological project orchestrated by the Party State to generate capital accumulation through industrial labour and large-scale investment in the built environment. This process displaces not only urban residents but also rural villagers and ethnic minorities, all of whom are affected by the exploitative dynamics of urban growth. Shin contends that effective resistance requires the formation of alliances across different social groups, including urban dwellers, industrial workers, rural farmers, and marginalised ethnic communities. Education is highlighted as a critical strategy for fostering a shared understanding of how these struggles are interconnected, enabling collective action to challenge the systemic exploitation embedded in urbanisation.
Shin’s analysis of South Korea focuses on the historical and sociopolitical evolution of rights discourses in urban struggles. He examines the resistance of urban protesters in Seoul against speculative redevelopment projects and accumulation by dispossession, particularly during periods of neoliberal transformation under the developmental state. Using archival materials and interviews with housing activists, he situates these struggles within broader social movements and argues that the urban poor have the potential to challenge state repression and the ideological dominance of the ruling class. He critiques universalist readings of the “right to the city,” emphasising the need to contextualise such concepts within specific local histories and struggles. The resistance of evictees against redevelopment in Seoul demonstrates how locally grounded urban movements can contest entrenched power structures. Shin underscores the importance of cross-class alliances as a means of sustaining these movements and fostering transformative change.
Shin’s research also examines struggles for urban space in Brazil, focusing on the political battles of street vendors in the face of exclusionary policies. He critiques the restrictive legal frameworks that have denied street vendors access to public spaces, particularly under urban revitalisation initiatives. His work explores the emergence of resistance movements, such as the occupation of disused buildings by street vendors and homeless families, as a response to these exclusionary measures. Drawing on Lefebvre’s ideas, Shin conceptualises the “right to the city” as an ongoing process that must remain adaptable to shifting social and spatial conditions. He argues that legal frameworks, while significant, cannot fully encapsulate the dynamic struggles over urban space, which must continuously evolve to address the demands of justice and inclusion.
Throughout his work, Hyun Bang Shin advocates for a nuanced, context-sensitive understanding of urban struggles and rights discourses. He challenges universalist interpretations of the “right to the city,” urging recognition of the specific socio-historical conditions that shape rights awareness in different contexts. Central to his insight is the formation of cross-class alliances, which he sees as essential for addressing the structural injustices of urban development, speculative accumulation, and state dominance. His scholarship not only critiques existing inequalities but also offers a hopeful vision of collective resistance and solidarity, paving the way for more just and inclusive urban futures.
Selected work on urban struggles
Chen, Y.-L. and Shin, H.B. (eds.) (2019) Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Shin, H.B. (ed.) (2017) Anti-Gentrification: What is to be done. Seoul: Dongnyok [In Korean:신현방 (편저) (2017) 안티 젠트리피케이션: 무엇을할것인가. 서울: 도서출판 동녘]
Moreno, L. and Shin, H.B. (eds.) (2018) The urban process under planetary accumulation by dispossession. CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 22(1): 78-168
Nogueira, M. and Shin, H.B. (2022) The “right to the city centre”: Political struggles of street vendors in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 26(5-6): 1012-1028
Sonn, J. and Shin, H.B. (2020) Contextualizing accumulation by dispossession: The state and high-rise apartment clusters in Gangnam, Seoul. Annals for the American Association of Geographers. 110(3): 864-881 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2019) Contesting Property Hegemony in Asian Cities. In: Chen, Y.-L. and Shin, H.B. (eds.) Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 193-209 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2018) Urban movements and the genealogy of urban rights discourses: The case of urban Protesters against redevelopment and displacement in Seoul, South Korea. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 108(2): 356-369 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2016) China’s urbanization of capital and dispossession: The case of Guangzhou. Critical Review of History 116: 73-96 [In Korean: 신현방 (2016) 중국 개혁기 자본의 도시, 강탈의 도시로의 이행: 광주 사례를 중심으로. <역사비평> 116 (가을호), 73~96쪽] [View]. Reprinted in: Park, C-H. (eds.) (2018) Contemporary Chinese Cities, Vol.II Reform Era. Seoul: Yukbi, pp. 170-187 [In Korean: 신현방 (2018) 중국 개혁기 자본의 도시, 강탈의 도시로의 이행: 광주 사례를 중심으로. <도시로 읽는 현대 중국 2: 개혁기> 박철현 엮음. 서울: 역사비평사, 170-187쪽]
Shin, H.B. (2014) Contesting speculative urbanisation and strategising discontents. CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 18(4-5): 509-516 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2013) The right to the city and critical reflections on China’s property rights activism. Antipode 45(5): 1167-1189 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2010) Empowerment or marginalisation: Land, housing and property rights in poor neighbourhoods. In: Wu, F. and Webster, C. (eds.) Marginalization in Urban China: Comparative Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 112-130