China is increasing its efforts to replace crude mud-and-brick houses with contemporary concrete apartments in the slum regions of the northwestern city of Urumqi.
Home to 250,000 people, the majority of which are ethnic Uighurs, the slum areas in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region’s capital city are considered the breeding grounds for the resentment that sparked the deadly riots on 5 July 2009.
A government official said that approximately 15,000 households in 50 slum regions will be covered by the government-funded project this year.
Xie Min, Deputy Director of Urumqi’s Construction Committee, noted that all of the 234 slum areas in the city will be demolished and redeveloped by 2012, with the government spending another two years to enhance the facilities in the community.
Yashan slum, once referred as a “thug town” by local residents, is one of the many slum regions removed by the government. It was replaced by rows of six-floor concrete apartment buildings. A kindergarten centre, a clinic and an activity area have also been developed in the region.
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