Remaking urban periphery through developing long-term rental community: marketisation of collective land under state-led financialisation

Abstract

China has experienced a significant influx of institutional investors in the rental housing sector, facilitated by state-led financialisation and institutional innovation in land and housing markets - particularly through the development of long-term rental community (LRC). Yet scholarly attention has largely overlooked the ongoing rural collective land reform and the financialisation of rental housing through the LRC development in megacities. Drawing on policy analysis and an in-depth case study of a representative LRC in Beijing, this study yields three principal findings: First, the recent proliferation of LRCs on collective land stems from adaptive institutional innovations that combine land market reforms with rental housing initiatives to mitigate affordability crises. Second, state-led financialisation channels - enabled by deliberate state policies - serve as practical political-economic instruments for broader urban crisis management. Third, LRCs are transforming urban peripheries by regenerating derelict landscapes while simultaneously creating socially isolated enclaves for young people. The present study offers insights into the mechanisms and outcomes of LRC development on collective land and informs policy adjustments to youth housing insecurity. Theoretically, it advances our understanding of the multifaceted nature of state-led financialisation by establishing a link between the marketisation of rural collective land and the financialisation of rental housing, highlighting how state-led financialisation channels play a crucial role in managing crises emerging from the land and housing market.