Abstractijur_891 957..973Informal housing and industrial developments in the so-called urban villages have beenkey features of the recent Chinese urbanization. In this article we will examine thedevelopment of urban villages in one of the most dynamic Chinese cities — Shenzhen.The article first reviews the urbanization and migration process in the region and theemergence of urban villages. It then examines informal housing, commercial andindustrial developments in these villages. We analyse the politics of village urbanizationand highlight the important relationship between migration and informal villagedevelopment. We emphasize the contribution made by urban villages in providingaffordable housing and jobs for the low-income population during the rapidurbanization and urge cautious consideration with regard to hasty and large-scaleredevelopment of these villages. We conclude that the development of urban villages isa very important part of the urbanization process.