The Danwei: Socio-Spatial Characteristics of Work Units in China's Urban Society

Work units, called danwei, are one of the principal territorial forms used to organize China's urban population. These enclosed spaces are the socio-spatial units in which the livelihood and domestic and social activities of its members are carried out. The danwei are described by considering: (1) the origins of the concept, (2) phenomenological meanings in contemporary society, (3) socioeconomic-political characteristics, and (4) their spatial implications in the transformation of Chinese society.