Contested memory amidst rapid urban transition: The cultural politics of urban regeneration in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

As an important socio-economic development strategy around the world, urban regeneration has been gradually shifting from a focus on large-scale and modernized physical transformations to addressing diversity, sustainability, equality and liveability in the city. With large-scale urban sprawl slowing down, culture-based urban regeneration is being increasingly undertaken by the local governments of China. Drawing on detailed fieldwork in the two selected culture-based urban regeneration projects in Guangzhou, a capital city in South China, this article aims to present the subtle cultural politics embedded in the processes of urban regeneration. The findings of this article include that 1) the two culture-based urban regeneration projects in Guangzhou are intertwined with complex power relations, discourses and cultural negotiations; 2) the projects might bring the opportunity for revitalization of local culture, but simultaneously create cultural tension among different social groups; 3) the roles performed by the actors involved are flexible, fluid and highly situated. By presenting the nuanced cultural politics within culture-based urban regeneration projects, this article forms part of the literature on the interrelationship between government, developer, and resident/individual in the context of culture-led urban regeneration.