Lost in Development: Modernization, Urban Planning and Heritage Preservation in Quanzhou

This research studies the changing spatial politics from the traditional to the modern state, and the factors that affect the form of space in Quanzhou's different historical stages. The central questions are: how have spatial politics led to the changes of local culture; in what ways have the local residents had their own right to the city and how have they reacted to the state's spatial politics?;Quanzhou is a medium-size ancient city in Fujian, and as with other old cities in China today, its urban space became the arena of negotiation between different local and global social forces and the state. There is also great deal of politics and ambiguity around the concepts of "cultural heritage", and "modernization".;In order to explore the changing spatial politics and the changing ideas of "right to the city", I look in particular at how different ideologies have been used in different historical periods in planning the city, as well as the practices that led to spatial change. Using Henri Lefebvre's theory of the "right to the city", I suggest three dimensions in observing the right to the city, namely, the right to settle, the right to be different from the "modern city", and the right to keep the structure of meaning with regards to daily life and local space. By examining historical materials and using field work data, I show how "the right to the city" was ignored by the central and local governments during the planning process. I point out that the state always acts as the main factor that shapes the space of the city. The urban planning process was affected by the change of spatial politics, the politics of heritage, and the production of space from the state. Despite this, residents' daily lives help to shape the structure of meaning between their lives and their local space. Thus, the local residents have been able to find their own space in the city.