Grassroots Resistance In Urban Regeneration

Over the past three decades, the skyrocketing Chinese economy has attracted worldwide attention. Meanwhile, the pace of the urbanization is speeding up during this process, which triggers the great transformation of city configuration and makes Chinese urban built environment enter upon a higher phase. For the past few years, the heated discussion on the topics of urban construction is largely increasing, especially contentions on the high housing price, compulsory demolition, property right and culture heritage protection, etc. Since late 1970s, the neoliberal governance mode was prevalent all over the world and the research based on the neoliberal discourse still are dominating the scholarships of international urban geography. In this dissertation, serving as the theoretical starting point, neoliberal governance doctrine will be employed to illustrate what the process of Chinese urban regeneration is and how the grassroots residents participate in the renewal program.To be specific, the elements, such as the government-backed urban regeneration, the appeal initiated by the experts and media on the culture heritage protection as well as the resistance launched by the grassroots original residents could be perceived as the miniature to observe the engagement and participation of plural stakeholders in contemporary Chinese urban regeneration. With regard to unveil how local government practices its power in neoliberal urban transformation, this dissertation will also examine how the grassroots residents take advantage of "rightful resistance" and "opportunistic strategies" to involve in this process. The emphasis will be laid onto the special roles of how the experts and media perform as well.