Elite vision before people: State entrepreneurialism and the limits of participation

Abstract

This chapter examines a redevelopment project in Guangzhou, China, discussing the extent to which the local state has actively sought to bring about the commodification of a historic inner-city residential neighbourhood. It is argued that while local residents attempted to raise issues in various “sanctioned” spaces organised by the government, their voices to influence the fate of their own neighbourhoods were overshadowed by the local leaders’ ambition to tap into the developmental potential of local places. Nevertheless, it is also shown from the residents’ efforts that what may be necessary for local residents is perhaps an instance of collective mobilisation on the basis of their own vision of neighbourhood and city development, garnering support from the wider society. This becomes all the more important as Guangzhou matures and is expected to inevitably give more emphasis on the reuse of existing urban fabric.