IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

Heritage area regeneration has been proliferating in China for decades. Relocation of original residents, as an important step of regeneration projects, has been changed by local governments from forced eviction to voluntary and negotiable relocation. How is this voluntary relocation done in practice? What are the residents’ responses? And what does it tell about the power relations between local governments and residents? These questions are important for planners as they are closely related to whether the heritage value associated with original residents can be preserved, and whether the residents’ property rights, participation right,s and the like are guaranteed. Using the Cangxiang Street Historic District in Anyang, China as a case study, and through interviews with different stakeholders and a review of planning documents and government reports, this paper seeks to answer the above questions. It finds that the policy-making and implementation of voluntary relocation are top-down by the Chinese local government. Although it gives residents certain choices, there are still various implicit conflicts between the residents and the local government which is stemmed from the citizens’ long-lasting distrust of the local government. The voluntary relocation, socially, reinforces the social disparity between different classes among the residents, and politically, reinforces the citizens’ distrust of the local government. Since this phenomenon is widely seen globally, the lessons learned from this case study can shed light on how heritage policies may affect the general public, especially the underprivileged group, and what should be the ultimate goals of heritage conservation in different contexts.