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Abstract

Previously property-led redevelopment often involving wholesale demolition and massive displacement dominated the urban renewal process in most Chinese cities. However, the rise of culture-led regeneration in the last decade has raised new questions about the complex entanglement between the state, the market, and society in Chinese urban settings. This paper focuses on one of the most recent and ongoing regeneration projects in the city of Chengdu, a decaying waterfront post-industrial inner-city area that is now being transformed into a trendy leisure, consumption, and touristic urban space through culture-led regeneration interventions based on new forms of public and private partnership, i.e., “EPC+O” (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Operation). In collaboration with the local government, the real estate developer repackaged the local culture – real or invented – as a strategy to rebrand the local identity and deliver upscale growth. The area is now full of diverse boutiques, cafés, bistros, cocktail bars catering to the new urban middle class. On the face of it, the regenerated area demonstrates a highly mixed diversity with authentic local vibes. However, such diversity is intentionally channelled by the developer and fuelled by the media, especially social media and influencer marketing, and consumers’ tastes. Moreover, the project is subject to wider urban planning processes as well as city branding strategies. This paper is based on empirical research conducted in 2021 that includes over twenty in-depth interviews with different actors. Through this case study, I explore how such projects are designed and implemented, and how different actors negotiate in what forms of governance to make such project possible. This case study rethinks the mechanism of gentrification illustrated by Sharon Zukin in the case of New York City (2009).