Place and displacement: Out-of-place processes in low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas

Quintana Vigiola, G; Morais, P

Place and displacement: Out-of-place processes in low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas

Quintana Vigiola, G

Morais, P

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Publisher:: Elsevier
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Cities, 2025, 158, pp. 105691
Issue Date:: 2025-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Quintana Vigiola, G https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4157-5287
dc.contributor.author	Morais, P
dc.date.accessioned	2025-01-07T01:03:31Z
dc.date.available	2025-01-07T01:03:31Z
dc.date.issued	2025-03-01
dc.identifier.citation	Cities, 2025, 158, pp. 105691
dc.identifier.issn	0264-2751
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/183053
dc.description.abstract	Understanding that the concepts of place and displacement are intrinsically interconnected, this paper explores cases of displacement out of the public space within their neighbourhood of two low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas. Empirical case-study investigations were carried out in Caracas and Shanghai with a qualitative approach. The data collection techniques were on-site observations and in-depth interviews with residents, supplemented by spatial analysis for contextualisation. The interview data and field notes were coded by identifying the main themes emerging from the participants' accounts. These demonstrated their complex relationship with place, their strong ties and a sense of place mediated by community and family bonds. Simultaneously, the data unveiled the fundamental externalities which have negatively impacted people's relationships with their public spaces, leading to exclusion. These externalities are criminal violence (not prevented or acted by the state) in the case of Caracas and government-led urban renewal interventions in Shanghai. Residents have been ultimately displaced out of the public space within their neighbourhood. The contribution of this paper focuses on assessing how criminal violence and urban renewal act as displacement drivers by discussing the residents' experiences of place and underpinning the complex role of space in this process. It argues that the loss of public spaces can be instrumental in generating further displacement since they are a valuable infrastructure for community building and everyday life socialisation. The paper concludes by arguing that this displacement process is a form of slow violence, reinforced by the action and non-action of institutions, as low-income communities continue being forced out of their places.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartof	Cities
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.cities.2024.105691
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1205 Urban and Regional Planning, 1604 Human Geography
dc.subject.classification	Urban & Regional Planning
dc.subject.classification	3304 Urban and regional planning
dc.subject.classification	4406 Human geography
dc.subject.classification	4407 Policy and administration
dc.title	Place and displacement: Out-of-place processes in low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	158
utslib.for	1205 Urban and Regional Planning
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Built Environment
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-01-07T01:03:30Z
pubs.publication-status	Accepted
pubs.volume	158

Abstract:

Understanding that the concepts of place and displacement are intrinsically interconnected, this paper explores cases of displacement out of the public space within their neighbourhood of two low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas. Empirical case-study investigations were carried out in Caracas and Shanghai with a qualitative approach. The data collection techniques were on-site observations and in-depth interviews with residents, supplemented by spatial analysis for contextualisation. The interview data and field notes were coded by identifying the main themes emerging from the participants' accounts. These demonstrated their complex relationship with place, their strong ties and a sense of place mediated by community and family bonds. Simultaneously, the data unveiled the fundamental externalities which have negatively impacted people's relationships with their public spaces, leading to exclusion. These externalities are criminal violence (not prevented or acted by the state) in the case of Caracas and government-led urban renewal interventions in Shanghai. Residents have been ultimately displaced out of the public space within their neighbourhood. The contribution of this paper focuses on assessing how criminal violence and urban renewal act as displacement drivers by discussing the residents' experiences of place and underpinning the complex role of space in this process. It argues that the loss of public spaces can be instrumental in generating further displacement since they are a valuable infrastructure for community building and everyday life socialisation. The paper concludes by arguing that this displacement process is a form of slow violence, reinforced by the action and non-action of institutions, as low-income communities continue being forced out of their places.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/183053