Place and displacement: Out-of-place processes in low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Place and displacement are intrinsically interconnected. In this context, this paper explores displacement within their neighbourhood out of the public space of two low-income communities in Shanghai and Caracas. Empirical case-study qualitative investigations were developed in Caracas and Shanghai. Data collection techniques included on-site observations, in-depth interviews with residents, and spatial analysis for contextualisation. The participants’ accounts demonstrated their complex relationship with place, their strong ties and sense of place mediated by community and family bonds. The data unveiled fundamental externalities which have negatively impacted people’s relationships with their public spaces, leading to exclusion. These are criminal violence (not prevented or acted by the state) in Caracas and government-led urban renewal interventions in Shanghai. Residents have been displaced within their neighbourhood out of the public space. The contribution of this paper focuses on assessing how criminal violence and urban renewal act as displacement drivers by discussing the underpinning role of institutions in this process. It argues that public spaces are instrumental in generating displacement since they are valuable infrastructures for community building and everyday life. The paper argues that this displacement process is a form of violence as institutionalised power structures continue to force people out of their place.
Source: Cities
Authors: Gabriela Quintana Vigiola, Paula Morais
Institutions: University of Technology Sydney, University College London
Language: English
Subfield: Urban Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
OpenAlex ID: W4405739593