Urban regeneration and emotional politics of place in Liede Village, Guangzhou, China

This paper utilises in-depth interviews and oral history to investigate the meanings of place and place-based emotions in the urban regeneration scheme of Liede village in Guangzhou, China. This paper responds to the critique that emotions are excluded from or enlisted as simply quantifiable variables in the sphere of urban policy and to the lack of research concerning the importance of emotion in creating more ethical and progressive policies and practices in urban regeneration. First, we explore how Liede people reconstitute the meanings of place through emotional narratives and nostalgia. Liede people's emotional narratives of place reflect their collective memories and their desires for a “good life”, which is an important dimension of individuals' right to the city. Second, we examine the government-led reconstruction project of a “memory site” that claims to fulfil the Liede people's emotional needs and restore local history but actually thwarts Liede people's emotional belonging. This paper critically reflects upon this case by elaborating the idea of the “right to emotion”, which is the right of people to emotionally inhabit and re-make a place according to their aspirations to achieve desired ways of living. This paper also discusses how the “right to emotion” can be enacted and calls for urban studies investigating emotional politics.