Return or relocation? Evolving neighbourhood attachment of work-unit residents after gentrification-induced displacement in Chengdu, China

Abstract

Gentrification-induced displacement entails a process of disrupting the inhabitants' ties to their localities. This study investigates the evolving neighbourhood attachment of resettled residents after gentrification-induced displacement in the Chinese context. Using mixed methods, it comprehensively examines the behavioural and cognitive–affective changes in neighbourhood attachment of two groups of work-unit residents in Chengdu, China—those resettled in situ and those out-migrated due to gentrification. The study reveals mixed changes in the multidimensional neighbourhood attachment for both groups postdisplacement. Re-establishing this attachment hinges upon an intricate interplay between residents' adaptive behaviours and their cognitive and emotional connections with the new places. While residents who remain within the gentrified area possess potential for rebuilding neighbourhood bonds, those relocated away from the original site experience feelings of placelessness. Furthermore, the physical environment influences residents' capacity to reconstruct functional dependencies on new surroundings, while the social environment is pivotal in shaping individuals' sense of belonging and identity postdisplacement. Finally, multiscalar contextual factors at the individual, neighbourhood, and city levels are fundamental to varying postdisplacement experiences across regions and social groups. This study enhances comprehension of the intricacies and diversities in postdisplacement experiences among resettled residents across various contexts.