Evolving interdependencies between two waves of gentrifiers in the wax and wane of a ‘Utopian Village’: A case study of Cenbu Village, Shanghai

Abstract

Amid the escalating rural gentrification, a diverse array of gentrifiers is precipitating the path from coexistence and cooperation to conflict and eventual displacement. Existing literature has primarily addressed gentrifiers as a homogeneous group and focuses on the displacement of indigenous villagers, while the staged interdependencies and the displacement of gentrifiers have remained largely understudied. Drawing on a longitudinal study of a Shanghai village on a path to rural super-gentrification, this article investigates the complex interdependencies of two waves of gentrifiers, from commensal relations to exclusion, culminating in the eventual displacement of the first-wave gentrifiers. The study further analyses the construction and deconstruction of a ‘Utopian Village’ and the role of the gentrifiers' divergent perceptions of rurality in this evolving process. First-wave gentrifiers tend to value the authenticity of villages, and seek to construct a ‘Utopian Village’ through commensal socio-economic relations and the maintenance of a sustainable ecosystem, while preserving the authenticity and openness of the landscape. Their efforts, however, attract a second wave of gentrifiers who hold differing views of rurality, and this misalignment results in the over-consumption and alienation of rurality, characterised by introverted social networks and over-decorative landscapes. The originally envisaged ‘Utopian Village’ is thus undermined, leading to the exclusion and displacement of the first-wave gentrifiers. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving dynamics of rural gentrification, the super-gentrification trend, the complex interdependencies of the different types of gentrifiers and the effects on the communities in question.