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Two Water Towns in the Qingpu District of Shanghai Semprebon

production prevailed over the other economic compensations, such as two or three new
sectors, resulting in an incomplete industrial apartments in the outskirts of the town, many
development. Contrary to Liantang, residents have declared to resort to memories
Zhujiajiao’s comprehensive development to reconnect with the past. Cao and Wu [74]
strategy has grounded on the “romantic argued that the feeling of community among
consumption” [71,12] of its spatial experience Zhujiajiao’s inhabitants had survived in
as an engine for multisectoral growth. The residents’ collective consciousness, activated
tourism industry has been intensively instilled, by remembrances and interpersonal
following a “creative destruction” approach, relationships. They discovered that the robust
as detected in several recent works [57,72] , transformations that occurred with the
undermining the sociocultural authenticity of introduction of the tourism industry triggered
the whole settlement [41] . contrasting feelings among the population,
including a “sense of pride” [74] . They
5. DISCUSSION advocated that the social and demographic
5.1 Zhujiajiao’s creative destruction changes had stimulated the formation of new
between economic opportunities and interactions between former residents and
social fragmentations newcomers, and that most of the interviewees
The alteration of the water town’s social and reacted positively since the recent changes
spatial relationships, triggered by the tourism- raised the quality of life and service provision.
led commodification process of its historical Their study supports the argument that sites
parts, has impacted Zhujiajiao’s resident abruptly transformed into tourist destinations
community, mainly in two ways: the may maintain attractiveness to the local
inhabitants’ perception of recent community, notwithstanding social ties’
transformations and the relocation of fragmentation, mainly because their historic
inhabitants as a consequence of heritage aura can be exploited to instil opportunities
[6]
status recognition . for economic strengthening.
When applied to Zhujiajiao, Mitchell’s Other authors contested that the
model of “creative destruction” [73] , has Zhujiajiao community only partially and
revealed that tourism development impacted “indirectly” benefited from the tourism
both physical and social attributes of its built industry [75] . This unequal mechanism
fabric, altering the values and the allures of generated further asymmetries given by
the original artefacts in their appearances and different capacities and possibilities of
spatial structures. The rejuvenation of participating in the market’s system. Indeed,
historical parts, which occurred selectively on a recent study demonstrated the willingness
those elements “easiest to commodify” [57] , of residents to participate more in the tourism-
turned Zhujiajiao into an “en-plein-air” led development process [66] , probably
shopping mall featured by traditional attracted by the possibility of engaging more
ambiences. This romantic consumption [71] with the market industry. Lastly, tourism
compellingly expresses the controversial development has increased wastewater
relationships generated by exogenous forces pollution, stressed by the overuse of the
on fragile ecosystems. Regarding the site’s hydraulic network [76] , raising environmental
authenticity, tourist-oriented concerns for the stability of such delicate
commodification has jeopardized cultural ecosystems.
patrimonies, creating distances and
separations between urban spaces and 5.2 The fragilities of historic sites targeted
residents. Indeed, Zhujiajiao’s fast-paced by heritage tourism
transformation required the relocation of part The notion of fragility was earlier introduced
of the local community [74, 57, 66] . Although as weakening the bonds between sites and
many families which have been evicted out of communities, ultimately eroding local
their properties have received generous identity, sense of belonging, and grassroots

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