ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 analyzes different forms of marginality in a community located in the former French concession in downtown Shanghai. Tianzifang has been struggling to survive for two decades and this situation affected its residents. As Chad Alan Goldberg underlines, marginality suggests a potential maladjustment and disorganization but at the same time creativity and innovation (2012). This chapter analyzes different forms of marginality where different actors are considered legitimate to raise their voices in favor or against safeguarding the community. In addition to residents, some administrative cadre, developers, academics and artists played an important role in giving birth to what is known today as Tianzifang. The link between marginality and legitimacy is key to understanding this particular context. Marginality is not only about human beings (their origin and status), it is also about buildings and heritage. Tianzifang is marginal in many ways and this is what saved it from destruction. A Chinese proverb states that the taller the tree the more likelihood it has to be cut. Benefits can be taken out of marginality; this is how being a small area that is quite dilapidated made it possible to create a new model of urban development at a micro level.
