ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the 'fanshen by chaiqian' discourse is underpinned by a cultural logic that stigmatises and devalues the demolished neighbourhoods and their residents. It obscures diverse forces and processes that consistently perpetuate structural inequalities and lock the displaced into vulnerable positions. The chapter also engages with the symbolic struggles over representational space and delegitimises the dominant discourse by offering a counter-narrative of the lived space from the displaced. The chapter seeks to give voice to the displaced and to their feelings about their homes and communities as an attempt to challenge dominant narratives. It evaluates the cultural production of territorial stigmatisation and its circulation in legitimatising the siting decision of the Expo that resulted in the loss of homes and communities for thousands of families. In colonial Shanghai, inhabitants of penghuqu were believed to originate from a region known as Subei, an obscure and contested area without coherent boundaries.
