| 英文摘要 |
This article adopts Foucault’s concept of“dispositive”combined with the emergence of community subjects to re-examine and reconceptualize the governance of preservation and regeneration in the Dihua neighbourhood. It argues that this process is not a simplistic binary opposition (e.g., preservation versus road widening or development), but rather a decentralized governance dispositive composed of diverse actors, heterogeneous elements, and contingent connections. Based on the historical context of Dihua Street, the article highlights how the narrative of the“loss of Dihua Street”was reconstructed under the pressures of developmental state modernization and neighbourhood transformation, becoming a discursive foundation for uniting different communities and linking new subjects summoned and shaped by the crises. These communities or key actors, through the unique Guanxi (social networks) of Chinese society, achieved loose but effective collaboration, forming a non-planned and dynamic governance practice. The study identifies key characteristics of this governance dispositive, including the agency of diverse actors, contingency, and heterogeneous linkages, illustrating the production of power and the formation of subjects within the governance process. Developing this conceptual framework, the article offers a closer understanding of the practical realities of historical neighbourhood preservation and regeneration governance. For developing countries, the context of the emergence of such governance dispositives, their contingency, heterogeneous connections, and modes of collaboration or collusion provide critical insights into reshaping local governance amidst the transitional crises. |