'Plural Reciprocity' vs. 'Acquaintance Society': Place Attachment and Residential Satisfaction under Development-Induced Resettlement Differences in Guangzhou, China

In the context of urban expansion and regeneration, development-induced resettlement has had inevitable impacts on place attachment and residential satisfaction of residents. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the social-psychological performances of both attachment and satisfaction, and the possible influences of the former on the latter. Such deficiency also emerges when considering different resettlement patterns in peripheral urban China. This study conducted a semi-structural survey on two neighborhoods affected by the construction of Higher Mega Education Center (HEMC) in Guangzhou with different resettlement patterns. Based on multidimensional measurement, residents in relocated subsidized housing expressed higher attachment and satisfaction through the remaining social bonding as 'acquaintance society' than those in in-situ urban villages relying on self-identified clan-kinship and stable reciprocity.Hukoustatus is found to be fundamental in building attachment and life fulfillment, especially for the urban villages with plural population structure. Significances are found in the impacts of place dependence, social bonding and place identification on residential satisfaction in in-situ neighborhoods while only social bonding was found to be significant in the relocated 'enclave' one. However, deeper integration with affective connections are insufficient for both. The findings generally indicate that positive outcomes are also achieved for self-regeneration after resettlement.