Contingent Attachment: Long-term Lived Experience in the Redevelopment of a Third Front Neighbourhood

Abstract Employing the concept of “contingent attachment” as its key point, this paper investigates the transformation of residents’ neighbourhood attachment during the redevelopment of a neighbourhood originally established during the Third Front construction period. By framing neighbourhood attachment as contingent, this paper seeks to highlight that the different directions of neighbourhood attachment hinge upon several factors: the entities mobilizing the narrative, the varying treatment of residents across different phases of the relocation, and residents’ perceptions regarding the changes brought about by the relocation process. Special attention within this paper is paid towards the long-term lived experiences of residents since the onset of the Third Front construction to show how these experiences are woven into diverse narratives associated with residents’ neighbourhood attachments.