joy of discovery (or the frustration of getting lost) made shopping in New Kujiang an adventure in itself.
The expansion of New Kujiang hit a roadblock when the Datong Department Store was destroyed by fire in October 1995. Without this anchor to draw shoppers, business in New Kujiang began to dwindle. Further complicating its plight was the construction of other department stores along the axis of Wu-fu and Chung-shan Roads already begun by the time Datong burned. The economic miracle of the 1980s had brought about New Kujiang’s prosperity, but it also encouraged the establishment of more and more places for shopping and entertainment competing for business. As New Kujiang began to lose its allure as a chic shopping destination in the mid-1990s, the city of Kaohsiung also began to lose its industrial base. While department stores were being built one after another, Taiwan’s increasing integration into the global market and rising wages were forcing industries to move offshore in search of cheaper labor. In response to the global restructuring of capitalist production, in which capital became increasingly mobile across spatial divides and production became increasingly dispersed (Harvey 1990), the effort to transform local places to attract investment and consumers intensified.
In this context of postmiracle economy, New Kujiang found its rebirth in Taiwan’s place-making project. 11 The national government’s initiative to transform Taiwan’s landscape in the name of modernization started as an effort to remap Taiwan’s national space, consolidate a localized Taiwanese identity, and “indigenize” the KMT so as to legitimatize its rule of Taiwan (Lu 2002). Promoted mainly as a politicocultural project at first, these programs later shifted their focus to economic development. 12 Embedded in this new landscape were articulations with a global market in which Taiwan had to compete by serving up marketable images as well as easy-to-navigate marketplaces for cosmopolitan consumers. This transformation resonates with the global trend of reconstructing local places physically as well as discursively to make them attractive to investors, visitors, and residents alike (Harvey 1989; Judd and Fainstein 1999; Philo and Kearns 1993; Zukin 1995). In addition, there was an agenda of implementing social change through spatial reorganization (Chuang 2005). 13 As stated by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), the nationwide Township Renaissance Program would incorporate previous street-making (
zaojie
) and town-making (
zaozhen
) programs in a new effort to create a “healthy, clean, and beautiful” island. With an emphasis on “prosperity, modernization, and culture,” this effort would “elevate the nation’s competitiveness and improve its international image, enhance the quality of life for its citizens, achieve sustainable development for cities and towns, and strengthen the investment environment to further economic development” (CEPD n.d.). Modernization, economic development, and national competitiveness were all intertwined in these projects. A vision of progress marked by tidiness, legibility, and easily recognized local identities would be perpetuated through the funded projects.
Led by NKSM’s management, business owners in New Kujiang worked with local government to transform the area. In 1998, it became one of the Department of Commerce’s “Exemplary Business Streets” (
shifan shangdianjie
). The area proposed for development included Wen-hua Road, Wenheng 167 Alley, and Jen-chi Street between Wu-Fu and Hsin-Tian Roads. 14 Teamed up with consultants from the Corporate Synergy Development Center (CSDC), a private firm commissioned by the Department of Commerce, the Committee for Development in New Kujiang presented a detailed plan for the New Kujiang Business Street to the Kaohsiung Municipal Government and the Department of Commerce as the blueprint of New Kujiang’s development.
The expansion of New Kujiang hit a roadblock when the Datong Department Store was destroyed by fire in October 1995. Without this anchor to draw shoppers, business in New Kujiang began to dwindle. Further complicating its plight was the construction of other department stores along the axis of Wu-fu and Chung-shan Roads already begun by the time Datong burned. The economic miracle of the 1980s had brought about New Kujiang’s prosperity, but it also encouraged the establishment of more and more places for shopping and entertainment competing for business. As New Kujiang began to lose its allure as a chic shopping destination in the mid-1990s, the city of Kaohsiung also began to lose its industrial base. While department stores were being built one after another, Taiwan’s increasing integration into the global market and rising wages were forcing industries to move offshore in search of cheaper labor. In response to the global restructuring of capitalist production, in which capital became increasingly mobile across spatial divides and production became increasingly dispersed (Harvey 1990), the effort to transform local places to attract investment and consumers intensified.
In this context of postmiracle economy, New Kujiang found its rebirth in Taiwan’s place-making project. 11 The national government’s initiative to transform Taiwan’s landscape in the name of modernization started as an effort to remap Taiwan’s national space, consolidate a localized Taiwanese identity, and “indigenize” the KMT so as to legitimatize its rule of Taiwan (Lu 2002). Promoted mainly as a politicocultural project at first, these programs later shifted their focus to economic development. 12 Embedded in this new landscape were articulations with a global market in which Taiwan had to compete by serving up marketable images as well as easy-to-navigate marketplaces for cosmopolitan consumers. This transformation resonates with the global trend of reconstructing local places physically as well as discursively to make them attractive to investors, visitors, and residents alike (Harvey 1989; Judd and Fainstein 1999; Philo and Kearns 1993; Zukin 1995). In addition, there was an agenda of implementing social change through spatial reorganization (Chuang 2005). 13 As stated by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), the nationwide Township Renaissance Program would incorporate previous street-making (
zaojie
) and town-making (
zaozhen
) programs in a new effort to create a “healthy, clean, and beautiful” island. With an emphasis on “prosperity, modernization, and culture,” this effort would “elevate the nation’s competitiveness and improve its international image, enhance the quality of life for its citizens, achieve sustainable development for cities and towns, and strengthen the investment environment to further economic development” (CEPD n.d.). Modernization, economic development, and national competitiveness were all intertwined in these projects. A vision of progress marked by tidiness, legibility, and easily recognized local identities would be perpetuated through the funded projects.
Led by NKSM’s management, business owners in New Kujiang worked with local government to transform the area. In 1998, it became one of the Department of Commerce’s “Exemplary Business Streets” (
shifan shangdianjie
). The area proposed for development included Wen-hua Road, Wenheng 167 Alley, and Jen-chi Street between Wu-Fu and Hsin-Tian Roads. 14 Teamed up with consultants from the Corporate Synergy Development Center (CSDC), a private firm commissioned by the Department of Commerce, the Committee for Development in New Kujiang presented a detailed plan for the New Kujiang Business Street to the Kaohsiung Municipal Government and the Department of Commerce as the blueprint of New Kujiang’s development.
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