Abstract:
Gentrification has increasingly operated as a central mechanism in advancing
market-oriented development strategy. In the context of the Philippines’ liberalized and
deregulated environment, the influx of Chinese capital has introduced a new layer of
marginalization for the urban poor: the intersection of race, class, and space. Despite the growing
phenomenon of transnational gentrification, limited research has explored the nuanced lived
experiences of local communities, particularly in relation to the influx of foreign businesses. This
study examines the socio-spatial impacts of Chinese business presence on Filipino residents in an
urban poor community in Parañaque City, which has emerged as a significant hotspot of Chinese
capital investment. Utilizing a multimodal qualitative approach, the study draws on storytelling,
walking interviews, key informant interviews, photo elicitation, and individual-scale community
mapping, conducted with ten (10) respondents. The data were analyzed through the lenses of
critical geographies of race, David Harvey’s theory of accumulation by dispossession, and Neil
Smith’s uneven development. The analysis reveals the multifaceted effects of transnational
capital on local lives, ranging from various forms of displacement and dispossession to
experiences of deterritorialization. In turn, residents responded across a continuum of behaviors,
from acts of defiance to expressions of deference, both intentional and unconscious. This study
contributes to the discourse on the physico-geographic, politico-economic, and socio-cultural
dimensions of urban transformation, calling for the formulation of concrete mechanisms and
inclusive urban development policies.
