Against the monster of privatisation: The Qing-tien community's actions for urban liveability in Taipei

By analysing the discourse and mobilisation of the Qing-tien community in Taipei, this article aims to offer a perspective on how civil society defines urban liveability under a model of neoliberal governance. Caught between the national government (which was eager to sell national lands in the name of economic efficiency) and the local government (which was sensitive to community support), the Qing-tien community organisers collaborated with planning activists to shape the vision and strategies necessary to save their environment. From saving trees for the community, the community successfully built a consensus against the privatisation of public land. Later, the movement managed to preserve old Japanese houses and gardens, and Qing-tien was designated a historic district. The process of community mobilisation in Qing-tien was not only a rediscovery of local/urban history and ecology, but also an exploration of urban liveability.