Knowledge and power in regenerating lived space in Treasure Hill, Taipei 1960s–2010: from squatter settlement to a co-living artist village

Abstract

To the government, the squatter settlement on the ex-military site in Treasure Hill was an eyesore that should be removed to make way for a park. To the social activists, including academics and students, the spatial organization and the consequent social cohesion found in the settlement were valuable knowledge on use values of the evolving lived space. Mastering this knowledge and capitalizing on the wider socio-political opportunity of the new mayor's emphasis on cultural development, the social activists have succeeded in developing a co-living discourse, arguing for the merits of having artists-in-residence, welfare housing tenants and youth hostel sojourners to co-develop a sustainable, creative learning environment in the historic architecture of the squatter huts. In order to materialize this ideal, they even became the contractual party in implementing the project. The case nevertheless highlights the fragility of organic lived space. While the co-living concept allowed residents the option to stay in the area, the whole saga had led to the departure of many residents, dismantling the coherent community and ending its dynamic self-regenerating process. The experiment of mixing disadvantaged squatter residents and spontaneous artists in a fossilized physical setting has not been conducive to regenerating self-sustaining lived space.