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AbstractThis article examines the transferability of the concept of gentrification away from itsAnglo‐American heartland to the cities ofAsia Pacific and specificallyHongKong. An epistemological argument challenges such theoretical licence, claiming that conceptual overreach represents another example ofAnglo‐American hegemony asserting the primacy of its concepts in other societies and cultures. Past research suggests that if gentrification exists inAsia Pacific cities it bears some definite regional specificities of urban form, state direction and, most surprising from a Western perspective, a potentially progressive dimension for some impacted residents. Closer examination of urban discourse inHongKong is conducted through analysis ofEnglish andChinese language newspapers. In both instances, gentrification is barely used to describe the pervasive processes of urban redevelopment, which otherwise receive abundant coverage. Interviews with local housing experts confirm the marginality of gentrification in academic and public discourse, and the power of a local ideology that sees urban (re)development unproblematically as a means of upward social mobility. However, in the decade‐long housing bust after 1997, growing inequality has encouraged a nascent class analysis of the property market, an ontological awakening that may prove more favourable to the identification of gentrification in anAsia Pacific idiom.

We analyse the emergence of the 'Highway to Heaven', a distinctive landscape of more than 20 diverse religious buildings, in the suburban municipality of Richmond, outside Vancouver, to explore the intersections of immigration, planning, multiculturalism, religion and suburban space. In the context of wider contested planning disputes for new places of worship for immigrant communities, the creation of a designated 'Assembly District' in Richmond emerged as a creative response to multicultural planning. However, it is also a contradictory policy, co-opting religious communities to municipal requirements to safeguard agricultural land and prevent suburban sprawl, but with limited success. The unanticipated outcomes of a designated planning zone for religious buildings include production of an agglomeration of increasingly spectacular religious facilities that exceed municipal planning regulations. Such developments are accommodated through a celebratory narrative of municipal multiculturalism, but one that fails to engage with the communal narratives of the faith communities themselves and may exoticize or commodify religious identity.'La route du paradis': création d'un paysage multiculturel religieux en banlieue de Richmond en Colombie-BritanniqueRésumé : Nous analysons l'émergence d'une « route du paradis », un paysage unique de plus de vingt bâtiments religieux différents, dans la banlieue municipale de Richmond, près de Vancouver, pour explorer les intersections de l'immigration, l'urbanisation, le multiculturalisme, la religion et l'espace urbain. Dans le contexte de polémiques plus générales d'urbanisation contestée pour de nouveaux lieux de culte destinés aux communautés d'immigrants, la création d'un « quartier d'assemblées » à Richmond est née, réponse créative à un urbanisme multiculturel. Toutefois, c'est une politique contradictoire qui récupère les communautés religieuses pour satisfaire les besoins municipaux de sauvegarder les terres agricoles et empêcher l'expansion urbaine, mais avec un succès limité. Les conséquences non prévues d'une zone d'aménagement réservée aux bâtiments religieux comprennent la production d'une agglomération de constructions de plus en plus spectaculaires qui dépassent les règles municipales d'aménagement. Ces développements sont accueillis par un discours jubilatoire de multiculturalisme municipal, mais toutefois ils ne réussissent pas à engager le dialogue avec les discours communautaires des communautés religieuses elles-mêmes et ils risquent en fait de les rendre exotiques ou de faire de l'identité religieuse une marchandise.Resumen: Se analiza el surgimiento de la 'Carretera hacia el cielo', un paisaje distintivo de más de veinte edificios religiosos diversos en el municipio suburbano de Richmond, en las afueras de Vancouver, para explorar las intersecciones de la inmigración, la planificación, el multiculturalismo, la religión y el espacio suburbano. Dentro del contexto de amplias y conflictivas disputas de planificación para nuevos lugares de culto para las comunidades de inmigrantes, la creación de una Asamblea de Distrito designada a Richmond surgió como una respuesta creativa a la planificación multicultural. Sin embargo, también es una política contradictoria, incorporando comunidades religiosas para ajustarse a requerimientos municipales para salvaguardar las tierras agrícolas y prevenir la expansión suburbana, pero con un éxito limitado. Los resultados no previstos de una zona designada para la planificación de los edificios religiosos incluyen la producción de una aglomeración de cada vez más instalaciones religiosas espectaculares que exceden normas urbanísticas municipales. Estos complejos se acomodan a través de un relato de celebración del multiculturalismo municipal, pero que no se compromete con las narraciones comunales de las comunidades de fe en sí y pueden impregnar de exotismo o mercantilizar la identidad religiosa.

Encouraging neighbourhood social mix has been a major goal of urban policy and planning in a number of different countries. This book draws together a range of case studies by international experts to assess the impacts of social mix policies and the degree to which they might represent gentrification by stealth. The contributions consider the range of social mix initiatives in different countries across the globe and their relationship to wider social, economic and urban change. The book combines understandings of social mix from the perspectives of researchers, policy makers and planners and the residents of the communities themselves. Mixed Communities also draws out more general lessons from these international comparisons - theoretically, empirically and for urban policy. It will be highly relevant for urban researchers and students, policy makers and practitioners alike