Heritage of disappearance? Shekkipmei and collective memory(s) in post handover Hong Kong

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which visions of working-class life are being reimagined as “collective memory” in Hong Kong’s post-handover period, amidst growing calls to preserve the city’s past.1 It focuses on changing interpretations of the Shekkipmei Estate and Hong Kong’s public housing program, and on the current proposal to redevelop Shekkipmei while preserving one fragment of it as a housing museum. The analysis aims to unsettle often taken-for-granted assumptions behind the terms “heritage” and “collective memory.” It also questions the role of historic preservation with respect to trajectories of economic development and ongoing political change.