Valorising the heritage ecosystem: the governance of industrial reuse at Kaohsiung Port

Purpose This study examines the post-industrial valorisation of Kaohsiung Port Warehouse No. 2 (KW2). Moving beyond the physical focus of adaptive reuse, it investigates how “selective connectivity” reconfigures relationships between material infrastructure, institutional authority and social memory. The study aims to demonstrate how market-oriented heritage governance can marginalise subaltern labour histories through institutional, spatial and mnemonic mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Employing a qualitative research design, the study triangulates critical discourse analysis of planning documents, adaptive reuse reports, promotional materials and on-site interpretive texts with semi-structured interviews with institutional actors. By focusing on developer logic, it traces how a corporatised mediator configures heritage value. The absence of dockworkers' lived experiences is treated not as a data deficiency, but as an analytical indicator for examining structural marginalisation and uneven spatial production. Findings KW2's valorisation operates through selective connectivity via three interrelated mechanisms. First, institutional filtering through delegated and corporatised governance prioritises market-driven branding. Second, spatial filtering preserves visually legible industrial aesthetics while obscuring the material and physical friction of manual dock labour. Third, narrative filtering replaces complex labour histories with a sanitised waterfront spectacle. This systemic selectivity produces soft displacement by retaining the physical shell of industrial heritage while rendering labour narratives increasingly invisible. Originality/value This paper introduces selective connectivity as a framework for challenging assumptions that adaptive reuse necessarily produces holistic heritage integration. It develops an analytical approach that treats the absence of labour histories as a structural indicator of power within heritage ecosystems. By connecting discursive critique with corporatised spatial governance, it offers practical strategies – such as interpretive friction – for cultivating more resilient and multi-vocal heritage ecosystems.