  Urban redevelopment often involves a delicate balance between enhancing
regional connectivity and preserving local social fabric. Through a case study
in Guangzhou, China, we argue that demolishing a historic street to construct a
new subway station shows competing interests between local government's
priority to facilitate spatial connectivity and locals' priority to maintain a
place for social interaction and memories. We measure the social costs of the
new subway station through a network lens, focusing on the loss of social ties
and memories and low travel benefits of the new station for the local
populations. We find that 1) the demolition will remove many small businesses
that support locals' daily activities, social ties, and memories, and 2) the
new station reduces travel distance and increases route options for passengers
from other areas of the city more than locals nearby the demolition site. Our
results contribute to a network-based framework and methodology to understand
and contest inequality in expanding transportation network infrastructure in
cities.
