Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 12, 2024

Urban Renewal and Shared Social Development

(Abstract)

Huang Xiaoxing

With rapid urban development, the traditional development model centered on economic growth has revealed more problems. High-quality urban development is essential under the new development paradigm, and urban renewal involves transforming and revitalizing existing urban areas and communities. On one hand, urban renewal addresses problems like urban decay and deterioration, improving both urban spaces and economic conditions. On the other hand, it fosters cultural preservation and reinvention while restructuring, repairing, and enhancing social relationships. The prevailing dualistic view of urban renewal is limited and should be replaced with a systemic perspective that integrates multi-level, multi-dimensional dynamics and community-driven mechanisms to advance urban development. Urban capacity should extend beyond spatial and economic improvements to include comprehensive social progress, meeting people’s aspirations for a better quality of life and advancing the vision of “cities for the people.” In China, urban renewal, rooted in complex social interactions, aims to achieve shared social development and gradually shape multidimensional, multi-scale urban spaces.