Beijing, January 22nd, 2018 – The balance between preserving a city's essence and injecting new energy through urban regeneration is at the center of JLL's (NYSE: JLL) latest whitepaper. The report, China-UK Urban Regeneration & Stock Upgrade, looks at the opportunities and challenges presented by urban renewal, examining existing models from the UK and looking at how China is breaking new ground as it seeks to improve its cities.
News release
22 January 2018
Finding the Balance in Urban Regeneration
Categories:
Preserving Memory Lane
The whitepaper discusses the three main elements which successful regeneration of an urban area should fulfil. Among these it explores the continuation of collective memory, since urban areas in particular often contain buildings and spaces which serve as important emotional anchors for local residents. By retaining influential buildings or a certain architectural style, developers can still imbue residents with a sense of belonging and shared history, even in a newly built project.
The UK introduced legislation in the latter half of the 20th century to protect historic buildings and areas. Places such as Covent Garden and Soho are good examples of this, retaining their sense of history while still keeping step with the times. When it comes to China, legal protection of areas is a relatively new concept, but in recent years developers have increasingly begun to follow this path of their own accord. For instance, the use of a specific street size and style in Taikoo Li Chengdu were designed to strengthen the collective memory of the old city for local Sichuanese.