Demolition, Rehabilitation, and Conservation: Heritage in Shanghai’s Urban Regeneration, 1990–2015

Abstract

Urban heritage sites in central cities are most difficult to protect during rapid and large scale urban (re)development. Rising land values from property development conflict with and constrain heritage preservation. Compared with many cities in developed and developing countries, large Chinese cities have experienced a stronger redevelopment imperative, faster population growth, and a weaker concern for urban heritages over the last three decades. We use Shanghai to examine the contested evolution of heritage preservation against massive urban redevelopment through three stages from 1990 to the present. Using three heritage projects (Xintiandi, Tianzifang, Bugaoli), we focus on: 1) how each project was implemented and the economic and spatial outcomes each has produced; 2) how the mode of each project’s development interacted with the shifting official policies for heritage preservation; and 3) the implications of the findings, theoretical and practical, for more effective urban preservation.

Exploring Participatory Microregeneration as Sustainable Renewal of Built Heritage Community: Two Case Studies in Shanghai

“…In 2003, the Shanghai Municipal Government promulgated the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Preservation of Historic and Cultural Areas and Outstanding Historic Buildings (referred to as "Shanghai Preservation Regulations"). This was the first regulation on urban cultural heritage protection introduced at the local level in Shanghai and has constructed an overall legal framework for Shanghai [33]. Besides the commercialization of housing heritage, most heritage communities are still in residential use and require urgent conservation and a rapid improvement in living conditions.…”

Claiming a role for controversies in the framing of local heritage values

“…In fact, the discussion about heritage demolition is especially relevant. Contemporary acts of heritage demolition and their impacts on local contexts and societies are widely discussed in relation to iconoclastic attitudes, cultural destruction, and memory erasure, as in many cases in the Middle East and North Africa (Stone & Bajjaly, 2008;Sawalha, 2011;Quntar, 2013;Kalman, 2017), and they are discussed in relation to massive urban development projects in contexts such as China (Sofield & Li, 1998;Silverman & Blumenfield, 2013;Zhong & Chen, 2017) or to punctual ones (Shipley & Reyburn, 2003).…”

The Transition from Housing Demolition to Conservation and Renovation in Shanghai: Challenges and Countermeasures

“…Since the 1980s, China has set off a wave of housing demolition (HD) [1,2]. Some historic buildings were demolished because of a neglect for the historical value; the residents living in these buildings were relocated to new houses [3].…”

“…Some historic buildings were demolished because of a neglect for the historical value; the residents living in these buildings were relocated to new houses [3]. These structures include some alleyways (hutong) in Beijing [4,5] and some lane houses (lilong) in Shanghai [1]. As cultural heritage, These buildings are considered to have high historical value [6][7][8].…”

“…In the 1990s, Shanghai made some attempts to practice housing conservation and renovation (HCR) [1,11,12]. The Xintiandi redevelopment project is a typical case from this period.…”