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Strategies for Sustainable Urban Renewal: Community-Scale GIS-Based Analysis for Densification Decision Making

Author

Listed:
  • Jinliu Chen

    (Department of Urban Planning and Design, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China
    School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK)

  • Paola Pellegrini

    (Department of Urban Planning and Design, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China)

  • Zhuo Yang

    (School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK)

  • Haoqi Wang

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China)

Abstract

China is gradually shifting towards more sustainable urban development, and the local governments are increasingly promoting social and environmentally sustainable spatial planning practices. This article debates the potential contradiction between the goal of a constantly growing urban population and the limits to the consumption of land planned by this new direction of urban development. The analysis focuses on the wealthy city of Suzhou in the Yangtse River Delta region and explores the opportunities for densification of the residential areas as a possible solution for this contradiction, as already tested by some Chinese cases for land use efficiency. The research applies GIS-based spatial analysis and identifies some of the sites that can be efficiently redeveloped in the resettlement communities for their low floor area ratio (FAR) and obsolescent conditions, which do not correspond to the increasingly middle-class status of the residents in the urban region. The article investigates the different options of a densification strategy in the frame of the policies of urban renewal promoted in China in recent years for improving the quality of the built environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinliu Chen & Paola Pellegrini & Zhuo Yang & Haoqi Wang, 2023. "Strategies for Sustainable Urban Renewal: Community-Scale GIS-Based Analysis for Densification Decision Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7901-:d:1144882
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Xiaosi Zhang & Jizhong Shao, 2024. "Evaluation of the Suitability of Street Vending Planning in Urban Public Space in the Post-COVID-19 Era," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Yang Li & Wei Zheng & Qirui Zhou, 2025. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Knowledge-Driven Urban Innovation: Dynamics of Elevator Installation in Aging Residential Communities," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 6315-6359, June.
    4. Zhang Zhang & Huimin Zhou & Shuxian Li & Zhibin Zhao & Junbo Xu & Yuansuo Zhang, 2024. "Study on the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Land Use Efficiency in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-27, April.
    5. Nan Yang & Jinliu Chen & Liang Ban & Pengcheng Li & Haoqi Wang, 2024. "Pre-Planning and Post-Evaluation Approaches to Sustainable Vernacular Architectural Practice: A Research-by-Design Study to Building Renovation in Shangri-La’s Shanpian House, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Minjun Zhao & Ning Liu & Jinliu Chen & Danqing Wang & Pengcheng Li & Di Yang & Pu Zhou, 2024. "Navigating Post-COVID-19 Social–Spatial Inequity: Unravelling the Nexus between Community Conditions, Social Perception, and Spatial Differentiation," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, April.

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