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Contextualism and Sustainability: A Community Renewal in Old City of Beijing

Author

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  • Shangyi Zhou

    (School of Geography, Beijing Normal University,19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Shaobo Zhang

    (School of Geography, Beijing Normal University,19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

The conception of contextualism in community planning emphasizes the integrity of architecture and its surroundings. It also implies the sustainability of landscape meaning within a community. In as much as planning theories have not mentioned how extensive the background of a community should be considered by a community planner, this paper will seek to answer this question. It considers Nanluoguxiang (NLGX), a community in the old city of Beijing, as the study area. Based on government documents, interviews of residents and also landscape observations in NLGX, this paper identifies the contextual practices in three renovation stages from the perspective of place uniqueness. The planners considered the background of NLGX at three different scales in its three renovation stages. In the last stage, they considered the entire country within the context of planning. NLGX has a unique image in Beijing, even within China. The image of it is the main market at the north end of the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal shows the spatial organization power of the ancient empire because it was the key food supply route for the capital. This is not only the cultural heritage of local residents of NLGX, but is also identified by other citizens in China. We conclude that an historical community can be preserved better by national funds if it has found a unique meaning of its landscape within a broader background.

Suggested Citation

  • Shangyi Zhou & Shaobo Zhang, 2015. "Contextualism and Sustainability: A Community Renewal in Old City of Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:1:p:747-766:d:44572
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin Heintzelman & Jason Altieri, 2013. "Historic Preservation: Preserving Value?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 543-563, April.
    2. John Stanley & Janet Stanley & David Hensher, 2012. "Mobility, Social Capital and Sense of Community: What Value?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(16), pages 3595-3609, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chenhan Jiang & Yiqi Xiao & Hongyi Cao, 2020. "Co-Creating for Locality and Sustainability: Design-Driven Community Regeneration Strategy in Shanghai’s Old Residential Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Jun Jiang & Tongguang Zang & Jianglong Xing & Konomi Ikebe, 2023. "Spatial Distribution of Urban Heritage and Landscape Approach to Urban Contextual Continuity: The Case of Suzhou," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Xin Li & Shangyi Zhou, 2018. "The Trialectics of Spatiality: The Labeling of a Historical Area in Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-20, May.
    4. Li, Dezhi & Du, Bingzhen & Zhu, Jin, 2021. "Evaluating old community renewal based on emergy analysis: A case study of Nanjing," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 449(C).
    5. Jiayin Zhang & Mingliang Lin & Min Wang & Yinbin Lin, 2023. "Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Yuqi Zhang & Sungik Kang & Ja-Hoon Koo, 2019. "What Is the Critical Factor and Relationship of Urban Regeneration in a Historic District?: A Case of the Nanluoguxiang Area in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.

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