Old walls, modern city: research on urban memory of disappearing ancient Beijing city walls

Purpose – Ancient city walls are typical linear space elements of Beijing that represent the transformation of urban form over the past 800 years and have greatly influenced the memory of the entire city. However, recently, most of the walls have been torn down in the process of fast urbanization and old city renewal. The purpose of this paper is to focus on people’s cognition and evaluation of urban memory during this pull-down-and-preserve process. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 380 participants was investigated on a number of issues using questionnaires, including memory case reminders (stability, variability, temporality), emotional bonding with memory case (identity, dependence, authenticity), and socio-demographic variables (age, education, life experience, length of residence). The urban memory cognition model and attitude evaluation value model which were based on Likert scale were used to process the collected data. Findings – In the three aspects of memory case reminders, stability and temporary elements can be most cognized, whereas variability elements are more difficult due to their change over time. As for emotional bonding with memory case, people show a high level of identification with the walls; the walls’ memory being passed down could enhance people’s memory when mentioning Beijing. Further, higher education groups consider the walls’ authenticity to be most important and are unwilling to accept the outcome of walls-ruins parks; older adults have tolerant attitudes to the ruins parks. Originality/value – This study could not only contribute to the excavation of urban memory, but also strengthen citizens’ sense of identity and cohesiveness, thus shaping the spirit and culture of the city. Some findings could provide applicable guidelines for urban heritage protection and contribute a new perspective on the interrelationship between people and their physical surroundings.

Ecology Thinking Based on Old City Renovation

The old city renewal is an unavoidable topic in the city development. The updated residential planning is the important content. The problem in old city renewal can’t be solved only through the traditional urban planning theory. In this paper, we propose a new idea by means of the principle of environmental awareness from the point of view of sustainability, the urban ecological environment, construction methods and urban development. In light of the existing problems, we put forward the appropriate measures like mixed zoning, open residential networks, public facilities and the city sharing, landscape for the city service and the preservation of historic sites.

Municipal Engineering Planning and Design of Old City Renewal — Case Study of Hengdaohezi Town

Along with the increasing development of Chinese urbanization, there have been a lot of cities facing the problem of old city renewal. However, during the process of re-plan and reconstruction of the old city, there is a series of changing that refers to the changing of land-use function, adjustment of land layout and the improvement of development intensity, which would change the load and setting of the urban infrastructures. Therefore, how to renew the municipal facilities safely and effectively to guarantee the routine life of people has become a crucial problem in the old city renewal. This paper takes the case study of Hengdaohezi town emphasizing the discussion on re-planning the municipal facilities in the process of old city renewal. Here, the author suggested that municipal facility planning should be carried out under the premise of safety and reliability. In the process of analysis, it should give consideration on the change of urban function and character as well, in order to make the municipal facility planning more scientific and reasonable providing support for the old city renewal from the perspective of municipal engineering.