Page 64 - JCAU-6-2

Journal of Chinese

Architecture and Urbanism

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
A practice of unitary community renewal led

by cultural regeneration: The case of Dongba
Township in Beijing

Shurui Yin*, Jing Li, and Mingshuai Pan

College of Architecture and Art, North China University of Technology, Beijing, China

Abstract

For communities, culture is not only a natural product of long-standing daily life
but also a binding force that interconnects the interpersonal relationships among
the community’s inhabitants. This is particularly evident in centralized unitary
communities where work and life are seamlessly integrated. However, with economic
development and the transformation of the social structure, the unitary community
model no longer aligns with the evolving needs of social development. As a result, it
must undergo a transformation into a modern community that meets multiple needs.
During the regeneration process, there has been a notable focus on the creation of
space within the community, often at the expense of its cultural values. In this context,
we have chosen six unitary communities in Beijing’s Dongba Township as a sample.

*Corresponding author: Drawing from cultural regeneration theory, our approach revolves around recreating
Yin Shurui space with community culture as its core. This approach involves not only integrating
(825549635@qq.com) culture into the physical space but also reshaping the interpersonal network of the
Citation: Yin, S., Li, J. & Pan, M. community through culture. Finally, we propose four regeneration models, namely,
(2024). A practice of unitary “Spatial Regeneration – Recreating the Spirit of Place,” “Community Renewal – Diverse
community renewal led by cultural Expressions of Community Culture,” “Vitality Regeneration – Enhancing the Cultural
regeneration: The case of Dongba
Township in Beijing. Journal of Supply,” and “Social Regeneration – Reshaping the Social Network.” These models aim
Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, to contribute to the rejuvenation of the community and provide references for the
6(2), 0923. regeneration of old urban neighborhoods.
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0923
Received: May 8, 2023
Keywords: Regeneration of old neighborhoods; Unitary communities; Community
Accepted: November 21, 2023
culture; Cultural regeneration
Published Online: March 25, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the 1. Introduction
Creative Commons Attribution-
Non-Commercial 4.0 International The unitary community is a unique and typical type of community in China,
(CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all distinguished by its centralization and closed nature, particularly in comparison with
non-commercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, other communities (Song, 2010). With the ongoing economic transition and social
provided the original work is transformation, the unitary community has lost its original living environment, and its
properly cited. traditional form of organization has fallen apart. However, despite the disintegration of
Publisher’s Note: AccScience its system, the community itself has not abruptly disappeared. Instead, it endures as a
Publishing remains neutral with basic unit of social life within the city, undergoing inner changes (Mao et al., 2019). In
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional the face of modern community development, the unitary community finds itself unable
affiliations. to meet the evolving needs of its inhabitants. It is now characterized by a “double decay”

Volume 6 Issue 2 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0923