Page 68 - JCAU-6-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Practice of culturally relevant communities

Table 1. Information on the old neighborhoods in the Dongba area
No. Subdivision name Total population/ Floor Number of buildings/ Completion
household space (m ) community time (year)
2
1. Red Pine Garden Food Court Community 324 20820.8 6 1986
2. Surveyor’s Block 109 3117.56 2 1987
3. Credit Union Building Block 30 2448 1 1995
4. Teachers’ House Community 48 2972 1 1995
5. Gao Yang Shu Nan Li District 240 12052.5 5 1983
6. Shandian Brickworks Community 206 13100 4 1980
Total 957 54510.86 19

2.2.2. Current issues lack of a professional property management model in the
(a) Underneath the quality of the spatial environment unitary community, the underlying cause lies in the unclear
relationship between responsibility and rights resulting
We conducted two interviews to capture residents’ wishes from the lack of clear property rights and the absence of
and organized two opinion solicitation sessions in six an owner’ authority structure in the unitary community.
neighborhoods, with a total of 51 participants (11 from Red This ambiguity creates a reluctance among individuals to
Pine Garden Food Court Community, 10 from Gao Yang Shu take responsibility for the maintenance of the community.
Nan Li District, 11 from Shandian Brickworks Community,
five from Surveyor’s Block, six from Credit Union Building (ii) Lack of restraint in spontaneous construction of
Block, and eight from Teachers’ House Community). spaces by residents
Through field research and interviews with residents Spontaneous spaces possess both a rational generative logic
in these neighborhoods, we identified and diagnosed and a specific meaning in residents’ lives, serving as the
current problems in each neighborhood. Although each most direct reflection of their vision (Wang et al., 2018). The
neighborhood presents different problems, the general majority of residents in the unitary community are long-
direction for renewal and transformation is relatively similar. term workers who reside here, gathering spontaneously
Therefore, the team summarized four common problems for activities in the existing community space. Over time,
and combined them with specific individual needs to refine these community spaces have evolved into a fixed public
the neighborhoods based on this general direction (Table 2). place. In the Red Pine Garden area, residents have built a
(b) Insufficient endogenous dynamics of community shed for communal activities such as chatting and playing
governance chess during the day, repurposed at night for parking
(i) Unclear ownership of community governance electric cars. In addition, residents have planted greenery
to add vibrancy to the community space (Figure 4). These
At the most fundamental level of governance, the places are not organized from the top down but are purely
community functions as a “mini” urban unit. The repair individual initiatives, often located in hidden courtyards
of complicated infrastructure and the resolution of daily or certain neglected spaces; yet, they remain the most
problems within the community necessitate the allocation vibrant locations in the community. The communal nature
of responsibilities to various departments, forming a of diverse spaces brings vibrancy to the community, but
fine-grained community governance system. However, in it also brings problems of poor community appearance,
older neighborhoods, historical disputes and ambiguous clutter, and private divisions of ownership. Spontaneous
boundaries often result in community issues falling through spaces should not be outlawed but rather controlled and
governance loopholes. These issues are shuffled between restrained, preserving space to meet the needs of residents
departments, becoming a hidden source of obstructing while improving the environment and appearance.
collective community action and undermining collective
community identity. In the Red Pine Garden area, trees 2.2.3. Community cultural regeneration practice
and branches extend into residents’ windows and doors,
significantly disrupting their daily lives. However, due (a) Diversified participation: Finding memory resonance
to the absence of a specific department responsible for through culture and facilitating residents’ interaction to
create a highly autonomous community
this issue in the governance system, residents struggle to
voice their concerns, leading to the question of “who is With the restructuring of SOEs, the once vibrant scenes of life
responsible.” While it may seem like a consequence of the in the unitary communities have gradually fallen silent. The

Volume 6 Issue 2 (2024) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0923