Page 69 - JCAU-6-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Practice of culturally relevant communities

Table 2. The top four issues identified regarding the community environment. Source: Photos by the authors
No. Current issues Detailed questions Photo examples
1. Insufficient The existing parking spaces in the old district cannot meet the
motor vehicle demand of the residents for parking, and the spontaneous parking
parking spaces has greatly crowded the few free spaces left in the district.

2. Road system Most of the roads in the neighborhood are narrow in space, and the
disorders road surface is in a serious state of disrepair. Non-motorized parking
sheds are under-utilized, and lighting and security systems are
missing. Some roads are not reserved for fire escapes, and there are
problems with road drainage wells, resulting in water on the roads.

3. Lack of The existing space is under-utilized due to the accumulation of
recreational debris and randomly parked vehicles by residents, which seriously
spaces occupy the community space. Most of the vacant plots are
hard-paved and cannot be used for recreational activities. There
is a lack of shared spaces for introducing the history and culture
of the area and for sharing emotional memories, which makes the
residents’ lives lack communication and unitized and closed.
4. Inadequate Most of the districts have a single landscape vegetation, monotonous
greenery and landscape colors, and no obvious seasonal changes. The landscape
landscaping vignette is too small, and residents lack interaction. There is no green
space in some of the plots and there is a phenomenon of residents
spontaneously circling vegetable plots and planting plants, and the
landscape appearance is not uniform.

Hands Pulling Small Hands,” collection of old objects, and
other initiatives, served as implicit means to rediscover the
dusty community memories accumulated over many years.
Diverse public participation reveals that community
residents who lived through the era of SOEs feel nostalgic
for the heydays when they worked, produced, lived, and
enjoyed life together. They take pride in the work they
Figure 4. Spontaneous behavior and utilization of space among accomplished in their youth, reminiscing about the past
community residents. Source: Photos by the authors and acknowledging the impact of the changing times on
them. Through this emotional resonance, a community
proud sense of identity and pride that once filled the hearts of culture inventory (Table 3) was compiled to distill the
the local people is diminishing. However, this does not imply community spirit, unite residents’ consciousness, and
that the collective memory of the community has completely provide a cultural basis for spatial creation.
disappeared; instead, it remains a historical product lingering At the same time, long-term active participation in
in the hearts of the residents. To evoke emotions in the community public activities, coupled with the emotional
community, we focused on residents and led the public to resonance of related cultural memories, can assist in the
participate through various channels. We uncovered unique gradual formation of a friendly living atmosphere among
historical memories through numerous interviews. At the residents. Engaging in these activities not only fosters a
the same time, to motivate residents to participate in the sense of community but also boosts residents’ enthusiasm
transformation of the community, the team actively planned for community management. Building on this foundation,
activities, guiding residents in the construction process. the community management department establishes an
These activities, including the mural painting titled “Big effective self-governance mechanism, allowing residents to

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