Protection and Renewal of Shanghai Lanes

Author: Fan Wenbing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Shanghai is the main birthplace of modern architecture in China. The Shanghai lane houses are a witness to the cultural exchange between Chinese and Western modern residential architecture, serving as an important carrier reflecting Shanghai's own blend of Eastern and Western cultures. The urban form composed of numerous lane houses and the city life they represent most typically reflect the strong characteristics of civic society in this city. As a result, lane houses, as an urban landscape and the secular life behind them, have become one of the most important urban features of Shanghai, and the memory of lane life has also become a special cultural gene for many Shanghai residents. For a long time, the renewal and transformation of lane houses have been fraught with conflicts. Especially today, how to handle the various complex contradictions in the unconventional rapid development, protect and promote Shanghai's historical and cultural heritage, and genuinely safeguard the interests of residents, have become an unavoidable and urgent task before us. We must always maintain a clear understanding of the following issue: finding an answer to practical problems may not be difficult, but the challenge lies in establishing a decision-making mechanism and a institutionalized decision-making process. How to achieve "legalization" and "proceduralization" in the process of lane house renewal may be the real problem we face at this stage.
Shanghai is the main birthplace of modern architecture in China. The Shanghai lane houses are a witness to the cultural exchange between Chinese and Western modern residential architecture, serving as an important carrier reflecting Shanghai's own blend of Eastern and Western cultures. The urban form composed of numerous lane houses and the city life they represent most typically reflect the strong characteristics of civic society in this city. As a result, lane houses, as an urban landscape and the secular life behind them, have become one of the most important urban features of Shanghai, and the memory of lane life has also become a special cultural gene for many Shanghai residents. For a long time, the renewal and transformation of lane houses have been fraught with conflicts. Especially today, how to handle the various complex contradictions in the unconventional rapid development, protect and promote Shanghai's historical and cultural heritage, and genuinely safeguard the interests of residents, have become an unavoidable and urgent task before us.
This book primarily adopts a research method that integrates multidisciplinary theories and combines closely with practice. It focuses on government policy-making related to lane house renewal, the balancing of economic interests, the protection of the interests of vulnerable groups of residents, and the preservation and promotion of urban characteristics. By applying multidisciplinary knowledge such as urban planning, urban sociology, architecture, economics, urban renewal theory, historical preservation theory, and urban design theory, and drawing on extensive domestic and international practical experiences, the book strives to find solutions through comprehensive research. At the same time, it also establishes a research framework to guide the renewal of general historical residential areas in old cities.
Lane houses are the gathering places of Shanghai residents, and lane life contains the special cultural memory of Shanghai people. This book is an academic work that comprehensively discusses the protection and renewal of Shanghai lane houses. It reviews and reflects on the origin and historical development of lane houses and, using multidisciplinary knowledge such as architecture, sociology, and economics, combined with domestic and international practical experiences, proposes two major goals and six guiding principles that should be achieved in the protection and renewal of lane houses to address the complex conflicts in their renewal and preserve and promote Shanghai's historical and cultural heritage.