From regulation to empowerment：Inclusive renovation of existing buildings in Guangzhou City, China

After experiencing super-large-scale urbanization and modernization, many Chinese cities have shifted their development goals from the development of urban land to the improvement of the urban built environment. In the process of high-speed construction in recent decades, Chinese cities have collaged buildings of different eras, forms, and qualities. A large number of old buildings in the city are faced with the problems of poor functionality and safety, and not properly maintained. Meanwhile, the city's cultural heritage conservation issues related to old buildings continue to cause social concern. How to renovation and make better use of existing buildings in cities has presented an increasing challenge to urban governance of many Chinese cities. Drawing from the experiences of different types of building renovation projects (including Enning Road regeneration, historic building renovation, and residential elevator installation) in Guangzhou City, this study examines the current series of difficulties in the renovation of existing buildings in the city, and the relationship between these difficulties and the urban management. We argue that the current urban planning system is the main reason for restricting the inclusive transformation of existing buildings. It regulates urban redevelopment according to modernist technical standards, ignoring the historicity of existing buildings. The urban planning system that points to the development of new cities is to control urban development based on modernist technical standards, ignoring the historicity of the existing buildings in the city. After the reforms of the property rights system, many existing buildings in Chinese cities have formed a very complex ownership structure, but bureaucratic management limits the diversified demand for building renovation. Excessive government restrictions have not only led to the informal renovation of existing buildings, but also caused conflicts of rights. Chinese cities managers have increasingly recognized that governments need to improve the rules and empowerment to change the plight of existing buildings governance. We advocate inclusive renovation of existing buildings, and propose to replace the restrictions of regulatory agencies with adaptive public policies. Chinese cities managers need to change the management of technology-based standards, improve the urban planning process, giving owners and communities more rights to participate in the renovation of existing buildings, so as to remove the barriers against bottom-up initiatives, promote consultation and joint action among diverse groups in urban regeneration.