Emerging Identity: Envisioning Eco-cultural Infrastructure in Post Industrial Shenyang, China

Abstract

De-industrialization is becoming a new challenge for many cities globally. Tiexi District, as one of the oldest and the most significant heavy-industrial areas in China, has experienced the deindustrialization process since 2000. Substantial factories and workplaces have relocated in rural areas, leaving a large amount of vacant land for redevelopment in the inner-city. Today, over a decade after regeneration, the district has become a diverse urban neighborhood with multiple functions. During this time, the demographics and cultural identities have also been shifting dramatically, calling for another series of renewal processes in the near future. Within this context, this thesis explores the central concept of the district’s emerging identity, and suggests planning and design strategies that approach a more sustainable and creative urban renewal process. Taking Tiexi District as a representative example, this thesis illustrates how an “identity-strategy-renewal” methodology works, and proposes design strategies to plan for future development of the district.