Taoyangli Historical and Cultural Tourism Area in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province Photo: IC PHOTO

Urban renewal is a vital pathway for advancing urban development, improving residents’ quality of life, and enhancing a city’s overall competitiveness. In recent years, many Chinese cities have been actively exploring how to deeply integrate public art into the renewal process. In practice, public art—through open, participatory, and cross-domain expression—has been woven into every stage of urban renewal, from planning and design to construction, operation, and cultural preservation. At the same time, contemporary public art increasingly emphasizes public participation, encouraging people not only to observe but also to experience and even co-create. The key to empowering high-quality urban renewal through public art lies in forming a positive feedback loop among spatial reconstruction, community activation, and cultural continuity.

Spatial reconstruction: Where renewal takes place

Spatial reconstruction focuses on the multidimensional transformation of physical spaces and marks the first step in integrating public art into urban renewal. It is also a crucial means of endowing urban areas with new value. As a medium, public art helps transform abandoned industrial zones, old neighborhoods, and marginal spaces into new sites that accommodate production, living, social interaction, or ecological restoration. Such transformations stress the organic combination of artistic expression with sustainable principles. For example, incorporating diverse elements—such as creative studios, exhibition spaces, and green leisure areas—can meet residents’ diverse needs. Environmentally friendly solutions—such as low-carbon materials, permeable paving, rain gardens, and shading systems—enhance both environmental sustainability and aesthetic experience.

One notable example is the Jiaozuo Ceramic Industrial Cultural and Creative Park in Henan Province, built on the site of a disused ceramic factory. It preserves the original kilns, production lines, and architectural framework, while introducing master workshops, a ceramic museum, experiential learning zones, and a commercial canteen.

Community activation: For whom renewal serves

Community activation depends on residents’ active participation and collaborative governance in renewal projects. Its goal is to foster mutual support networks and a shared sense of belonging through co-creation, deliberation, co-management, and shared benefits. Deliberation on community issues encourages cooperation among residents, artists, and community workers in planning, design, construction, and maintenance, building mutual trust and a shared identity.

One example is a small garden on Dongchang Road in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai’s Pudong District, transformed from an idle plot after the demolition of unauthorized buildings. At the site, the Lujiazui community, together with a paint manufacturing enterprise, jointly launched the “Lujiazui Coloring for Love + Wall Painting Project,” inviting artists, local residents, and corporate volunteers to create murals on themes such as child welfare and animal protection while beautifying the neighborhood.

Cultural continuity: Why undertake renewal

Cultural continuity seeks to preserve a city’s unique identity and nurture its distinctive character amid globalization through in-depth exploration and creative transformation of local cultural resources, strengthening residents’ cultural confidence and sense of belonging. Local cultural repertoires can be established by systematically documenting urban architectural forms, craft techniques, daily customs, and regional folklore through oral histories, map-making, collecting antiques, and archival research. From this, representative symbols can be extracted and adapted into urban facilities, signage systems, outdoor sculptures, and other public art through artistic design and with input from local residents. This not only preserves urban heritage but also connects it to modern life.

Integrating traditional culture into festivals, exhibitions, performances, and community education enhances its visibility, public participation, and dissemination. For instance, Taoyangli Historical and Cultural Tourism Area in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, built on the site of an imperial kiln factory, connects the elements of “imperial kilns–folk kilns–contemporary life” by incorporating exhibitions, guided tours, and public art festivals. It creates a “walkable historical narrative path” and a “readable urban memory,” providing multi-dimensional impetus for urban cultural development in Jingdezhen.

The catalytic and cohesive effects of public art enable deep integration of urban physical space, social relations, and cultural expression. In this way, urban renewal can transcend mere functional optimization and evolve into a higher form that blends humanistic care with sustainable development.

Liang Tingting is an associate professor from the School of Architecture and Artistic Design at Henan Polytechnic University.