Traditional architectural forms in market oriented Chinese cities: Place for localities or symbol of culture?

China provides a unique social-economic and political context for urban conservation and regeneration within the current trend of modernisation and globalisation. This paper investigates 4 urban regeneration projects conducted in four most internationalised historical Chinese cities from 1989 to 2005, in order to understand how traditional architectural elements are manipulated in these projects. It also examines the roles local governments, developers, designers and local residents played in these projects in the intensification process of the market oriented economy over time. The paper argues that socio-cultural sustainable regeneration of historical urban environments must make places for local people, rather than preserve certain traditional forms as cultural symbols. Tradition must evolve by the collective and traditional forms must be widely used in architectural and urban design with community involvement, in order to achieve real cultural identity and social cohesion.

Research highlights
► Four urban regeneration projects carried out after China's 1978 economic reform are examined.
► Stake holders' attitudes of using traditional forms have changed in the market-oriented economy.
► Traditional forms should be rooted and evolve in their social context.
► Making places for localites are more important than maintaining cultural symbols.