- A cultural-ecological Approach in the Regeneration of the inner City: The case of Nanluoguxiang in Beijing    1078 kb by    CHUN, Zhang & BIN, Lu | zici0723@gmail.com    Short Outline This paper discusses the inner city regeneration though a cultural-ecological approach. It highlights multi-cultural mutualism in restructuring a harmonious landscape, and analyzes process and outcomes involved by taking Nanluoguxiang in Beijing as example. Abstract In the transition period of China, the loose of central control on cultural undertakings gives rise to the diversity of culture in inner city. The booming of multi ¨C culture triggers the local development both economical and ecologically, but the problem of multi-cultural harmony also emerges. Especially as the immigrants both form other provinces and foreign countries swarm in, the dilemma between protecting the traditional cultural of local residents and promoting the contemporary cultural exotically challenges the progress of regeneration. This paper discusses the ideas, process and outcomes of the cultural-ecological approach by taking the case example of Community Regeneration Planning Project -a case study of Nanluoguxiang in Beijing. The booming of culture is key to the regeneration, yet the harmony of multi-culture should be reached as a necessary condition. And though deep investigation, different cultural groups are distinguished, and their relationship, potential conflicts and possible contributions are evaluated. Then the planning practice progress change the inter-cultural relationship from competition to mutualism specifically. First of all, on the local level, the integrality and authority of traditional culture should be strictly conserved, which will strengthen the source of historical custom as a fertilized cultural base. Second, on the physical level, flexible and defensible planning guidance are applied to encourage the growth of various cultural forms. Instead of simply control on building height, volume and color, a range of tolerance and collaborative spirit are provided to meet the need of individuation and multiplication. Third, the favorable and continuous polices also play an important role in supporting the mutualism of multi-culture, such us threshold check, public goods provision and festival promoting. The cultural-ecological approach combines the advantages of different cultural groups to restructure a harmonious urban cultural landscape. Although facing the challenges like over commercialization or speculation, it is proven to be an effective way to promote inner city regeneration. When talking about urban growth in the suburb, the other side of coin ¨C promoting the cultural attraction and harmony of inner city should also be emphasized. Keywords Community Regeneration Plannin in Nanluoguxiang Beijing Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2008: Urban Growth without Sprawl   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper