Innovative Public Participation Practices for Sustainable Urban Regeneration

This book analyzes the adoption of stakeholders’ engagement in various fields and scales while providing the readers with an international outlook of the topic. In the contemporary processes of urban development, regeneration is becoming a relevant way to limit the occupation of new land and to enhance the existing spatial, social, and ecological dimensions of specific parts of the city. It generally entails the engagement of different groups of stakeholders and users at various levels—e.g., institutional and private—who carry on their own agendas while conveying a wide range of interests and values to safeguard. At the same time, despite indications of a significant increase in its implementation under various forms and in multiple contexts in the last twenty years, participatory mechanisms have not been without challenges and barriers due to several factors, including facilitators’ poor negotiation and communication practices, and consequently misinterpretation of the values at stake made by the parties involved, or obstructionism and gridlocks carried on by the different stakeholders. The narrative of the collection is structured in four sections The contributions elaborate on innovative participatory patterns, how they are/might be entangled with the different stages of regeneration projects, in what measure they have contributed to the United Nations sustainability goals, and the potential matters emerging during the negotiation phases. In detail, the four sections are: 

  1.     Public space regeneration

  2.     Ecological regeneration

  3.     Built heritage regeneration

  4.     Informal settlements regeneration. 

Finally, this book is a significant asset to urban policy makers, planners, practitioners, and researchers in the architecture and urban studies domain who aim at deepening public participation practices knowledge by comparing different experiences.

Eugenio Mangi, is Assistant Professor in Architecture in the Department of Architecture and Built environment at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and he has been adjunct professor at the Master Program of the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University. Prior to joining UNNC, Eugenio has developed, first with international practices, and then with his own firm, a large number of projects ranging from interior to urban design and heritage renovation in China and Europe. His research interests focus on sustainable urban transformation process in China, local community engagement and participation, urban morphology, and heritage re-use.  

Weixuan Chen is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), specialising in urban regeneration and transition with an emphasis on public participation. He has obtained PhD in Built Environment from the University of Nottingham. Prior to this, he completed his MSc in Planning and Development from Queen’s University Belfast and a BA in Urban and Rural Planning from South China Agricultural University. He stands out for his extensive networking and collaborations with esteemed scholars across various institutions. 

Tim Heath is professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Nottingham. He is a qualified architect, town planner, and urban design practitioner having worked extensively in the UK and China where he has undertaken consultancy and projects related to architecture, urban design, and building and urban environmental performance assessments. He is the Course Director of the March Sustainable Urban Design and the Director of Postgraduate Programmes. He has previously been the Director of the Institute of Architecture, Head of the School of the Built Environment and subsequently head of the Department of Architecture & Built Environment. He has also been the Associate Dean for Internationalisation and External Relations in the Faculty of Engineering and  Acting Vice Provost for Research & Knowledge Exchange at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). He has also acted as an external examiner in many prestigious universities around the World for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well as being a PhD examiner. He has chaired many academic and professional accreditation and validation panels in the UK, Malaysia, China, and for the UAE's Commission for Academic Accreditation. He is also the author of over 200 academic papers and many books including: Public Places Urban Spaces (2010); Revitalising Historic Urban Quarters (2013); and Heritage-Led Urban Regeneration in China (2017).  

Ali Cheshmehzangi is the World’s top 2% field leader for two consecutive years, recognised by Stanford University. At Qingdao City University (QCU), he is the Head and Founding Director of the Center of Innovation for Education and Research (CIER), anda Professor in Architecture and Urban Planning. In his senior management role, he leads the University’s international communications and global partnership. Ali has five academic degrees and more than 17.5 years of academic and practice experience Previously, he worked in China, Japan, and the UK. He was a Full Professor in Architecture and Urban Design, Head of the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Founding Director of the Urban Innovation Lab, Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy Technologies, and Interim Director of the Digital Design Lab. Ali has held several management and leadership roles for the past 10 years. He is active in research and is globally known for his extensive work on ‘urban sustainability’ and ‘city transitions’. So far, Ali has published over 400 journal papers, articles, conference papers, book chapters, and reports. To date, he has 23 other academic books and more than 5,050 citations. Three of his books have received several national, provincial, and municipal awards. Based on China’s academic index reports for 2023, Ali is recognised as the number 8 researcher in Urban Planning and number 13 in Architecture. Ali is also the Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s Urban Sustainability (US) book series.