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Assessment of the Catalytic Effects of Transforming Industrial Heritage:
Case Study of Sanbao Street Industrial Historic District in Changzhou
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Miao Sun a*, Zhenyu Li a and Lu Huang b

a College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

b East China Architectural Design & Research Institute of Arcplus Group, Shanghai, China
* Corresponding author: sascha@tongji.edu.cn


ABSTRACT  Transforming industrial heritage will have internal economic and cultural effects and will also catalyse changes in surrounding urban areas. Transforming industrial heritage is therefore an essential part of strategies to regenerate decayed industrial districts. The aim of this study was to attempt to answer three questions. Can all transformed industrial heritage give catalytic effects? How should the potential for catalytic effects be assessed? What factors prevent catalytic effects? The Sanbao Street Industrial Heritage Historic District in Changzhou, China, was used as an example, and three effects catalysed by transforming industrial heritage were assessed. These were (1) reuse of industrial and non-industrial buildings in and near the historic district, (2) new construction in and near the historic district, and (3) revitalisation of the whole historic district. Failure of the catalytic effect caused by a lack of a conversion mechanism, failure to communicate the value of industrial heritage, and limited cultural industrial capacity was assessed. Formal transformation strategies focused on the connotative value of industrial heritage are proposed, and are expected to support future research and planning practices.

KEYWORDS  industrial heritage, urban regeneration, catalytic effect, assessment, connotative value

Received October 8, 2018; accepted March 7, 2019.

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