The historical evolution and trend prospects of urban regeneration policies in China

Based on an analysis of 1106 central governmental policy texts 1949-2025), this paper identifies five stages in the evolution of urban regeneration policies in China: 1949-1978: urban environmental remediation; 1979-1993: urban housing compensation; 1994-2011: market-driven incremental expansion; 2012-2019: stock regeneration for high-quality development; and 2020-present: comprehensive regeneration actions. This paper systematically examines characteristics and evolutionary logic of each stage, using a four-dimensional framework: goal orientation, policy focus, policy carrier, and institutional support. This paper reveals five major trends: generalization (shift to a proactive and coordinated urban strategy), inclusiveness (from pursuing pure economic objectives to embracing social benefits and public value), refinement (from large-scale redevelopment to micro-level participatory planning), integration (combining various aims including enhancing urban competitiveness, industrial upgrades and heritage protection) and sustainability (more legally robust and systematical policy instruments). Current policies, however, face challenges of ambiguous government-market-society relations, imperfect legal frameworks, lack of interest coordination mechanisms and overemphasis on economic gains over socio-cultural values. To foster sustainable urban regeneration, this paper puts forward three key recommendations: strengthening national legal frameworks, optimizing multi-stakeholder collaboration, and meticulously balancing economic benefits with socio-cultural values. Besides, this paper concludes that the future path of urban regeneration will be defined by a synergy of micro-renewal, smart, and low-carbon strategies, underpinned by the people-centered philosophy of "co-creation, co-governance, and co-sharing".