Exploring the Key Factors Influencing Sustainable Urban Renewal from the Perspective of Multiple Stakeholders

Abstract

A successful urban renewal policy, process, and project implementation should advocate sustainable development from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. As different stakeholders have different interests and insights into the importance of the environment, housing, social wellbeing, and economic concerns, they often have different ideas concerning how to develop urban renewal strategies and implement projects. Although previous studies have focused on the opinions of governments and academics, fewer studies have considered the direct beneficiaries of urban renewal—the residents. This study examined the key factors that influence sustainable urban renewal from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, including local governments, residents, developers, and designers. Social network analysis (SNA) and the reliability interval method (RIM) were integrated to form a SNA-RIM analytical framework to analyze the importance of the influencing factors. The results showed that the adjustment of the regional industrial structure, employment opportunities, and environmental qualification improvement had the most significant influence on sustainable urban renewal from economic, social, and environmental perspectives, respectively. In addition, different types of stakeholders do not value sustainability indicators in the same way. Local governments place more emphasis on return on investment, employment opportunities, and environmental qualification improvement, whereas residents focus on per capita income growth rate, public service facilities, and convenience of municipal infrastructure. Developers are most interested in the land value growth rate, public service facilities, and effective land use space, whereas designers attach the greatest importance to the adjustment of regional industrial structure, public service facilities, and effective land use space. Therefore, this study can help urban planners and decision makers balance the interests, seek common benefits for different types of stakeholders, and improve sustainable and inclusive urban renewal.

Exploring the Evolution Mechanisms of Social Risks Associated with Urban Renewal from the Perspective of Stakeholders

“…The well-being of residents is closely interlinked with environmental factors, which primarily comprise the natural and cultural environments [30,31]. Within the natural environment, pollution arises from various sources in the project's environment, such as potential noise, water, dust, and radiation hazards, as well as the generation of construction waste [15]. Additionally, these projects can lead to disruptions in the existing road and transportation networks, resulting in traffic congestion [5].…”

“…The UR process involves various stakeholders and related activities, and the various risks arising from this endeavor can influence these stakeholders. The key stakeholders in UR are the public, government, and developers [15]. The public constitutes the most direct stakeholders, whereas the government assumes a pivotal role as the primary public entity and leader [16,17].…”

“…Throughout the UR process, the dynamics among these three major stakeholders impact social stability. Although UR brings forth substantial economic and societal benefits, it also gives rise to a range of social problems that directly influence public interests and rights [8,15]. These issues encompass land expropriation, relocation, and the transformation of living and ecological environments, leading certain stakeholders to experience objective or subjective repercussions from their interests being adversely impacted, prompting them to take action [2,18].…”

“…These issues encompass land expropriation, relocation, and the transformation of living and ecological environments, leading certain stakeholders to experience objective or subjective repercussions from their interests being adversely impacted, prompting them to take action [2,18]. Particularly noteworthy is the potential lack of public involvement in decision-making mechanisms during the renewal process, which can result in the genuine demands of the majority not being adequately reflected in the planning stages and their exclusion from active participation in the actual decisionmaking process [15,19]. These consequences may, in turn, foster or even exacerbate social alienation [20].…”

“…For example, Liu et al [20] employed inclusive development theory to elucidate the extent to which various social exclusion risks arising from UR impacted the original residents. Bai et al [15] proposed that the success of UR projects depends on the effective mediation of conflicts among stakeholders. Mai et al [11] investigated different stakeholders involved in UR projects and their interactions, offering management strategies for addressing SRs based on stakeholders' actions.…”