Sustainable Urban Regeneration Based on Industrial Heritage Conservation in Dalian, China

As an essential part of cultural heritage, industrial heritage witnesses the development of the city, embodies the spirit of the industrial era, and forms the spiritual and cultural foundation for the future development of the city. Currently, many countries are facing the problems of redeveloping industrial heritage, including excessive emphasis on economic benefits and the neglect of environmental and social impacts. In addition, many cities are unaware of the value of industrial heritage and lack proper identification and protection of industrial heritage, which results in the demolition of many valuable industrial sites. There are many successful urban regeneration projects in western countries, which set great examples for many Chinese cities. Dalian has a large number of industrial heritage sites and the proper redevelopment based on heritage conservation will surely increase the environmental, social and economic sustainability of urban regeneration practices. Taking industrial heritage conservation and regeneration in Dalian as the example, this paper starts with the significance of urban regeneration and industrial heritage protection, summarizes the situation of urban regeneration in Dalian, evaluates the industrial heritage redevelopment projects in Dalian, and explores the causes of the problems existing in urban regeneration of former industrial sites and proposes new strategies for urban regeneration projects based on industrial heritage conservation in China.