Technical rationality or public value ?—— Rethinking China's urban renewal and urban design under the background of post-industrialization

Just as the development process the developed countries have experienced, during the globalization and rapid economic development, a large number of developing countries have gradually transited from agricultural society to industrial society and then to post-industrial society. However, while experiencing rapid and significant urbanization, many cities in developing countries, especially in those with huge population and better economy, have gradually encountered a large number of urban problems both in material and non-material aspects, some similar to what happened in developed countries, while showing their own unique and special characteristics. Under the influence of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of global development, such problems become further worsened and urgently need to be addresed and adjusted through urban renewal, so as to promote sustainable development. Recently, urban renewal plans have been put forward by the Chinese government as an important national policy, demonstrating the development pressure faced by cities in developing countries represented by China. Facilitated by the current trend of interdisciplinary research, urban science and modern urban planning technology have made great progress, with outstanding advantages achieved in dealing with such complex problems as multi-level and multi-dimensional urban space. These achievements promote the urban spatial development and renewal design scientifically and prospectively. However, with the rapid development of technological rationality, regional differences and spatial characteristics of cities are assimilated by the abstract and regular planning technology. For example, regional culture, social network and residents' preferences have not been fully explored. In particular, quite a few developing countries have failed to adopt and apply modern planning theories and technologies based on their own regional culture characteristics, politics-economy systems, ecological environments and demographic characteristics. As a result, not only the effectiveness of cutting-edge planning technology is not well delivered, but also the problems with urban development have not been properly solved, some even becoming intensified. Based on the review of the literature on urban renewal research and related urban technology application in developed countries’ cities, this study expounds the development process, institutional change and technological growth of urban renewal in China over the past 50 years or so, especially after 1978. Furthermore, through comparing and analyzing the differences between China and many developed countries in terms of the related problems, this study provides some solutions and implementation results in the process of urban renewal, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by China's urban renewal and urban design in the future. Its main conclusion is: in the post-industrial era, developing countries should establish their cultural self-confidence, while making full use of their own characteristics and advantages in the fields of politics-economy institutions, urban space and local cultures. It is quite important to deeply integrate the technological rationality with the public value, so that the technological rationality would not only serve the renewal of material space, but also boost the realization of regional public value, so as to formulate a more innovative, inclusive and regional urban space development strategy and break through the current development bottlenecks. This study is of great significance for China and many other developing countries.