Urban Design Strategies for Slow Traffic Concept in the Context of Urban Renewal --Take Guangzhou Racecourse plot as an Example

As the pace of urbanization in China accelerates, urban design strategies are becoming increasingly crucial in meeting the growing demands for high-quality slow traffic systems. In the era of stock development, urban renewal has gradually become a key driving force for urban development. In recent years, Guangzhou has been actively implementing urban renewal actions with high standards, high efficiency, and high quality, striving to create a new engine for high-quality development. The concept of slow traffic, as one of the main themes of modern urban life, has gained increasing attention. People are eager to build slow traffic systems that integrate urban ecological landscape corridors, fitness, walking, leisure, and other functions. Therefore, researching urban design strategies based on the slow traffic concept under the context of urban renewal holds significant practical and theoretical value. As the scale of new construction land gradually decreases, the integration of urban renewal and slow traffic has become an important pathway to promote the development of urbanization in China. Slow traffic is an important component of the urban transport system, with walking and cycling as the mainstay. The status of slow traffic is heavily influenced by the process of motorisation, with walking being the only form of travel when motorisation was not widespread, car traffic gradually replacing slow traffic as the dominant form of transport during the rise of motorisation, and slow traffic regaining importance in the post-motorisation period, becoming the favoured mode of travel in conjunction with public transport. The Racecourse plot is located in the CBD of Guangzhou's Zhujiang New Town, an area with the strongest demand for slow traffic. The high intensity of land development and the high density of people in the area directly demand a higher level of design for the slow traffic system, from scale to quality. As the largest vacant plot of land in Guangzhou's Zhujiang New Town, the urban design of the Racecourse plot is of great significance in enhancing the quality of Guangzhou's urban renewal and revitalising the urban economy of the Racecourse plot. This thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the background, purpose, and significance of the study, defines the research methodology and approach. Chapter 2 provides an overview of theories related to urban renewal and slow traffic, emphasizing their relationship. Chapter 3 conducts an empirical study on the Racecourse plot, examining its current traffic situation, urban environment, slow traffic conditions, and related issues. Chapter 4 investigates targeted case studies in China and Western countries to address the problems identified. Chapter 5 summarizes urban design strategies for slow traffic, incorporating insights from previous case studies, and explores their applicability to the Racecourse plot. Chapter 6 presents the implementation of design strategies and proposes a comprehensive urban design scheme for the Racecourse plot. Finally, Chapter 7 reviews the research results, discusses limitations, and suggests future research directions. The thesis's key findings include an assessment of the current state and problems of slow traffic around the Racecourse plot and the proposal of an urban design strategy based on the concept of slow traffic for urban renewal, applied specifically to the Racecourse plot.