Research on Urban Renewal Strategies from the Perspective of Tactical Urbanism——A Case Study of Zhuangyuanfang District in Guangzhou

In the context of the "new normal," the grand narrative discourse often overlooks the everyday experiences and needs of individuals. Traditional top-down planning and design is difficult to solve many social problems faced at this stage. Chinese urban development has transitioned from incremental planning to inventory renewal. The renewal of existing urban spaces necessitates the introduction of innovative methods, with tactical urbanism emerging as a typical representative of small-scale updates. This paper adopts a perspective of tactical urbanism to explore its development history, theoretical foundations, and methodological characteristics. The paper investigates the low-cost, flexible, and adaptive nature of tactical urbanism, highlighting its advantages in complementary to the strategy, promoting community participation, and offering new methods in urban renewal. Furthermore, combining literature and case studies, various complex tactical urbanism projects worldwide are analyzed and summarized in terms of their approaches, scales, core elements, and values. Three representative international and domestic cases are selected for in-depth analysis, covering their development, implementation, policies, outcomes, and subsequent impacts. Drawing on the characteristics and potential benefits of tactical urbanism, in combination with the current status of urban renewal in Guangzhou, the paper discusses the general application prospects of Tactical urbanism in Guangzhou, proposing a tactical urbanism process involving planning, investigation, design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and management. Finally, taking the Zhuangyuanfang district in Guangzhou as a example, the research conducts empirical investigations, identifying issues such as insufficient public spaces, chaotic traffic, outdated industry model, and cultural loss. Introducing tactical urbanism, the research establishes renewal mechanism and approach relevant tactics suitable for the Zhuangyuanfang district. Moreover, specific tactical interventions and implementation methods at the street, node, and architecture levels in Zhuangyuanfang are explored. Overall, this study adopts the perspective of tactical urbanism as an innovative approach to urban renewal. Its high flexibility and adaptability make it an ideal complement to traditional planning methods. The research follows the logical progression of "theoretical research- case study - methodology -application" and employs tactical theory to envision the future of urban renewal in Guangzhou, providing some guidance for advancing the renewal of existing urban spaces in China.