Renewal Strategies of Guangfunan District from the Perspective of Tactical Urbanism

Against the broader backdrop of revitalization and renewal, the transformation of historical and cultural districts is undergoing a cognitive shift from the binary opposition between preservation and development to a more integrated approach. Traditional top-down planning and design methods face inherent limitations in balancing heritage conservation with dynamic revitalization. The challenges encountered in recent years during Guangzhou's revitalization practices highlight the urgency of adopting more refined, diversified, and culturally integrated design strategies. Emerging in recent years, Tactical Urbanism, as a bottom-up, small-scale renewal approach, offers new perspectives for addressing these challenges. This study takes the Guangfunan Historical and Cultural District in Guangzhou as a case to systematically explore the adaptive strategies and practical pathways of Tactical Urbanism in the renewal of historic districts. First, the paper outlines the theoretical framework, movement trajectory, and practical methodologies of Tactical Urbanism through literature review and case analysis. It extracts its epistemological and methodological breakthroughs beyond conventional normative approaches and reveals its mechanisms in driving long-term transformation, facilitating broader dissemination, and promoting pluralistic collaboration. By examining representative domestic and international cases, the study summarizes the core advantages of Tactical Urbanism in historic district renewal—namely light intervention, incrementalism, and innovation-distilling practical methodologies that inform the subsequent empirical research. Second, in the empirical section, focusing on the Guangfunan Historical and Cultural District, the study analyzes its complex conditions from three dimensions: physical space, social groups, and industrial development. It identifies existing tensions, such as spatial conflicts along the streets, gaps in cultural cognition, and stagnation in industrial upgrading. Based on these findings, the study applies Tactical Urbanism to derive renewal strategies and develop a tailored toolbox of tactical interventions. Finally, the study presents a design proposal for a selected key node as part of the solution. Overall, this research innovatively integrates Western Tactical Urbanism theory with local urban contexts, constructing an operational framework that balances the principles of historical preservation with contemporary functional needs. It is an ideal complement to traditional planning approaches and provides insight into resolving the longstanding tension between conservation and development in historic districts. The paper follows a "theory–case–methodology–application" logic, using tactical thinking to envision the future renewal of Guangzhou's historic districts while offering a reference for other urban regeneration practices in China.