Exploring the drivers of urban renewal through comparative modeling of multiple types in Shenzhen, China

A good understanding of urban renewal mechanisms is conducive to establishing an efficient spatial governance system. Although previous theories have explained the factors affecting urban renewal, such studies have failed to identify the differences among the drivers of multifunctional types of urban renewal, leading generalized urban renewal policies to fail. To extend the urban renewal theory from a typological perspective, this paper presents a study that identified the similarities and differences in the mechanisms of the multifunctional types of urban renewal projects implemented in Shenzhen, China. Multisource data, such as planning permits, were used to identify the urban renewal projects implemented in Shenzhen, China, between 2010 and 2020 as well as the prerenewal and postrenewal functions of these projects. The results indicate that 1) the regression model accuracy is 60.3 % for urban renewal as a whole. The classification of urban renewal projects improves the goodness of fit of the regression model by 0.16. 2) Land location, land prices, and policies were found to exert a greater influence on urban renewal than other factors, indicating that public demand plays a weaker role in driving urban renewal projects than the government or developers do. 3) The major types of urban renewal can be categorized into three typical driving modes: government-oriented urban renewal, which includes new industrial and public service projects; production-oriented urban renewal, which includes the conversion of industrial land into commercial or residential functions; and consumption-oriented urban renewal, including new residential projects implemented to accommodate the housing needs of an increasing population. Urban planners and policymakers can apply the results to classify urban renewal projects and adopt appropriate strategies for each type to achieve reasonable resource allocation and sustainable development.