Urban villages have played a substantial and paradoxical role in Shenzhen’s rapid urbanization, affecting larger spatial, political, economic, social and cultural concerns. Over the years, self-built urban villages became known as “urban tumors,” with demolition and redevelopment being the primary model for renewal. URBANUS began research on and intervention into urban villages in 2002. In 2006, URBANUS published the book Village/City City/Village which explored alternative regeneration strategies in addition to demolition and redevelopment. The curation of the Shenzhen Case Pavilion at the Urban Best Practice Area in the Expo 2010 Shanghai showcased Dafen Village, an urban village as an in-situ development paradigm. URBANUS began research on preserving the Hubei historical village in 2012 and co- initiated the “Hubei 120 City Public Plan” in 2016. That year, URBANUS also launched the research and intervention project “Nantou Old Town Preservation and Regeneration” which led to the curation of Cities, Grow in Difference, the 7th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (Shenzhen) in Nantou Old Town. Recently, URBANUS has led the “City/Village Project” to upgrade public spaces in several urban villages in Longgang District, Shenzhen, along with the continuous efforts in Nantou Old Town and Dafen Village.

At this pivotal moment in Chinese urbanization, the significance of urban villages has been recognized; they are now regarded as the “urban organs.” The renewal policy has also shifted to comprehensive remediation. Inclusive and diverse urban villages offer alternative paradigms for rethinking and resisting the unitary and homogeneous model of city-making. Urban Village Coexistence invites cross-disciplinary scholars and compiles the voices of different communities in order to present recent research on and practice in urban villages. It is our hope that the book will serve as an agent to promote a progressive understanding of urban concepts, exploring inclusive and diversified models of urban village regeneration for an urban future that enables coexistence and coevolution.

About Meng Yan

Meng Yan is Founding Partner and Lead Architect of URBANUS Architecture & Design Inc. He is a licensed architect in New York State and a member of the RIBA Chartered Architect. He has focused on architectural design, urban design and research in the context of contemporary Chinese cities over two decades. Many of MENG Yan’s built works have become new landmarks for the city and won prestigious awards, exhibited and published worldwide. Several works are in the permanent collection of MoMA in New York and M+ in Hong Kong. He was the chief curator for the Shenzhen Case Pavilion in the 2010 Shanghai Expo, one of the chief curators for the 2017 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (Shenzhen), and served as a visiting professor at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University in New York and University of Hong Kong.

His built works include China Merchants Group History Museum, Tulou Collective Housing, Preservation and Regeneration of Nantou Old Town, Kingway Brewery Renovation, OCT-LOFT Renovation, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal-B10,Dafen Art Museum, Luohu Art Museum, SHUM YIP UpperHills LOFT etc.

MENG Yan’s work has long focused on the key issues of China’s urban development, including social and cultural issues of rapid urbanization, high-density urban building typologies, Urban Village regeneration and preservation of historical area. He has led many urban design and research projects, such as series of studies on Shenzhen’s Urban Villages, including Hubei Old Village and Baishizhou 5 Villages Urban Regeneration Research, Nantou Old Town Preservation and Regeneration, Huaqiangbei Catic City Urban Design, as well as Preservation & Regeneration of Historic Qianmen East Hutong Area in Beijing, etc.