Hosted by the Program on Chinese Cities （PCC）
09/25/2025 6:00 PM-6:10 PM EST
Presenter: Pengyu Wang
Postgraduate Student, majoring in Public Management, Beijing Normal University
Visiting scholar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Supervisor: Prof. Yan Song
Abstract:
Industrial transformation, as one of the core driving forces of urban regeneration, guides the reconstruction of spatial values and functions. Against the backdrop of cities entering an era of stock development, the transformation of science and technology–oriented industries provides new pathways for urban renewal. Since the 1980s, Beijing’s Zhongguancun has undergone iterative transitions from electronics trade to hardware manufacturing, and subsequently to the Internet and artificial intelligence, catalyzing a shift in urban renewal governance from government-led to multi-stakeholder co-governance. This process has given rise to the ‘innovation district’ model, a new form of urban regeneration better aligned with the development of science and technology industries. The Wudaokou AI Origin Community, a typical innovation district anchored by universities, exemplifies a distinctive model of multi-actor governance. This study adopts a case study approach, drawing on fieldwork data from the Wudaokou area of Zhongguancun, to examine how the transformation of science and technology industries influences the evolution of urban renewal governance models. It traces the developmental trajectory of governance in Wudaokou’s urban regeneration and conducts an in-depth analysis of governance mechanisms under the innovation district model, with the aim of proposing policy recommendations for optimizing governance in Wudaokou’s urban renewal.