Zhang Song

　　"There is no doubt that the mayor of Changsha has no right to determine which cultural relics are more valuable." Upon learning that the newly discovered ancient city wall in Changsha was demolished, Professor Zhang Song of Tongji University was very dissatisfied. He believes that "for Changsha, a historic and cultural city, this is an irreparable historic loss." Several years ago, Zhang Song raised the harm of protective destruction, pointing out that protective destruction may be the last form of destruction in contemporary times, and this form is exactly the problem commonly encountered by developing countries. Although developed countries also experienced historical destruction during their rapid economic growth stages, no country has eroded historical relics and destroyed historical environments on such a large scale as China does today.

　　Zhang Song believes that in cultural heritage protection, the government should bear more responsibility, but the current mechanism makes it difficult to truly constrain administrative departments to their responsibilities. The bottom-up public participation he advocates is of great significance for the protection and integration of historic districts, but in reality it has far from received the attention it deserves. In fact, the scale of protection and renovation of historic districts and the renovation of historic buildings does involve technical issues of multi-information integration, requiring decision-makers to show more patience and motivation.

　　Zhang Song

　　Born in Shashi, Hubei. Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at Tongji University, doctoral supervisor, and concurrently Chief Planner of Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute in 2012. Published works include "Introduction to Historic City Conservation", "For Whom Are We Protecting Cities", "Urban Landscape Planning—European and American Landscape Control Methods and Practices", etc.

　　Some cities can find experts to seriously explore the protection of historic districts, and perhaps there will be some innovative breakthroughs. Inaction or simple denial is a very regrettable matter.

　　Land finance is one of the root causes of the destruction of historic districts. Many governments are operating in violation of regulations. Land in built-up areas is continuously being marked out for auction, and historic districts are affected.

　　Government Guidance Is Most Critical

　　Zhang Song repeatedly emphasized the importance of government action in the interview. "Historic districts cannot be simply denied; ways must be found to adapt them to modern life. In principle, the government should encourage residents to carry out protection. But in China, local governments generally do not allow residents to spontaneously organize protection and renovation of historic districts, and the government itself is often unwilling to protect them because there is no economic benefit. As a result, the renovation of historic districts is at a stalemate, and the overall environmental conditions are deteriorating. These old urban areas have been without serious maintenance and management for decades, and many problems have accumulated over the years. The protection and utilization of historic buildings are undergoing polarization. Those in relatively good original condition receive more proper protection and become high-end consumption venues; those in serious disrepair are directly demolished. We hope that historic buildings can be generally improved, not excessively renovated and utilized."

　　The "Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage" adopted in Lausanne in the 1990s states that "in certain circumstances, it may be appropriate to entrust the responsibility for the protection and management of archaeological sites and monuments to local people." Zhang Song advocates a form of mutual aid groups to achieve bottom-up protection of historic districts. "Can residents living in historic districts spontaneously organize, whether by borrowing money or pooling funds, for example, with 200 households as a unit, under government guidance and support, to repair and protect buildings and districts? This form should have certain feasibility." Although this form itself has a popular foundation for realization, Zhang Song also admits, "If such civil organizations ask me to participate in protection activities, I would also consider it carefully, because relevant departments in China may not allow this form of civil association." Faced with existing mechanisms and national conditions, Zhang Song puts forward practical suggestions: "Some cities can find experts to seriously explore the protection of historic districts, and perhaps there will be some innovative breakthroughs. Inaction or simple denial is a very regrettable matter. The goals of historic district protection and community development are consistent. The government should bear more responsibility, establish protection mechanisms, and bring experts, government, and the public together for exchange. Understand the most basic livelihood demands, the ways and steps to improve living conditions, establish an evaluation system, confirm the scale and application scope of historic building renovation, etc. Sustainable development cannot be simply understood as developing and constructing new districts."

　　Some left-wing figures believe that replacing old housing with new housing so that all social classes can obtain housing through filtering down is a feasible approach. This idea is also reflected in the public management of some local governments, which regard historic districts as an obstacle to development and hope to speed up urban renewal by demolishing and building new structures and relocating residents outward layer by layer. Zhang Song does not advocate this. "Most residents in old urban areas belong to relatively poor classes. To take an extreme example, even if through renovation their living area is increased from 20 square meters to 120 square meters, if their source of income and economic conditions remain unchanged, they may not even be able to pay the property management fees in the future. So improving livelihood is a gradual process. On the surface, people can increase their living area by moving to the outskirts of the city, but the social network has been destroyed, and the surrounding living environment and social security of residents have completely changed, which may lead to new social problems. The original historic districts generally have good locations and good transportation conditions, but after relocation, transportation becomes a problem. For the real old neighborhoods and working-class residents, some problems are solved, but corresponding new problems may arise. In fact, we cannot solve all problems, especially social problems such as poverty, through old city renovation. Many real estate advertisements like to advocate that living changes life, which has commercial intent." In addition, the construction of affordable housing can be carried out in parallel with the improvement and renovation of historic districts. Unlike the radical reform opinions of left-wing figures, Zhang Song hopes to combine historic districts with government affordable housing policies. "In foreign countries, many cities convert some historic districts into social housing, equivalent to China's affordable housing. Subsidies can be obtained by purchasing such affordable housing to encourage residents to buy. Of course, corresponding procedures are also needed to evaluate the degree of change that affordable housing brings to historic buildings." The buildings in historic districts need the power of the people for protection. Converting them into affordable housing not only gives the buildings in historic districts the possibility of revitalization but also brings motivation for living and maintenance to the old urban areas. Combining historic district protection with housing policy also provides a path for historical heritage protection. How to better balance the relationship between economic benefits and protection, rather than taking economic benefits as the sole goal, and thus carry out historical protection—this is the top priority.

　　In contrast to the massive demolition movement in China, historic districts abroad are under dual criticism: the government uses old buildings as achievements and economists say they affect urban potential. Zhang Song said: "Perhaps some foreign cities have overly strict historic preservation regulations, and historic preservation has become rigid, affecting the development potential of some cities. Therefore, it is now necessary to insert some new buildings into historic areas to enhance vitality or improve the environment. But the domestic situation cannot completely refer to foreign countries; the stock of historic districts in China is already very small."