Achieve a balance between publicness and commercialisation : Space for public street life in South Luogu Lane Block, Beijing, China

Sammanfattning: China is now seeking for more sustainable and healthy urban development and pays much attention to better quality of urban life in the process of new-type urbanization. Beijing, as the capital and economic centre in China, plays a leading role in practices for vital and diverse urban life in the existing urban space, especially Hutong redevelopment. A lot of problems and challenges emerge in this process, such as over commercialization of public space, gentrification, and exclusion of original inhabitants. Based on a combination of western public life study and Chinese practises, this thesis tries to figure out the problems and spatial role of Hutong in the process of regenerating thriving public street life in South Luogu Lane Block in Beijing. To find proper solutions for these problems, the thesis looks into Gehl’s public life theory, Hillier’s space syntax and practices from Project for Public Spaces. With the placemaking strategy, the thesis aims to find a way to achieve a balance between publicness and commercialization in Hutong redevelopment and create good public street space for commercial activities and everyday life in South Luogu Lane Block.