New functionalism: rejuvenating historical and cultural heritage through urban revival

Jijiao Zhang

doi:10.1186/s41257-019-0023-9

Abstract

The better protection and utilization of historical and cultural heritage sites, objects, and practices (especially intangible aspects of cultural heritage) based on anthropological research can work in the field of urban planning and design, an applied field with interdisciplinary cooperation, thus bringing new vitality to urban development. Additionally, the relationship between historical and cultural heritage and urban revival is not only binary opposition, but also coexistence and connection. Thus, this article does not highlight the dichotomy of tradition vs. modernity. After a critique of the inherited “view of cultural conservatism”, based on Malinowski’s classic and static “cultural functionalism”, Fei Xiaotong’s idea of “cultural development and utilization”, Li Peilin’s “continuous spectrum” theory and the “Wirth-Redfield” model, this paper puts forward a classic and dynamic theory of “new functionalism” that analyzes the relationship between historical and cultural heritage and urban revival through the new value of historical and cultural heritage in urban revival. The comparative cases focus on four domestic and foreign cities—— the City of York, England; Kyoto, Japan; Dali in Yunnan, China; and Haikou in Hainan, China—— and show that the protection and utilization of historical and cultural heritage is one of the core issues of urban revival. In this light, tangible historical and cultural heritage is the “body” and intangible heritage is the “soul” of urban areas. It is important to integrate the traditional “body” with the innovative “soul”. In urban revival, only when we protect and use sites of historical and cultural heritage well, and rejuvenate them for driving urban development, will the cities grow in a way that will be long-lived and healthy and along the path of sustainable development.

Highlights

Since the 1980s, cities all over China have been competing for development and quite a few historical and cultural heritage sites have been damaged or even lost, thereby accelerating the decline of ancient city districts
Consulting the development experience of the three above-mentioned ancient cities, we proposed that utilizing the cultural heritage be of great significance in the revival of Fucheng, with tangible historical and cultural heritage acting as the “body” and
We emphasize that the dichotomy of tradition and modernity cannot be used to analyze the relationship between historical and cultural heritage and urban revival, because such a relationship is not one of binary opposition and includes coexistence, connection and other multiple facets

Summary

Introduction

Since the 1980s, cities all over China have been competing for development and quite a few historical and cultural heritage sites have been damaged or even lost, thereby accelerating the decline of ancient city districts. Entering the twenty-first century, the available urban land has become increasingly rare, and city governments began to regard sites of historical and cultural heritage as a treasure to be further tapped and utilized. Such sites include the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou, Fujian; East and West Lane in Guilin, Guangxi; and Arcaded Streets in Haikou, Hainan. Given the complexity and diversity of cities as well as the need to develop local theories, I hope that all scholars, whether they are from the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, ethnology, folklore, or urban planning and design, should actively take part in the reconstruction project of historical and cultural streets, ancient urban districts, and old business streets in cities across China, to conduct interdisciplinary research and comprehensive analysis

Literature review

Results and discussion

Conclusion