The neglected part in historic districts: case studies on the non-heritage buildings in two historic blocks in Wuxi City, China

Abstract

Purpose – Maintaining a city’s identity and locality is an urgent problem in urban construction. Historical districts are very important parts of a city. However, non-heritage buildings, which make a significant contribution to the character and appearance of historical areas, are facing arbitrary demolition. They are more often ignored compared with buildings on the protection list. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper chooses two historic blocks in Wuxi, in which 256 non-heritage buildings were examined, the SPSS method and the AHP method are used to find renewal modes for the buildings that had not finished updates, and the two blocks are then used as practical cases to validate the matching results. Findings – In conclusion, on the one hand, according to different building categories, different renewal modes are found. On the other hand, this study finds differences in the renewal modes of different historic districts. Originality/value – The study shows a renewal method for non-heritage buildings, which require attention due to their dangerous situation, as these buildings in historical districts also contribute to a city’s uniqueness and locality. These results should be helpful in the planning and practices for urban historical districts.