Imagine the Old Town of Lijiang: Contextualising community participation for urban heritage management in China

A community participatory method, the 'Imagine' approach, has shown potential for adaptation to the Chinese context, particularly for managing UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Old Town of Lijiang. This study tested and contextualized the method, originally developed in Australia, through workshops with residents in three housing clusters within the site. The findings suggest that balancing top-down and bottom-up processes can enhance community engagement in heritage management, addressing challenges posed by rapid urbanization. Further research is recommended to refine this approach for broader application across China.

Li, J., Krishnamurthy, S., Pereira Roders, A., & van Wesemael, P. (2021). Imagine the Old Town of Lijiang: Contextualising community participation for urban heritage management in China. Habitat International, 108, 102321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102321