New Life for Industrial Facilities within the Cities and Suburbs—Historic Preservation in Urban Context

Abstract

In recent decades, urbanization and industrial restructuring have accelerated, making industrial heritage regeneration a crucial issue in urban renewal and sustainable development. Although, renewing urban industrial heritage brings many benefits, while facing challenges, there is still a lack of empirical research and in-depth analysis to address this intersection. This study explores the current state of industrial preservation practice, its transformation in urban landscapes and focuses on the potential of industrial heritage urbanism in India. The study uses a mixed method approach, including the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. The most valuable findings were obtained by analyzing documentation, spatial and field data. The descriptive analytical methods were used to identify the main vectors in the renewal plans for the old industrial sites, and relate them to previous studies in de-industrialized cities. The findings indicate that incorporating buildings into the reuse of Indian industrial heritage effectively addresses economic, social and environmental sustainability issues. The study highlights the key factors influencing the success of the urban renewal of built projects such as stakeholder cooperation, design flexibility, community involvement, economic and environmental synergy in the regeneration of industrial heritage. The paper contributes to the growing knowledge of urban renewal and sustainable development.