Shenzhen, as the first special economic zone, has experienced rapid urban transformation over the past few decades. In recent years, urban redevelopment often driven by market forces has taken place in historical areas and old villages. We have investigated the role of third-party actors, such as planners, architects, and civil society organizations, in preserving cultural heritage and facilitating more collaborative planning processes with the support of social media.

Collaborative design activity named “Seeking consensus on Hubei” (photo from the Hubei 120 Urban Public Program)

Intellectuals, planners, and architects, as third-party actors not directly benefiting from urban redevelopment projects, often exhibit a strong sense of social responsibility. They remain attentive to the limitations of planning and its social impacts, frequently initiating collaborative dialogues to reconsider planning decisions. Civil society organizations are formed around areas or projects of concern. For instance, Tumu Regenerate, a non-governmental organization founded by architects and other professionals from Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and other regions after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, aims to provide professional support to disaster-stricken, rural, or neglected communities. It also serves as a resource platform for advancing research in urban and rural construction design. Experimental art organizations such of Handshake 302 focus on social life of villages in the Shenzhen city. Baishizhou Group and Urban Villagers Agents focus on the socio-cultural dynamics as well as the challenges faced by marginalized communities within urban redevelopment. The independent architecture firm Urbanus advocates for sustainable architectural design and promotes redevelopment methods that protect social structures. The Hubei 120 Urban Public Program seeks to preserve Hubei Village, a 500-year-old settlement threatened by urban redevelopment.

Due to the lack of formal institutional channels for deliberation, third-party collaborative initiatives often rely on social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo. These organizations frequently establish their own WeChat public accounts to disseminate information and facilitate public debate. Many radical urban projects, such as the Hubei Village redevelopment and Baishizhou demolition, have sparked discussions on social media. Local communities and citizens have been able to express their voices. The participants, topics, and agendas in these discussions shift rapidly, and mainstream media further amplifies the exposure and depth of these discussions. Understanding the evolving mechanisms of conflict within public spheres is interesting and also a challenge, especially as online discussions are often closely tied to offline actions. These actions include art-based actions, exhibitions, multidisciplinary research projects, and cross-platform publications through journals, books, and websites. A key focus of our research is the extent to which these discussions and actions can influence policy and decision-making processes.