Revitalization Approaches

Yingge is a small town with development challenges facing many rural and small-town communities, it boasts a loyal, committed population of citizens who prize Yingge’s unique ceramic character and history, and wanted to see that character expressed in its public buildings and spaces. We focused on helping Yingge to attract more tourism, without losing its focus on the quality of public life for its own residents.

We asked ourselves what an economy would look like if it prioritized boosting community wealth, rebuilding community life, upholding social justice, and harmonizing with the environment over the pursuit of pure profit.

Our conclusion was to think small: Smaller economic activity and alternative business form that cycle profits back to the community. Instead of launching a typical for-profit development venture, the following business forms can enhance community involvement and defray risks:

1. Cooperatives

Co-op businesses draw their membership directly from the community, providing a loyal customer base.

We proposed combining the local resident’s properties with tourism, this allowed Yingge’s moderate resources to be put to dual-use, and ensures that visitors are welcomed to a place that bustles with local activity and gives an authentic taste of the town’s character. It also makes a statement about how Yingge views its development: namely, that it welcomes tourists and makes residents at home in equal measure.

2. Community Land Trusts

Land trusts ensure that land values remain affordable and can be used to ensure that historically important properties are reutilized by the community instead of being knocked down.

Our second idea was to build a new structure that has the appearance of a historical artifact. The proposed sites had once been home to ancient ceramic kilns, we felt we could pay tribute to the town’s history and evoke a feeling of an earlier time by creating facilities related to Yingge’s ceramic industry. The modern amenities are needed to support the smooth functioning of the town’s historic preservation and tourism services.

3. Commons

Common areas give space for interaction, festivals, fairs, and public activities. They can beautify the community and raise property values in the surrounding area.

Instead of reconstructing the whole area, we designed the exiting streets and open spaces to include walking paths with ceramic tiles, various gazebos, and infrastructure for vendors at community festivals.

Staged Development Plan

This particular part of downtown Yingge consists of historical heritages and local residents, it is our goal to boost the tourism by reorganizing some parts of the roadways and infrastructure to attract more people to visit this area and to bring more life to this place.

After numerous discussions, we decided to come up with a plan to improve the conditions of this area with the least aggressive approach, therefore we concluded that a staged development plan would be the best way to achieve our goal to revitalize this town.