Historic Preservation and Open Space

This thesis investigates the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park in Beijing, China. Under the backdrop of large-scale demolition of historic structures and the growing popularity of open space, the relics park, as a combination of both a historic site and a park, has been given more attention from governmental officials, planners, and even residents. Government and planners are facing the problem of balancing the relationship between historic preservation and urban open space, and residents are also involved because this is closely related to peopleUs residential environment and quality of life. Through my interviews and site visit, I find the relics park has significant positive externalities to the surroundings. In addition, there is a mutual reinforcement of the dual characteristics in the relics park. Its features as a historic site lead it to be built into a park, and its functions as a park strengthen its historic value. The Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park is not the only case of transformation from historic site into an open space. The implications of the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park are profound; the renovation of a relics park through the combination of historic preservation and open space has been acknowledged gradually and could be generalized further more. The Ming Dynasty City Wall Ruins Park realized the transformation from a pure historic site to an open space in the same way and got a good result. And I think to combine the characteristics of historic preservation and open space would be a good way to protect historic sites and provide residents with amenities at the same time.