Revitalization must balance community needs and heritage, scholar and planner say

[Photo: Renato Marques]

With urban planning intrinsically linked to population distribution and mobility, a scholar and an urban planner have called for the proposed protective renewal of the area around the Ruins of St. Paul’s to strike a balance between addressing residents’ needs and preserving the area’s historical fabric.

During yesterday’s TDM session on the government’s Third Five-Year plan, urban renewal and land use were in focus, with the plan identifying urban renewal as a key priority over the next five years through legal improvements and coordinated resource allocation. The plan also includes a push for protective renewal in the area around the Ruins of St. Paul’s, aiming to balance heritage conservation with urban development.

Urban planning is closely tied to population distribution and mobility across districts, Loi Hoi In, an associate professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Macao Polytechnic University, said during the radio program. However, he noted that the plan does not provide key data, such as the overall population size and dependency ratios.

Citing Guangzhou as an example – one of the mainland’s pilot cities for urban health checks – he said that by systematically establishing different indicators, the city had been able to identify shortcomings in community facilities and traffic management. “If our overall goals are not clear, local changes may only be piecemeal,” he reportedly said. “I believe we need an estimate of the total population.”

A listener also noted that the plan’s urban renewal efforts were concentrated in the northern district, with less attention given to the central area, and expressed hope that future implementation would be more balanced. Urban planner Chan Chiu I, another guest on the program, said the plan’s introduction of the “city health check” concept could help improve community environments by identifying gaps in facilities and traffic management through data-based indicators.

The guests emphasized that all government departments must take into account district-specific conditions – including population, commercial activity and education – when implementing policies to ensure resources are directed to areas where they are most needed.

Chan said: “In the process of urban renewal, we need to consider whether, at the community level, the grocery shops that residents regularly patronize will be pushed out, leaving only cafes and bubble tea shops, or whether traffic management and the quality of residents’ living environment will be affected.”

She stressed that the protective renewal and revitalization of the area around the Ruins of St. Paul’s, as outlined in the third five-year plan, must also take into account the daily lifestyles and needs of local residents.