Prof Li started his presentation with the context of urbanisation and urban development in China. As the growth speed is slowing down, the crisis of accumulation regime looms. At the central level, the Chinese state has rearranged ministries and initiated rural revitalization to emphasise environment preservation and a people-oriented regime. 

He situated the research on urban micro-redevelopment in the literature on growth machine. Based on the literature review, the growth initiative is always transforming. Considering China’s characteristics of urban development, he put forward a research framework comprised of the role of the state and the changing growth machine. 

Prof Li used two cases for illustrating micro-redevelopment in China. The first case is co-production, reflecting a changing state-society relationship in micro-redevelopment. Based on the Mudan community, CPC directs various social organisations to provide different types of services, such as book reading, caring for the elderly and so on. The second case is the Jinsong Model, a representative case of micro-redevelopment in Beijing. Differing from the first case, China Vision Group as an investor is involved. It provided massive funds to facilitate the project. 

Based on the case study, Prof Li concluded with implications for growth machine and China’s urban development. As China has changed from a high-speed machine towards a slow-speed growth machine, micro-redevelopment would gradually become more important. 

The open discussion with the audience focused on the sustainability of micro-redevelopment and the participation of residents.