Zhounan is a PhD Candidate of The University of Edinburgh. Before pursuing his research, he worked at the UNESCO and Suzhou Historical City Group for urban revitalization research.  

Heritage is increasingly overlooked, demolished, and predominantly governed in contemporary cities through top-down policy. How will the future heritage city be sustainably integrated into modern urban landscapes while preserving its cultural significance? The purpose of this research study is to examine the process of heritage-led placemaking concerning the tangible and intangible aspects of people’s everyday life and conservation in Suzhou’s historical districts from a community bottom-up perspective.  

With the intensification of the urbanization process in Suzhou, classical gardens and historical heritages are disappearing rapidly from the public’s daily lives. Although there have been some practices in recent years, the government still lacks theoretical guidance to address these issues. Few people realize the loss of tangible historical and intangible local cultural heritage contexts, including the collective memories of communities, streets, districts, and the city. This research also aims to examine the involvement and response of local communities related to classic gardens. Specifically, it will focus on the heritage-led placemaking of classic gardens and their related communities, exploring how local cultural identity and placemaking design are embedded in the everyday lives of local communities and how being part of a heritage site affects them.  

During these years, Zhounan joined the Suzhou Historical City Group as a research observer for approximately six months to conduct community participatory research. He employed the community-based participatory method, focusing on areas closely associated with the classic gardens in Suzhou. It will monitor the activities of people within these historical communities in the ancient city. The mixed method includes visual recordings, interviews and Discourse gaming “Gaming Suzhou” to participate in the community, observing and recording daily lives in the city. The potential influence of the research will affect the local communities and classic gardens, eliciting either positive or negative responses regarding their sense of belonging in Suzhou city.