An Evaluation of Urban Renewal Based on Inclusive Development Theory: The Case of Wuhan, China

Abstract

After decades of development, China’s urban renewal is facing the problems of inequality and intolerance, neglecting vulnerable groups and triggering gentrification. These problems are rarely quantified and draw limited public concerns. To promote an inclusive urban development, we proposed a framework for the inclusive evaluation of urban renewal spaces, thus increasing the understanding of inclusive urban renewal. An evaluation method based on the theory of inclusive development was proposed, and it includes two steps. First, the evaluation index system of inclusive development at the community scale was created, including 24 indicators from five aspects: cognitive well-being, vulnerable groups, affordable public service facilities, economic agency, and environmental factors. Second, a combination of the CRITIC-TOPSIS method and k-means algorithm was used to grade and classify the inclusive development of the community. In this study, multisource data were used to measure the inclusiveness of communities in the core area of Wuhan’s inner city. The results show that the renewed communities are more inclusive than the unrenewed communities; however, even in the more inclusive and renewed communities, a lack of protection for vulnerable groups and a certain level of gentrification still exists.