Three-levels of a Co-living community

By implementing a three-level urban renewal strategy of shared neighborhood, shared courtyard, and shared building, the scattered and limited spaces in the Fayuan Temple area are organized.A top-down communal living system is established to solve the difficulties of residents' relocation, outdated infrastructure, and the protection and utilization of historical buildings. 

Shared Neighborhood

We analyzed the activity paths of different groups of people in the Fayuansi neighborhoods. The clear functional division of different areas leads to lack of intersection among various groups, which invisibly forms social barriers and is not conducive to long-term development of the city.

In the shared neighborhood, the entire block is taken as a shared space and considered as a whole, with a management center as the core to lead the co-living system. By dispersing the public functions throughout the block, the daily life of the local residents in the block has been transformed into a distinctive experiential tourism product. Overlapping activities are happening in composite physical spaces, which generates continuous energy for the neighborhood.

Shared Courtyard

The current living condition inside the courtyards is barely acceptable. Illegal construction such as kitchens and bathrooms has become a common phenomenon and the importance of public spaces are severely downgraded. There is hardly any public spaces left other than basic transportation space. 

Most of the young generations have moved out. Among the remaining residents , elderly and young children are the majority as well as some short-term tenants. The continuous reduction of vitality among the neiborhood has become an attention-grabbing problem.

While improving the overall courtyard environment, priority is given to ensuring the basic living needs of residents. This project adopts a four-step (evaluation, repair, demolition, and addition) measure of courtyard renovation. As the number of vacated households increases, existing illegal buildings will be demolished and public service facilities such as shared kitchens and shared laundry rooms will be added. These facilities will be integrated with internal courtyards and public green spaces to form a pubic core for the neighborhood.

Shared House

The vacant houses in the Fayuan Temple district are all made up with "rooms" with various ownerships. Using "room" as a basic unit for renovation is an effective way to reduce the risk of conflicts regarding property ownerships, and also flexible units can better adapt to the living needs of different types of people. By analyzing the dimensions of the courtyards, a 10-12 square-meter room unit was determined as a standard renewal module. The combination of dual and multiple units enables the possibilities for various functions such as long-term apartment, youth hostel, and Café etc.

During the 2019 Beijing International Design Week, we invited the local citizens from the nearby neighborhoods to participate in the workshop of "urban additions and subtractions" in order to collect public opinions and expectations for the renovation of Fayuan Temple district.

The followings are the conclusions that we drawn from the interviews and questionnaires collected from the workshop.

• For the multiple choice question of “What do you want to add to the district?” , pocket parks were selected the most by 19.78% of the participants.
• Many of the citizens complained that the space within Hutong (the Alley) was cramped and lack of greenery.
• The inhabitants of Hutong complained that the public restrooms and markets were relatively far, it can hardly meet the daily needs.
• Many of the inhabitants expected more communication and social space within the neighborhood.
• A majority of the inhabitants deemed that the amusement facilities for children and fitness equipment for the public were not sufficient.

The visitors of Hutong claimed that the hotels and recreational facilities were not sufficient to support the basic tourism needs.

Implementation and Monitoring is the phase where the Adaptive Pathway Plan is put into action. This involves executing the identified strategies and measures while continuously tracking their effectiveness. Key components include:

1. Action Execution: Initiating the planned adaptation measures across relevant sectors.
2. Monitoring Indicators: Regularly assessing predefined indicators to gauge progress and the impacts of implemented actions.
3. Feedback Mechanisms: Establishing systems for stakeholder input and adaptive learning to inform future adjustments.
4. Iterative Refinement: Adjusting the plan based on monitoring results and evolving conditions to enhance resilience and adaptability over time.

Environmental restoration initiatives need to report to their donors and other stakeholders the impact of their investments. The TREEO Impact Dashboard is a platform where the results from implementer’s projects are showcased, thereby providing evidence from their planting and monitoring efforts which they can use for further reporting and sharing with their stakeholders. The Impact Dashboard, with single sign-on capabilities, displays the data from tree monitoring, including sequestered CO2, biodiversity monitoring, and data from the socioeconomic surveys if performed. This fosters easy reporting as well as provides interactive and clean visualisation for the implementer’s stakeholders (donors, sponsors, government agencies, and companies). Impact reporting data comes from the TREEO Cloud and can be exported and published based on each project’s needs.

As a key measure to raise transparency within small-scale and artisanal fisheries, a robust registration and licensing system needs to be put in place. It is advised to introduce mobile, and if possible, community-led, on-site licensing initiatives, providing immediate support for licensing with registered tax numbers. This enhances the accessibility of the licensing process and compliance among fishers, due to a sense of community ownership. In cooperation with a dedicated governmental body, such as the Department of Fisheries and the local research institute, a digital management system should be developed. This central database helps to monitor licenses and registrations from multiple locations and thus enables conclusions to be drawn about the status of fish populations.

Controls and inspections are key principles of curbing IUU fishing. Improving the quality of patrols through specialized training for inspectors is essential to monitor fishing activities directly on board or after landing. Additionally, processors are encouraged to conduct self-inspections to prevent the processing of undersized fish and enforcing regulations in their businesses, thereby reducing reputational risks in the industry. The development and / or revision of standard operating procedures for these controls ensures that they remain relevant and effective in the face of changing IUU fishing practices.

In tandem with the technical measures, building cooperative and community-based management structures has proven to be very successful. Such communities establish rules and regulations for accepted fishing methods but also facilitate stakeholder engagement to encourage local fisherfolk and associations to participate actively in fisheries management. Training programmes for the management structures focusing on organizational and technical capabilities are essential, equipping beneficiaries with the necessary skills to sustainably manage their waterbodies. In certain regions, the approach has included restructuring local management systems into cooperatives. This ensures that they have legal status and a well-defined management plan, thereby validating their operations. It also improves their ability to manage resources and increases their access to financial support through various funding opportunities.

Sensitization of stakeholders and the general public is another major activity in the context of combating IUU fishing. Information campaigns, such as videos explaining data collection at landings and the role of inspectors, contribute to raising awareness about the importance of sustainable fishing practices and the dangers of IUU fishing. These campaigns can be spread through national television, social media platforms or radio programmes to reach a wide audience and foster compliance and accountability. Public engagement initiatives, like consultation workshops, are essential for disseminating information on licensing, legislation, and the consequences of non-compliance. Especially focus group discussions further strengthen a sense of responsibility among fishers. Key factors for success include integrating local knowledge, establishing clear and enforceable regulations, and raising awareness of the consequences of compliance (sustainable fish stocks) and non-compliance (penalties).

Potential risks such as resistance to change, insufficient funding, and the complexity of monitoring vast and remote fishing areas need to be continually addressed through adaptive management and stakeholder collaboration.

Measuring the initial state of fish stocks and regulations will likely highlight imbalances between fish availability and the licensing landscape. Low proportions of legally operating fishers emphasize the need for training to encourage legal fishing practices. The training content includes information on harmful fishing practices, such as the use of fine-meshed mosquito nets or poison. Additionally, the benefits of fisheries management are explained, which promotes the long-term stabilization of fish populations through sustainable fishing methods. To address the causes of IUU fishing, the training should consider the viewpoints and perspectives of fishers, as IUU practices in artisanal fishing often result from a lack of access to appropriate gear: what is needed to resort to legal fishing? This might include adapted regulations or the availability of appropriate fishing gear.