Urban Sustainability through Innovative Open Space Design. A Novel Approach to the Regeneration of Historic Open Spaces in Some Eastern European Countries and China

Looking at the urban development of the past two centuries, we can conclude that engineers and architects have been dominating the field of urban design all over Europe. Architects played the most important role, which became even more significant with the increase of urban development. Beyond the architectural approach, a greater importance had been attributed to ecological aspects of urban planning by the turn of the 20th century as, for example, the advance of the garden city movement illustrates. This article focuses on the review of crucial open-space renewal projects from two Eastern European cities and China. The case studies are used to shed light on the characteristics and historical values of contemporary open-space design, based on innovative and landscape architectural approaches and artistic solutions. The study shows that the original role of urban open spaces was significantly extended during the first decades of the 21st century. The increased needs for representation—commercial, cultural and living functions, and ecological and healthy benefits—led to a multifunctional approach in design and planning. The renewal of the historic urban open spaces is carried out under an integrated framework and a unified goal: the development-oriented heritage conservation. Based on strong economic aspects, the general tendency is clearly positive—in spite of still-existing problematic issues (for instance, the management of public transport or the status of public utilities). In the time of a growing awareness of open-space heritage, this overview tries to depict possible general principles of a long-term renewal strategy built on local identity, heritage values and social sustainability.