“Beijing-an incomparable masterpiece of urban planning. ”Now, during the last decade of the millennium, Beijing, like a silk-worm in spring, is undergoing a profoundmetamorphosis-through the renewal of the old and dilapidatedhousing at its core. In such a famous city, so important to worldhistory and culture, this grand undertaking of renewal is boundto find its place in the annals of urban construction. Our research team has taken part the Old and Dilapidated Housing Renewal (Wei Jiu Fang Gai Zao) program since its very be-ginning. We have done the planning for the Deshengmen Wai,Guan Yuan, and Chaoyangmen Nei renewal districts. Each ofthese parcels is about 40 hectares, located along the Second Ring Road surrounding historic Beijing. Presently, our team is alsobeginning the planning for Nanchizi Street at the very centre ofthe city. The members of the research team include Tao Tao, a lectur-er at Tsinghua’s School of Architecture; Daniel Abramson, a vis-iting scholar from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology inthe United States; graduate students Wu Zheng, Wu Li, TanYing, and Liu Yang: a group of thesis-level undergraduates eachyear; and myself, the author. A group from MIT collaborated withus in the planning of Deshengmen Wai during a summer studioin 1992. Summer studios in 1993 will also bring researchers fromthe University of British Columbia in Canada and the Uni-versityof Trondheim Norway to collaborate in the planning of NanchiziStreet. The following article is the first of a series describing thedifferent phases of our work and its outcomes. It is offered in thespirit of inviting further cooperation from abroad, and in the hopethat we may hear responses from many quarters. “Beijing-an incomparable masterpiece of urban planning. ”Now, during the last decade of the millennium, Beijing, like a silk-worm in spring, is undergoing a profoundmetamorphosis-through the renewal of the old and dilapidatedhousing at its core. In such a famous city, so important to worldhistory and culture, this grand undertaking of renewal is boundto find its place in the annals of urban construction. Our research team has taken part the Old and Dilapidated Housing Renewal (Wei Jiu Fang Gai Zao) program Since its very be-ginning. We have done the planning for the Deshengmen Wai,Guan Yuan, and Chaoyangmen Nei renewal districts. Each ofthese parcels is about 40 hectares, located along the Second Ring Road surrounding historic Beijing. Presently, our team is alsobeginning The planning for Nanchizi Street at the very centre of the city. The members of the research team include Tao Tao, a lectur-er at Tsinghua’s School of Architecture; Daniel Abramson, a vis-iting scholar from the Massa. Chusetts Institute of Technology inthe United States; graduate students Wu Zheng, Wu Li, TanYing, and Liu Yang: a group of thesis-level undergraduates eachyear; and myself, the author. A group from MIT collaborated withus in the planning of Deshengmen Wai during a summer studioin 1992. Summer studios in 1993 will also bring researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada and the Uni-versity of Trondheim Norway to collaborate in the planning of NanchiziStreet. The following article is the first of a series describing the differing phases of our work And its outcomes. It is offered in the spirit of inviting further cooperation from abroad, and in the hopethat we may hear responses from many quarters.