Revitalizing resource-depleted community through community empowerment: The case of Shougang Laoshan community in Beijing

Abstract

In the process of transformation and development, resource-depleted areas face the parallel situation of economic system transformation and social foundation reconstruction. Since community building is an important aspect of social foundation reconstruction, how to revitalize resource-depleted communities is a critical issue faced by the transforming resource-depleted areas. This study starts from this background and explores how resource-depleted communities can be revitalized through community empowerment. Through a community regeneration case study of Shougang Laoshan Community in Beijing, two key points of community empowerment to resource-depleted communities in its early stage are proposed, namely, the professionals’ channeling to local level, and the linkage of resources. The most important goal of community empowerment is to energize individuals in the community, encourage their communications, and increase their mobilities by cultural empowerment and resource mobilization.