Keywords
Revitalization
Grounded theory
Submitted : 2026-03-17
Accepted : 2026-04-01
Published : 2026-04-16
Abstract
As urban development shifts from incremental expansion to stock renewal, industrial heritage, as a carrier of “urban memory,” has become an important avenue for promoting high-quality urban development and enhancing its connotations. Chongqing, as a significant old industrial base in China, possesses a large number of industrial relics in urgent need of transformation, with its revitalization practices being both typical and unique. This study takes the Er’chang Factory in Eling, Chongqing, a typical industrial heritage revitalization project, as a case study and employs grounded theory as a qualitative research method. By collecting raw data from the internet using web crawlers and following a three-level process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, the data is systematically analyzed and conceptualized, gradually constructing and ultimately refining a theoretical model for industrial heritage revitalization centered on core drivers, value creation, and optimization and quality enhancement. This model provides a template for the revitalization of other industrial heritage sites.
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