As China’s urbanization accelerates and its industrial structure undergoes profound transformation, a vast number of industrial heritage sites are facing challenges related to preservation and adaptive reuse. According to statistics, by 2023, there were over 1,000 registered industrial heritage projects nationwide, with nearly 30% situated in the core zones of first-tier and emerging first-tier cities. Concurrently, the cultural and creative industries have been expanding at an average annual growth rate of 12%, becoming a key driver in the economic and spatial restructuring of urban areas. Against this backdrop, a critical issue arises: how can industrial heritage be transformed into a vehicle for cultural and creative production, thereby reshaping the urban landscape while balancing historical preservation, economic innovation, and social sustainability?

The adaptive reuse of industrial heritage has introduced core concepts such as creative renewal and functional transformation, which seek not only to preserve the physical form of industrial buildings but also to integrate them into the fabric of contemporary urban life through spatial redesign and programmatic innovation. For instance, Beijing’s 798 Art District repurposed a former Bauhaus-style electronics factory into a vibrant complex of galleries, design studios, and performance venues. Similarly, Shanghai’s Yangpu Riverside transformed a century-old industrial dock into an open cultural promenade, linking historical memory with civic activity. These projects not only meet the spatial demands of cultural and creative industries but also enhance the narrative and interactive qualities of public space, encouraging broader social engagement and facilitating the transition of urban functions from single-use production to multifaceted, composite value systems.

This transformation presents multi-dimensional challenges for urban planning and design. At the macro level, it necessitates coordination between the distribution of industrial heritage sites and the functional zoning of cities. Tools such as big data analytics and geographic information systems (GIS) can be employed to assess the spatial potential of heritage resources and to develop cross-regional strategies for integrating cultural and creative industries. At the micro level, it requires a design approach that combines the structural characteristics and cultural significance of industrial heritage with innovative technologies and human-centered interventions. These may include the application of sustainable building materials, smart lighting systems, and the preservation of historical elements, along with the incorporation of community-oriented public amenities. Furthermore, digital technologies—such as 3D modeling and virtual reality—offer new avenues for immersive heritage interpretation and creative engagement, increasingly blurring the boundaries between physical and digital space.

This special issue invites contributions on, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Synergistic Mechanisms between Industrial Heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries: Investigating how policy frameworks, capital investment, and community participation can converge to ensure the sustainable transformation of industrial heritage;
2. Multi-Scale Spatial Reconstruction Strategies: Exploring approaches to harmonize heritage preservation, functional innovation, and ecological benefits in transformations ranging from individual buildings to entire urban districts;
3. Technological Innovation and Cultural Heritage Narratives: Analyzing the role of digital tools in revitalizing industrial heritage and enhancing cultural identity through spatial storytelling and design;
4. Landscape Integration of Historical and Emerging Urban Areas: Comparing planning logics in traditional industrial zones and new creative clusters, and identifying differentiated pathways and models of synergistic development;
5. Community-Driven and Intergenerational Participation: Examining how diverse stakeholders—such as local residents, artists, and visitors—collaborate in shaping cultural urban landscapes during heritage transformation processes;
6. Economic Impact and Social Equity: Assessing the economic uplift brought by cultural and creative industries and critically reflecting on issues such as gentrification and the strategies to mitigate its adverse effects;
7. Other Related Topics: Including but not limited to the localization and globalization of industrial heritage narratives, and the interplay between the night-time economy and post-industrial landscapes.