The System of Floor-area-ratio (FAR) Transfer for Historical District Preservation and Renewal: Guangzhou’s and Taipei’s Experiences in a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The emergence of floor-area-ratio transfer system originated in the USA in the 1960s. As a means of balancing interests and constraints, it was applied to the renewal and preservation of historic urban forms. Taking the practices of Taipei and Guangzhou as examples, this paper analyses the development process and influencing factors of the floor-area-ratio transferred system, compares the differences between Taipei and Guangzhou and draws the following conclusions. In Taiwan, the original intention of introducing the floor-area-ratio transfer is to protect the development rights of owners which have been limited by the protection of historical blocks. The floor-area-ratio transfer in Taiwan is a formalized system and the social groups and interest groups that rely on it have a great influence on the development of the system. Finally, a thriving floor-area-ratio transfer market has formed in Taiwan, involving many market participants. In Guangzhou, the floor-area-ratio transfer is an informal system arrangement that satisfies the financial balance of the developer with protective conditions. It is the transfer between different plots within the same developer. The planning committee system has become an option to compensate for the lack of legal sources.