The Transitional Paradigm in Urban Morphology:Southern Nanjing (XiaoXiHu) as a Living Lab

Urban morphology research is experiencing a crucial paradigm shift. Originating in Italy, typo-morphology traditionally encompasses two methodological approaches: static typology, which treats the city as a "frozen museum", revealing the combinatorial logic of spatial elements through classification; and dynamic typology, which views the city as a "living organism", tracing morphological evolution across time. While these methods may appear contradictory, they are in fact complementary, providing a critical framework for understanding cities in continuous transformation. China's rapid urbanization offers a unique cross-cultural perspective for urban morphology studies. As urbanization accelerates, historic cities face unprecedented challenges in balancing preservation and development. Against this backdrop, XiaoXiHu serves as a pioneering example, demonstrating an alternative urban renewal model that prioritizes community inclusivity, historical identity preservation, and sustainable development practices. In stark contrast to commercially driven projects that prioritize market demands over cultural authenticity, XiaoXiHu's approach emphasizes integrating the community's unique cultural and historical context into the development process. The XiaoXiHu project exemplifies how urban renewal practices are driving a paradigm shift in typo-morphology - from "static preservation" to "dynamic transition". The neighborhood exhibits a distinctive "transitional morphology": neither a fully preserved historic district nor a completely redeveloped commercial zone, but rather an organic assemblage of traditional courtyard houses (43%), Republican-era architecture (31%), and contemporary additions (26%). This spatial configuration vividly illustrates the creative interplay between spontaneous resident modifications and planned interventions, resulting in a balanced solution that reconciles historical continuity with modern adaptability. Empirical research on XiaoXiHu demonstrates that retaining 60% of historic structures while carefully integrating modern functional elements achieves a spatial coupling between historical fabric and contemporary needs. This incremental renewal strategy establishes a dynamic equilibrium between historical continuity and functional adaptation, preserving the material carriers of place memory while addressing urban development demands. This process aligns with Lu Xun's modernist insight in Old Tales Retold - the continuity of tradition does not rely on mere replication but requires critical reconstruction for creative transformation. This innovative model transcends the conventional preservation-versus-development dichotomy by adopting a multi-stakeholder collaborative framework (community-experts-government), facilitating organic urban renewal. The project prioritizes preserving the community's social networks and cultural memory, harmonizing residents' daily needs with heritage conservation objectives. As a replicable model for sustainable urban regeneration in China, XiaoXiHu's culture-sensitive, community-driven approach fundamentally differs from profit-driven commercial redevelopment, demonstrating how economic viability and cultural authenticity can coexist. This study not only validates the feasibility of China's urban renewal practices but also contributes globally significant theoretical insights. By conceptualizing the Chinese experience, it redefines the role of typo-morphology in contemporary urban development, proposing a "third way" that moves beyond the traditional preservation-development binary. The resulting integrated framework, which merges historical continuity with modern adaptability, is both rooted in China's urban renewal practices and universally relevant, offering valuable academic and practical implications for international urban transformation research.