Between Renewal and Memory: A Resident-Centered Framework for Taiwan’s Aging Housing

Abstract

"Between Renewal and Memory" is a semester-long research thesis presentation delivered on December 16, 2025, and serves as the foundation for a subsequent design intervention in the Winter semester. Submitted in booklet form with original visual graphics and photography, this presentation examines post-war and everyday residential architecture in Taipei through the lenses of urban renewal, demographic change, and aging-in-place. Focusing on mid-century walk-up apartment buildings, the study investigates how informal spatial modifications reflect residents’ agency and respond to contemporary household structures that are often overlooked by large-scale redevelopment practices. While these buildings are frequently characterized as outdated or illegal, this project reframes them as adaptive living environments shaped by social, economic, and demographic realities. The research combines literature review, precedent studies, films, spatial analysis, and demographic mapping to situate Taipei’s housing conditions within broader discussions of gentrification, affordability, and urban transformation. Key theoretical frameworks were drawn from housing studies and urban planning literature, while primary insights emerged through multilingual research and site-specific analysis. To support qualitative observations, the project utilized demographic datasets accessed through the University of Toronto Map and Data Library and ArcGIS Online. Mapping secondary statistical district data revealed a high concentration of elderly residents across Taipei, reinforcing the significance of aging-in-place within walk-up housing that lacks modern accessibility infrastructure such as elevators.