China’s urbanization process is currently in a transition phase from rapid growth to slow growth, necessitating the implementation of sustainable measures in urban planning. Urban regeneration (UR), being one of the fundamental mechanisms for achieving sustainable urban development, has received considerable attention. UR promotes sustainable development by reusing abandoned land and buildings, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing the ecological environment. However, UR involves numerous stakeholders who may have conflicting interests due to factors such as the environment, technology, and economy, thereby giving rise to social risks (SRs). These SRs pose a threat to the success of UR projects and can also lead to social instability, as well as hindering sustainable urban development. Identifying risk sources forms the foundation of and key to risk management. Therefore, this research employs an integrated qualitative and quantitative method to explore the SR factors (SRFs) related to UR for China. On the basis of the grounded theory method, case study examination was used for data collection, resulting in the identification of 22 specific categories and five main categories. Through quantitative analysis, the identified SRFs and five main classifications of UR in China were verified, namely the negative effects of demolition and relocation, the negative environmental effect, the negative effect of technology, the organization-related negative effect, and the negative effect of policy. Among them, the unfair compensation for demolition and relocation has the greatest impact on the SRs in UR. Based on further analysis of the quantitative results, this study proposes three measures to alleviate the UR-related SRs for China on the macro, meso, and micro levels, which include improving policy and the legal system, enhancing collaborative governance capacity, and strengthening public participation. This research also has reference value in the context of promoting UR for other developing countries.

The urban renewal (UR) process involves various stakeholders and related activities, and the various risks arising from this endeavor can affect these stakeholders. Additionally, the impact of adverse factors such as policy discontinuity and inequitable distribution of benefits among stakeholders can easily result in collective tensions or conflicts, as well as the gradual emergence of potential social frictions and confrontations. These social risks (SRs) not only impede the smooth execution of urban renewal projects but also pose challenges to social harmony and stability. Hence, to mitigate and control the SRs in the UR process (URSRs) and ensure the successful implementation of effective and sustainable UR projects, it is of paramount importance to gain a comprehensive understanding of the occurrence and evolution mechanisms of these SRs. Although existing studies have touched upon the influence of stakeholder conflicts on URSRs, there remains a lack of systematic examination of the evolution mechanisms of these risks from the perspective of stakeholder theory. The resulting fragmented and specialized comprehension of URSRs has hindered the effectiveness of risk governance strategies. This study adopts stakeholder theory to analyze the potential sources of risk throughout the entire UR process. By considering the conflicts of interests among stakeholders, a systematic analysis of the evolution mechanisms of URSRs is explored and targeted governance recommendations for URSRs are proposed.

This study presents an in-depth investigation into the intersection of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and green building practices within China’s rapidly evolving construction industry. As China intensifies its efforts to mitigate environmental impacts and promote sustainable growth, the integration of BIM into green building practices emerges as a crucial area of study. A qualitative research method was adopted in this research. In the first step, utilizing semi-structured interviews with a diverse array of industry professionals, this research provides nuanced insights into the current state and prospects of BIM in the green building landscape. Secondly, thematic analysis is used to formalize the views and points from interviewees. Finally, a novel conceptual framework is proposed, addressing these challenges through technological innovation, supportive policies, cultural and educational reform, economic incentives, and collaborative dynamics. This study contributes a systematic approach to amalgamate BIM with sustainable construction, offering insights for industry professionals and policymakers to promote environmentally conscious building practices in China.

The green renovation of existing residential buildings is a key way for the construction industry to achieve sustainable development and the dual carbon goals of China, which makes it urgent to make collaborative decisions among multiple stakeholders. However, because of divergent interests and risk perceptions among governments, energy service companies (ESCOs), and owners, the implementation of green renovation is hindered by numerous obstacles. In this study, we integrated prospect theory and evolutionary game theory by incorporating core prospect-theory parameters such as loss aversion and perceived value sensitivity, and developed a psychologically informed tripartite evolutionary game model. The objective was to provide a theoretical foundation and analytical framework for collaborative governance among stakeholders. Numerical simulations were conducted to validate the model’s effectiveness and explore how government regulation intensity, subsidy policies, market competition, and individual psychological factors influence the system’s evolutionary dynamics. The findings indicate that (1) government regulation and subsidy policies play central guiding roles in the early stages of green renovation, but the effectiveness has clear limitations; (2) ESCOs are most sensitive to policy incentives and market competition, and moderately increasing their risk costs can effectively deter opportunistic behavior associated with low-quality renovation; (3) owners’ willingness to participate is primarily influenced by expected returns and perceived renovation risks, while economic incentives alone have limited impact; and (4) the evolutionary outcomes are highly sensitive to parameters from prospect theory, The system’s evolutionary outcomes are highly sensitive to prospect theory parameters. High levels of loss aversion (λ) and loss sensitivity (β) tend to drive the system into a suboptimal equilibrium characterized by insufficient demand, while high gain sensitivity (α) serves as a key driving force for the system’s evolution toward the ideal equilibrium. This study offers theoretical support for optimizing green renovation policies for existing residential buildings in China and provides practical recommendations for improving market competition mechanisms, thereby promoting the healthy development of the green renovation market.