## 5 Discussion: A Strategy for Renewal and Densification
### Densification according to FAR and Accessibility  
The first option is the selection of cases to renew according to the intensity of land use expressed as FAR. Renewal and densification should be proposed in the resettlement communities which:  
* Do not efficiently use the land they occupy because the FAR is much lower than the average of the communities: the ones where FAR is lower or equal to 1 (8 cases) should be the first to be renewed; the ones with FAR lower or equal to 1.2 (18 cases) should be considered as the second group. In total, the communities with FAR lower or equal to 1.2 now accommodate almost 128,000 people in 40,423 units;
* Were built before 2000 (12 cases), as proposed by the national guidelines, which today in the cases in Suzhou accommodate almost 78,000 people in 25,956 units; \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Average of 6 Case Studies** & **Nanhuan New Village** \\ \hline FAR & 1.27 & 3.87 \\ \hline Housing type & Multi-story & High rise \\ \hline Number of floors & 4–6 & 28–32 \\ \hline Green coverage & 0.35 & 0.25 \\ \hline Construction cost & 1200 RMB/sqm & 2500 RMB/sqm \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Car Parking} & No structures nor areas for parking in the original master plan; \multirow{3}{*}{Car Parking} & Underground parking, \multirow{3}{*}{the green spaces.} & \\  & parking was obtained in recent years in & 0.8 car parking for every unit \\ \hline \multirow{6}{*}{Comfort} & No elevator & Elevator \\ \cline{2-3}  & No heating or air conditioning & Heating or air Conditioning \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & No soundproof walls & Soundproof elements \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & No thermal insulation & Thermal insulation \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & Fragmented open space & Continuous open space \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Comparison of the main characteristics of the traditional resettlement village in Suzhou with Nanhuan New Village. Next to metro stations or transport interchanges (within 400 m from one of the community gates) and have a FAR lower or equal to 2 to fully exploit the transport capacity and accessibility of the site. Specific projects should define the most proper threshold of FAR according to the local conditions and the transport capacity. The analysis of the available GIS data of the built fabric and the public transit infrastructures allows us to determine which resettlement communities are both low-density and within a radius of 400 m from a subway gate or a bus interchange, or a terminal (Figure 4c). These first groups of communities can be pilot projects to test potentialities and obstacles to realize the optimum potential of sites. To what extent the FAR can be increased must be assessed in the local context, and multiple factors must be considered, including social infrastructures. Other indicators can be considered to propose a community renewal, such as the quantity and quality of the open and recreational space. The communities with a building coverage higher than 25% and a green coverage of less than 30%, which means the open area of the community is mostly for mobility, should be investigated to assess the quality of the open space they offer combined with the FAR. If this renewal happens, the value of the redeveloped estate will exceed the original value of the estate plus the cost of change, which is the expense, the temporary problems for the inhabitants, and the impact on the environment for the demolition and rebuilding. The upheaval of people's lives and improvement of living conditions should be included in the viability assessments, and some form of subsidy should be provided. These concerns are partially reflected in China's national compensation policy, which considers the residents' needs while dislocated; its main elements are:  
1. It grants financing for rental payments depending on the number of family members;
2. It compensates N times (n > 1.2) the value of the former residential area;
3. The resettlement solution is either in the same place as the original community or not far from it;
4.