Urban Regeneration: From Design to Social Innovation—Does Organizational Aesthetics Matter?

Urban renewal is essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing climate change, resource management, and social sustainability. Effective strategies must integrate physical infrastructure (“hardware”) with cultural and social dynamics (“software”) to foster resilience and inclusivity. This paper proposes an organizational aesthetics framework, highlighting how cultural aesthetics drive social innovation, participatory urbanism, and community well-being in urban regeneration. By embedding aesthetics into renewal processes, cities can enhance place identity, cohesion, and economic vitality while promoting sustainability. A bibliometric analysis maps research trends and emerging discourse, identifying key themes in aesthetics and urban governance. The findings underscore aesthetics’ growing significance in policy and planning, offering insights for urban designers, policymakers, and administrators. This research advances an interdisciplinary model integrating aesthetics with sustainable urban governance, ensuring that cities evolve functionally and culturally. The paper provides a structured approach to enhancing urban design, policy frameworks, and inclusive regeneration strategies for socially and environmentally enriched cities.