Toward a Critical Understanding of Rejuvenation: Insights from Medicine and Architecture

The urban rejuvenation concepts suffer from significant epistemological entanglement within contemporary architectural and theoretical debates. Its definitions and applications vary across diverse cultural, social, and economic contexts, resulting in ambiguity surrounding its theoretical contours and practical implementations. On the other hand, the field of medicine is considered as one of the most advanced disciplines in developing models of biological rejuvenation and regeneration. This study seeks to present this conceptual ambiguity and propose an alternative methodological framework inspired by the field of Medicine. The main hypothesis is that the notion of urban rejuvenation can be rearticulated through the adaptation of four core mechanisms drawn from medical rejuvenation and regeneration, conceptually and functionally aligned with the needs of the urban environment. These mechanisms include: (1) stem cell transplantation, as a means of introducing new functional elements to enhance the performance of the city urban fabric without compromising its identity. (2) Acupuncture, as a strategy for localized and precise intervention in deteriorated urban zones. (3) Vitalization, which reactivates public spaces through social and cultural activities. Finally, (4) Urban Psychotherapy, which focuses on restoring symbolic and emotional connections between inhabitants and place. This research proposes an alternative epistemological model of urban rejuvenation that integrates accurate urban diagnosis with context-sensitive intervention strategies, ultimately enabling more resilient and sustainable design approaches while preserving spatial and cultural identity.