Abstract
<jats:p>Urban regeneration has become a central focus in global urban studies, increasingly linked to the dual imperatives of sustainability and urban resilience. According to Christopher Alexander's theories of living structure and pattern language, traditional built environments emerge through progressive adaptation rather than top-down design. Moreover, historic urban fabrics evolve through continuous refinement of spatial solutions that simultaneously respond to environmental, functional, and social needs. Therefore, this study situates urban regeneration within a theoretical framework that recognizes traditional settlements as complex adaptive systems rather than static heritage.Chinese urban villages (Chengzhongcun) and Spanish Suelo Urbano no Consolidado (SUNC, Unconsolidated Urban Land) areas represent two contrasting forms of urban socio-spatial systems engulfed by urban expansion—both characterized by dense, historically rooted morphologies and incomplete infrastructure. Whereas Chinese urban villages transition from a demolition–reconstruction model, which Alexander would critique as disrupting the evolutionary processes that generate coherent urban fabrics, to more sustainable regeneration approaches, this study compares Beijing's Cuigezhuang with Málaga's El Perchel through spatial analysis and stakeholder surveys.The research evaluates how differing planning systems foster or constrain sustainable development and social, spatial, and institutional resilience in regeneration processes. Findings demonstrate that Spain's incremental, participatory approach—anchored in Planes Especiales de Reforma Interior (PERI, special plans for inner urban renewal) and land readjustment (equitable distribution of costs and benefits) mechanisms—significantly outperforms China's state-led demolition-based model in supporting long-term sustainability, heritage integrity, community cohesion, and spatial continuity. Spain's legally embedded participation and in situ rehabilitation strategies offer transferable lessons for China's evolving sustainable and resilience-oriented regeneration paradigm.</jats:p>