two large sub-systems:town planning and social sub-system.While the town-planning sub-system includes all material elements of a city,including environmental factors that form the territorial structure,the social sub-system consists of the number of inhabitants as beneficiaries of the whole system." (Ristea et al 2010,P103).The above statement shows that in order to achieve sustainable urban renewal in a city,addressing the two systems properly is the only approach.Studies relating to sustainable urban renewal cover a broad range of topics,many of which overlap and thus cannot be easily classified into a certain field.To gain a better understanding of the research area and to identify possible gaps in the knowledge base,this paper discusses the findings of recent studies based on the following structure:1)planning sub-system in sustainable urban renewal;2)stakeholders and their engagement;and 3)evaluating sustainable urban renewal.The first part involves material elements in the town planning sub-system.Figure 2 shows the planning subsystem in urban renewal. This subsystem involves various material elements including land,housing, infrastructure,heritage,and transportation.Urban design serves to address these complex issues for sustainable urban renewal.The second part discusses social sub-system in urban renewal.Figure 3 shows the various stakeholders involved, and how they contribute to the operation mechanism in urban renewal.The final part reviews the evaluation of urban renewal in terms of the two sub-systems. Land 个 Housing Urban Infrastructure Design Heritage Figure 2 Planning sub-system in urban renewaltwo large sub-systems: town planning and social sub-system. While the town-planning sub-system includes all material elements of a city, including environmental factors that form the territorial structure, the social sub-system consists of the number of inhabitants as beneficiaries of the whole system.” (Ristea et al 2010, P103). The above statement shows that in order to achieve sustainable urban renewal in a city, addressing the two systems properly is the only approach. Studies relating to sustainable urban renewal cover a broad range of topics, many of which overlap and thus cannot be easily classified into a certain field. To gain a better understanding of the research area and to identify possible gaps in the knowledge base, this paper discusses the findings of recent studies based on the following structure: 1) planning sub-system in sustainable urban renewal; 2) stakeholders and their engagement; and 3) evaluating sustainable urban renewal. The first part involves material elements in the town planning sub-system. Figure 2 shows the planning subsystem in urban renewal. This subsystem involves various material elements including land, housing, infrastructure, heritage, and transportation. Urban design serves to address these complex issues for sustainable urban renewal. The second part discusses social sub-system in urban renewal. Figure 3 shows the various stakeholders involved, and how they contribute to the operation mechanism in urban renewal. The final part reviews the evaluation of urban renewal in terms of the two sub-systems. Figure 2 Planning sub-system in urban renewal Housing Heritage Infrastructure Land Urban Design