China’s strategies to counteract the eff ects of overcrowding have been similar to that of Western urbanism. New building codes and solar ordinances have succeeded in some ways and have failed in others. They have allowed people to move out of dark cramped slums into sunny, generous apartments. However, the residual open spaces between tall slab buildings are void of activity and life. Here, traditions of city building and the need for community collide with ideals of the private dwelling. The Hua Yuan residential plan attempts to recreate the social life of the Chinese street, courtyard, and hutong (lane) while designing housing that conforms to Beijing’s rigid solar access ordinance. These new building types transform slab blocks into perimeter blocks. As a result, there are a variety of lively and inhabited public spaces that are proximate to dwellings, contained and intimate in scale.