Regenerative Urban Design across Academia and Practice: Mixed- Method Analysis of Conceptual Alignment and Implementation Barriers

Regenerative urban design represents a paradigm shift from harm reduction to net-positive impact, yet implementation remains limited despite growing discourse. This mixed-method study bridges academic theory and professional practice through systematic review, global company survey, and interviews with academic and practice experts to analyze conceptual framing and operational interpretations. Findings reveal strong conceptual alignment on core tenets ( systems thinking, net-positive orientation ) juxtaposed with three mental models of approaching operationalization ( ecological primacy, net-positive resource, transformative process ). However, selective implementation particularly marginalizes social dimensions, risking paradigmatic integrity. Moreover, a profound implementation gap persists: 58.4% practitioner awareness versus 12.4% project involvement, with absence of built examples known to experts. Barriers are fundamentally structural rather than epistemic and compounding resistance exceeds individual obstacles. The research identifies leveraging shared understanding as empirical entry points for application, delineating practice-actionable pathways within current constraints, to advance regenerative urban design from theoretical aspiration toward systematic implementation.