One of the central challenges of cities, especially that of big cities, is worn-out and inefficient structures and consequent spatial, economic, and social problems in urban areas. Facing these challenges requires appropriate approaches. The main goal of this research was to explain the role and place of urban governance in the process of intervention within the limits of worn-out and inefficient tissues of Mashhad city. The study tried to answer the questions: what are the features and dominant approaches in each period? Who are the main actors of each period and how do they play a role in this process? Taking qualitative approach, this research determine the role and position of urban governance in this process. Observation, interview and questionnaire techniques were used to collect the required data. The results showed that two distinct approaches can be distinguished in the examination of a 30-year period (1991-2021). In the first period, the dominant approach is renovation with an economic and project-oriented perspective without taking into account the participation of residents and the local community in this process. In the second period, urban regeneration had been carried out to attract the participation of residents and the local community through facilitation and the creation of neighborhood development offices and altering the attitude of the government and the public sector from renovation and project-oriented to sustainable urban regeneration. Considering the characteristics of the activists in each period, different interests and power influence of other activists were analyzed.