Industrial heritage is among the products of modern urban development, and the influencing factors of its regeneration and development are often complex. Due to different national conditions, the research progress and approaches in industrial heritage reuse in China are different from other countries. While industrial heritage sites in Europe have become part of urban redevelopment in several regions, China still focuses mostly on single objects, lacking systematic analysis, especially at the urban scale. Regarding the city of Nanjing, an operational approach to complex urban dynamics is proposed based on a simplified analysis of official statistics, maps and GIS technology. The influence mechanisms of Nanjing’s urban planning on industrial heritage regeneration and development after 1990 are analyzed. The results show that urban growth boundaries, traffic accessibility, eco-environmental policies, population distribution, industrial renovation investment and natural resource change all have a significant impact on the abandonment and regeneration of Nanjing industrial heritage. This study expands the research perspective of industrial heritage reuse in China and proposes a clearer systematic planning strategy for the future of industrial heritage in cities.