COLLECTION NAME:
Graduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Urban acupuncture in China: alternative developing approach for Changsha, Hunan, China
Creator:
Zhang, Mingfu
Subject:
Thesis (M.U.D.) -- Urban Design
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Architecture
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
As the second largest economic engine in the world, China’s urbanization
process is growing rapidly. According to the predictions from McKinsey
Global Institute, almost a billion people will live in China’s cities by 2025.
To increase the capacity and improve the condition of China’s cities, the
government is using very unsustainable and wasteful approaches which
are building more satellite towns and “demolishing and rebuilding” old
urban context. Especially for the cities in the central China, after the Rise
of Central China Plan was announced in the China’s Eleventh Five-Year
Plan, they finally got the attention from the central government and
gained the economy and infrastructure support. They are trying to catch
up on economy and development, building higher and bigger. Many
traditional buildings and old alleys are threatened to be demolished, and
some of them have already gone.
Changsha city is one of the central China cities. It has a shining future due
to recent growth in the entertainment industries, increasing investments,
developing transportation networks and the Central Government’s
policies. Wuyi Central Business District, as the test site, is the oldest part
of Changsha City. Recently, this district had a huge block with hundreds
of buildings demolished for a skyscraper development which does not
properly fit in the context and eliminates street activities and Chinese
traditions of the site. To change the unhealthy development pattern
in China, a theory “Urban Acupuncture” with a series of urban design
strategies are proposed. There are two directions for the “acupuncture”
strategy: one is for sites that have already been demolished; the other
is for sites that are threatened to be demolished. Taking Wuyi CBD as
an prototype, testing the new theory and strategies, introducing more
scientific development approaches to the whole nation are the goals
for the thesis. Trying to satisfy the need of economic growth as well as
maintain the authenticity and traditions of China is the core of the proposal
so that development in China’s cities will obtain a healthier environment
therefore ensure that China does not lose its richness of Culture.
process is growing rapidly. According to the predictions from McKinsey
Global Institute, almost a billion people will live in China’s cities by 2025.
To increase the capacity and improve the condition of China’s cities, the
government is using very unsustainable and wasteful approaches which
are building more satellite towns and “demolishing and rebuilding” old
urban context. Especially for the cities in the central China, after the Rise
of Central China Plan was announced in the China’s Eleventh Five-Year
Plan, they finally got the attention from the central government and
gained the economy and infrastructure support. They are trying to catch
up on economy and development, building higher and bigger. Many
traditional buildings and old alleys are threatened to be demolished, and
some of them have already gone.
Changsha city is one of the central China cities. It has a shining future due
to recent growth in the entertainment industries, increasing investments,
developing transportation networks and the Central Government’s
policies. Wuyi Central Business District, as the test site, is the oldest part
of Changsha City. Recently, this district had a huge block with hundreds
of buildings demolished for a skyscraper development which does not
properly fit in the context and eliminates street activities and Chinese
traditions of the site. To change the unhealthy development pattern
in China, a theory “Urban Acupuncture” with a series of urban design
strategies are proposed. There are two directions for the “acupuncture”
strategy: one is for sites that have already been demolished; the other
is for sites that are threatened to be demolished. Taking Wuyi CBD as
an prototype, testing the new theory and strategies, introducing more
scientific development approaches to the whole nation are the goals
for the thesis. Trying to satisfy the need of economic growth as well as
maintain the authenticity and traditions of China is the core of the proposal
so that development in China’s cities will obtain a healthier environment
therefore ensure that China does not lose its richness of Culture.
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2014-11
Format:
PDF: 82 p. : ill. (chiefly col.)