Land use,mobility and accessibility in dualistic urban China: A case study of Guangzhou

The concept of accessibility has been widely employed to understand the jobs-housing relationship in US cities. However, relevant studies in Chinese cities are rare. Little attention has been paid to accessibility modelling, variations among population groups, and the influence of land use arrangement and transport infrastructure in Chinese cities. To address this deficiency, the present paper provides measures on the job accessibility of workers with different hukou status in Guangzhou. The study yields the following findings: 1) inner-city districts have better job accessibility compared to suburban areas; 2) local hukou workers have significantly higher job accessibility than non-local hukou workers; 3) job suburbanization seems not to be effective in improving job accessibility or narrowing the gap between local and non-local hukou workers; and 4) investment in public transport would significantly improve the mobility and job accessibility of non-local hukou workers and help to alleviate accessibility inequality.     

Sustainable residential landscapes: A case study in Guangzhou, China

This paper proposes a framework of three dimensions for implementing sustainable concepts in residential landscapes in the urban context. This includes ecological planning and design, which seeks to build upon the ecological characteristics of the site, and socio-economic dimensions which concern the relationship between man and the landscape while conserving natural capital. The framework is used to evaluate the landscape quality of Riverside Garden, a modern housing estate in Guangzhou, China. The results reveal that Riverside Garden has achieved certain goals in line with the sustainable residential landscape framework within particular conditions and constraints. Through a preliminary case analysis of work in progress, this paper discusses the issues which arise from this case study in relation to future housing development.     

From development zones to edge urban areas in China: A case study of Nansha,Guangzhou City

The new millennium signified a new phase in the development zone-oriented suburbanization of China. Spurred by a new round of urban development strategies, development zones in many large cities face a need for enormous transformations and re-development. These areas have often been compared with the Western concept of “edge cities”, although in this paper we argue that this “imported” concept, in practice, bears little resemblance to the actual development tendencies in China. Taking a comparative approach, this paper presents a critical examination of edge urban formations in the Chinese context, and identifies the major differences between the concept in China and the United States. Drawing upon a case study of Nansha in Guangzhou, the unique paths and underlying dynamics driving these transformations are revealed. It is concluded that Chinese edge urban areas are being transformed from mono-function development zones into new fully functional cities. A city in China like Nansha reveals the dynamics of both state interventions and local actions in boosting the polycentric economies of large city regions.     

西流村片区城中村改造方案设计

简述了太原市西流村片区的现状及存在的问题,从地理位置、周边环境等方面,分析了西流村片区发展的有利条件及不利因素,并对该区域的规划设计要点进行了论述,为今后城中村改造设计提供了参考。     

Assessing the mitigation effect of deep tunnels on urban flooding: a case study in Guangzhou,China

ABSTRACT

There are growing demands of deep tunnels to mitigate the severe urban flooding by providing a large storage capacity for excess storm runoff. This study aims to assess the flooding mitigation effect of a deep tunnel system proposed in the old downtown of Guangzhou, China, and to quantify the flooding volume difference by two storm hyetographs, the Chicago curve and the Improved Huff curve. Results show that the flooding volume is significantly reduced by a minimum of 19% and a maximum of 42% under design storms of 10- and 0.5-year return periods, respectively, when the deep tunnel system is constructed. There is a distinct spatial pattern for the mitigation effect. The best mitigation is in the west and the immediate north of the main tunnel, whereas the east does not show significant mitigation. Moreover, the actual flooding risk is likely underestimated when the Chicago curve is employed to design the storms.     

Evaluating satisfaction with PCM services for school construction: A case study of primary school projects

The lack of school construction professionals in Taiwan typically leads to poor construction scheduling and quality. Professional construction management (PCM) is thus introduced to minimize defects in school construction projects. However, satisfaction with PCM services remains unknown because there is no evaluation for such services. This study presents a satisfaction evaluation model for PCM services based on client needs. Based on the five phases of a project life cycle (PLC), the proposed model was used to measure satisfaction with PCM services provided to 19 school construction projects in central Taiwan. It was found that the clients of school construction projects were seeking greater PCM assistance during the planning and construction phases than during any other PLC phase. Compared with other phases, the bid and tender phase received the least demand for PCM assistance. Furthermore, the PCM consultant failed to provide consistent service quality, especially for services during the planning and design phases. Applying PCM to school construction projects is believed to be a feasible approach for improving the quality of Taiwanese school construction.     

广州城中村改造的问题和改造可行性模式研究

分析了“城中村”的浅层涵义及其本质,认为“城中村”已经演化为“为城市流动人口提供廉租房的低收入社区”,仅考虑村民的改造措施是不妥当的。本文对“城中村”改造过程中遇到的政策和现实问题进行了剖析,认为政府主导的“城中村”改造目的应当是不谋“城中村”的区位利益,只为身为弱势群体的低收入流动人口的居住质量谋福利。在此基础上,“自我原位塑造”,即“在原有区位上由村民或村集体改造自身”是可行的模式。     

Socialist architecture in Mao's model village: a case study of Qinyong Village in Ningbo

In the context of current drives for the renewal and conservation of rural Chinese villages, socialist villages developed under Mao Zedong's tenure as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (1949–1976) seem have been marginalised. This research selects one of Mao's model villages, Qinyong in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, as a case study. Through historical and on-site research, this article articulates and analyses the transformation of the village landscape from the early socialist period to the latest renovation in 2014. Focussing in particular on the transformation of the village's housing from the 1970s to the 1990s, the article tries to identify historical conditions of social, political and economic organisation embedded in the physical forms. By juxtaposing the recent planning and renovation of the village with its past, the discussion of the village's architectural heritage is intended to cast some light on key aspects of village preservation and revitalisation in rural China.     

Beyond top-down/bottom-up: Village transformation on China’s urban edge

In describing the rapid transformation of China’s villages, scholars, planners, and policy makers have consistently turned to a single spatial metaphor of transformation: top-down versus bottom-up. While not unique to China, this metaphor has become so pervasive that it now serves as one of the fundamental assumptions in discussions of, and interventions in, China’s peri-urban settlement transition. The top-down/bottom-up framework indexes planning, thereby limiting potential interventions to those originating from within the top-down planning hierarchy and delegitimizing potential alternatives. As a result, top-down/bottom-up has encouraged the rapid homogenization of China’s urban edge, eliminating sources of diversity and dynamism that could prove invaluable for the nation’s future sustainability. As an analytical alternative, I propose four socio-spatial dimensions: scale, territory, networks, and temporality. I then explore the intersection of these dimensions through an ethnographic investigation of three rapidly transforming villages in the municipalities of Guangzhou, Suzhou, and Chongqing. These case studies show that top-down and bottom-up, planned and unplanned, are mutually constituted in all instances of settlement transition. The unique intersections of these initiatives produce the idiosyncratic and indeterminate nature of village transformation. This analysis thus points to the need for planning institutions that are better able to integrate diverse sources of village transformation.     

2016，中国城市转型

中国,坐拥东方自然山水,绵延千年华夏文明。《六经》有云,“礼,天地之序也。”自周礼肇始中国传统城市营建礼制以来,城市规划即成为构建文化秩序、社会秩序、政治秩序以及空间秩序的重要工具。无论是秦汉时期的宏大王城营建,还是唐宋以来的婉约园林叠置,无不渗透着对宇宙天地、山水人文的秩序象征。     

New urban paradigm beyond the west: investigating the regeneration of urban villages in Guangzhou,China

This paper investigates the regeneration process of four urban villages in Guangzhou, China. It finds that the institutional dichotomy of the rural and urban systems in land ownership and planning management has not only rooted the emergence and proliferation of urban villages, but also obstructed their regeneration. The core of urban village regeneration is the redistribution of interest derived from land appreciation; the current regulatory framework has difficulties in accommodating this redistribution and alternative legislation is needed. Collaboration formed by some powerful stakeholders is proved to be essential for project completion, and this partnership formation has to some extent weakened the top-down single-actor planning mechanism, which has been the routine in socialist China for decades. The study identifies the dynamics of land regeneration, suggesting that there is no single universal prescribed form of land regeneration.     

The role of distance in online social networks: A case study of urban residents in Nanjing,China

Highly advanced information and communication technologies have reshaped the common ways urban residents interact with each other. With the widespread use of online social networking websites, research interest in the evolving spatial concepts (such as distance) in new digital age has grown exponentially. Data collected by Sina microbloggers from adult residents in Nanjing, China reveal that urban residents not only are more likely to build relationships with local and acquaintance users but also to interact with them more frequently. In other words, spatial and relational distances that play important roles in traditional Chinese social networks also exist in contemporary online social networks. Furthermore, our regression analysis reveals how the roles of spatial and relational distances in the online social networks of urban residents relate to the context of urban transformation in contemporary China. The findings contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the effects of informatisation and urban transformation on the social networks of urban residents.     

Business transformation: Leadership,integration and innovation – A case study

The Cornerstone Program represented a significant business transformation for Hydro One. Just as a cornerstone helps determine the position of an entire structure; the Cornerstone Program has helped shape the future strategic position of Hydro One. This strategy and vision includes supporting the business infrastructure through improvements to rapidly respond to business needs, enabling rapid access to information for strategic decisions, and streamlined business operations enabling the organization to deal with growing requirements. This case study introduces a conceptual framework that draws from theoretical change models but is also grounded in the reality of the change environment at this organization. Realizing major organizational change is a complex process influenced by the characteristics of an organization, the integrated project and change management framework, and the importance of key leadership roles throughout the change process. Results from this study suggest that effective change implementation was enabled by leadership, program management, and change ownership, integrated with project implementation.     

GIS与线性规划模型辅助“城中村”改造分析——以广州市文冲村改造方案为例

由于受二元体制的影响,"城中村"改造的主要难点之一是如何在保证外部效益的基础上,协调各相关群体的利益关系.对此,广州市文冲村改造应用GIS与线性规划模型相结合的"城中村"改造综合评估方法,通过GIS获取基础数据,在满足城市规划要求、确保投资收益平衡和解决相关群体利益问题的基础上获取最大效益的线性规划模型,并以此为依据,制订"城中村"改造建设方案和资金运作方案,辅助改造决策.这种新方法为城中村改造方案的制定提供了另一种参考依据.     

城市建设强度与热岛的相关性——以重庆市开州区为例

城市建设强度是城市热岛形成与演变的主要驱动因素,为了揭示两者之间的量化关系,以重庆市开州区为例,在用地地块、规则网格和建筑斑块3个空间尺度上,使用ArcGIS提取地表温度(LST)与建设强度指标,利用SPSS分析其相关性并构建多元回归模型。结果表明:用地地块尺度上,LST与绿化率、建筑密度和容积率之间均呈现显著的负相关,与建筑底面积和总建筑面积之间均呈现显著的正相关。规则网格尺度序列上,LST与建设强度各指标之间的相关性系数随网格面积的增大而增大,在840m网格时达到最大值;总体上LST与绿化率之间呈显著的负相关,与建筑密度和容积率之间呈显著的正相关。建筑斑块的尺度上,LST与建筑层数之间有显著的负相关关系,与总建筑面积之间有显著的正相关关系。城市建设强度直接或间接影响了城市热岛的形成与演变,而相关分析发现,建设强度指标并非都与LST之间呈正相关关系,这表明城市热岛除受建设强度的影响外,还受区域气候、城市形态、城市性质、交通方式以及建筑材质与色彩等多种因素的协同影响,是一个非线性的复杂过程。     

E-urbanism: E-commerce,migration, and the transformation of Taobao villages in urban China

The development of information and communications technology (ICT) has promoted the rapid growth of e-commerce, which has gradually changed the city. Networking and migration are also key driving forces for contemporary urban development. Although a growing body of literature has studied e-commerce development, there is a lack of theoretical and empirical research to understand the impact of e-commerce and migration on urbanism. This study is an attempt to fill the gap. It firstly proposes a concept framework of E-urbanism that includes three interwoven layers, namely of ICT infrastructure and production networks, social networks and power relations, and urban form and land use. The framework is then applied to understand the influence of e-commerce and migration on the socio-spatial transformation of Taobao villages in Guangzhou city, China. This article concludes that ICT infrastructure and production networks form the foundation of e-commerce development, while social networks of rural migrants are important sources of social capital in the formation of Taobao villages. The existing physical forms provide opportunities for e-commerce growth, which has in turn reshaped them. E-commerce is fundamentally revolutionizing urbanism, the intertwinement of social and spatial reorganization of the city.     

Phosphate dynamics in an urban sewer: A case study of Nancy, France

The nature of phosphate phases present in suspended matter, biofilm, and sediment of Greater Nancy sewer system was investigated over a period of two years. The phosphate speciation was determined by two approaches: a direct identification of phosphorus mineral phases was conducted by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), whereas a chemical extraction of samples provided an estimate of phosphorus pools defined by the fractionation scheme. Quantitative analysis of 1340 individual particles by TEM-EDXS allowed to draw a picture of phosphate species distributions along the sewer system and over time. Amorphous Ca-phosphates (brushite, whitlockite, octacalcium phosphate, Mg-brushite, hydroxyapatite and carbapatite) were ubiquitous although brushite dominated upstream, and octacalcium phosphate and apatite prevailed downstream and in sediments. Al-Ca-phosphate minerals such as foggite, bearthite, gatumbaite, and crandallite appeared downstream and in biofilms. Ca-phosphate phase assemblages in the different locations of the sewer system were dependent on phase transformations from brushite to hydroxyapatite that were shown to be kinetically driven. The restriction of Al-Ca-phosphates to downstream of the sewer system was most probably related to the lower pHs measured at these sites. The pH dependency was confirmed by stability calculations. Chemical extractions were not reliable. TEM examination of extraction residues revealed the presence of neoformed Al-Ca-phosphate species that invalidated the fractionation scheme. Nonetheless, it confirmed that phosphate phases may undergo significant geochemical changes over a short time scale.     

Environmental performance of an urban passenger transport system and influencing factors: A case study of Tianjin,China

The environmental performance of an urban passenger transport system (EPUPTS) is the positive influence on the natural environment generated by the urban passenger transport system. It is affected by many factors, including its inputs and the inputs of transportation facility manufacturers. This paper analyses the interaction between EPUPTS and its influencing factors taking Tianjin, China, as an example. EPUPTS in Tianjin is evaluated by a combination evaluation method at first. Then this paper uses a vector auto-regression model to analyze the dynamic relationship between the environmental performance of the urban passenger transport system and its inputs and the inputs of transportation facility manufacturers separately. The results show that 1) EPUPTS was stable in Tianjin but still has a specific space for improvement; 2) compared to the investment in fixed assets, the input of passenger transport vehicles has a significant impact on EPUPTS; 3) the R&D input of transportation facility manufacturers also has an evident impact on EPUPTS, but this impact was relatively small.