刊首语

刊首语

刊首语

2016年出版的《风景园林》杂志中有三期的主题与城市有关，分别为“弹性城市与景观”、“海绵城市”和“生态园林城市”，还有几期也多多少少地涉及到景观与城市。《风景园林》杂志之所以如此关注于城市，原因在于世界已进入“城市世纪”，全世界有一半人口居住在城市，中国的城市化率也超过了56%。在城市化迅猛发展的同时，环境问题却越来越突出，文化冲突的矛盾也越来越尖锐，作为风景园林的研究者、实践者和管理者，我们必须反思快速城市化进程中的城市发展问题，以风景园林的视角，即人与自然之间的关系来思考未来城市究竟应该如何发展，如何做到环境和文化的可持续。

历史上中国的城市建造与自然环境之间有着独特的和谐关系。中国是一个幅员辽阔的国家，也是一个历史悠久的文明古国。几千年来，这片土地养育了世界上最多的人口，但是中国的自然条件并不都是非常优越。

比如位于长江和钱塘江下游的太湖流域和宁绍平原，长久以来这里都是中国最富裕的地方之一，但是在历史上，这里曾经是一片湖荡，大部分区域既不适合农业生产，也不适合人类居住。千百年来，人们通过梳理湖泽、抵御海潮和构筑圩田来发展农业，并营建村庄和建造城市，从而使得地区的运河、湖泊、池塘、圩田、村庄和城市形成一个整体，人工与自然互相平衡协调，城市内外的自然环境关联贯通。人们通过不懈的努力，将这一区域变成了中国的粮仓和人文荟萃、人杰地灵的地方。

苏州是这个区域最繁荣的城市之一，她是中国人心目中的天堂。苏州城的建设综合反映了历史上人们整理水系、营建城市的成就。城市坐落在山、湖、水网和圩田之间，城市内部是由道路和运河形成的双棋盘的结构，这个结构与城市外部的圩田体系在逻辑上是一致的。城市内外的自然连成一个网络，形成一个完整的系统。

杭州也是这个区域中的重要城市，她是中国人心目中的另一个天堂。在历史发展过程中，不论杭州城如何变化，城市内外自然系统的完整性都没有改变。那就是，在城市和山区之间是西湖。西湖承上启下，雨水和泉水由山区流入西湖，然后再通过塘河引入城市，穿城而过，汇入大运河，再入钱塘江。西湖为城市提供饮水，雨季蓄积洪水，调节洪峰，旱季灌溉农田。山林、西湖、塘河、大运河、钱塘江、农业、城市是一个整体。

太湖流域和宁绍平原区域的几乎所有城市都具有类似于苏州或杭州的完整的城市内外自然系统，城市与自然山水紧密地融合在一起，成为一个和谐的整体，成为一个大园林。这些城市充满了自然气息、富有诗意，承载着丰富的生活。从今天风景园林的视野来看，这些城市就是具有弹性的城市，是海绵城市，也是生态的和园林的城市。

然而，在现代化和城市化迅速发展的背景下，这里的由圩田、运河、湖泊、池塘、村落和城市互相融合的景观系统正在迅速改变，一些城市所固有的互相贯通、完整的、网络状的自然环境正在被人工的各种建造打破，自然开始破碎化，城市内外的自然系统开始分离，景观多样性在减弱，生物多样性在减弱，绿地的生态功能也在减弱。在许多区域，自然系统与人工系统之间失去了以往的平衡。造成这些问题的原因主要在于城市的迅速拓张蚕食着城市周边自然和半自然的环境，而与历史城市不同，今天的城市发展与区域内的自然和农业没有关联，与土地的圩田水网结构也没有任何联系，再有就是土地的利用从对自然的依赖变为对自然的任意修改和干涉，越来越多的人工控制的系统代替了自然和半自然的系统。

在快速城市化背景下，如何保证城市的生态安全，维护城市内外自然系统的完整，构建人工建造与自然系统之间的平衡？这些仍然会是即将到来的一年《风景园林》关注的主题之一。

2016年12月18日

PREFACE

In Landscape Architecture magazine published in 2016, themes of three issues are related to the city, namely “Resilient City and Landscape”, “Sponge City” and “Ecological Garden City”. There are also several issues involving more or less the theme of landscape and city. The reason why Landscape Architecture magazine is so concerned about cities lies in that with the world has entered “the era of cities” half of the population living in urban areas, and the percentage of urbanization has gone over 56% in China. During the rapid expansion of cities, however, the environment issues and the cultural conflicts are also becoming increasingly prominent. As researchers, practitioners and managers of landscape architecture, we must reflect on the issue of urban development in the rapid urbanization process, contemplate the future of city and the environmental and cultural sustainability from the perspective of landscape architecture and the relationship between man and nature.

There is a unique harmonious relationship between Chinese city construction and natural environment through the history. China, vast in territory, also has an ancient civilization with a long history. For thousands of years, this land has raised the world's largest population. Whereas, not all the natural conditions of China are quite favorable.

For example, the Taihu Lake basin and Ningshao Plain in lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River have long been one of the most wealthy places in China, yet these places were once located in the area of lakes, which is neither suitable for agricultural production nor human habitation. For centuries, people developed agriculture by rearranging lakes, fending against the tide and built polders, and further constructed villages and cities. The canals, lakes, ponds, polders as well as villages and cities in the region were integrated as a whole, balancing and coordinating artificial and natural work, connecting the natural environment both inside and outside the city. With people's unremitting efforts, this region has turned into the granary of China and a splendid place gathering talents and outstanding people.

Suzhou is one of the most prosperous cities in this area, a city of paradise in the Chinese perspective. Its construction generally reflects how in history people have achieved to reorganize water systems and city structures. The city of Suzhou sits among mountains and lakes, nestles between water network and polders. The structure of double chessboards composed of roads and canals inside the city is logically consistent with the polder system outside the city. Thus the natural resources inside and outside the city are connected into a network, forming a complete system.

Likewise, Hangzhou is also an important city in the region, and another heaven on earth to the Chinese people. In the course of historical development, regardless of how the city changes, the integrity of its natural systems has not transformed. It was because of the West Lake provides the connection between city and the nature. Rain and spring water flows into West Lake from mountains and runs into the city through rivers and streams, then merges into the canals after running across the city, and finally flows into Qiantang River. West Lake provides drinking water for Hangzhou, stores up the flood and adjust flooding peak during rainy season and irrigates farmland in dry season. In Hangzhou, the West Lake, rivers, canals, forests, the Qiantang River, its agriculture system along with the city constitute a whole.

Almost all of the cities in Taihu Lake Basin and Ningshao Plain owns the integrated inside-outside natural systems, through which cities and natural landscape are closely concordance into a harmonious whole, a generalized landscape. These cities are blended with nature, being filled with poetic images and carrying diverse cultures. From the perspectives of landscape architecture today, these cities are the “resilient cities”, “sponge cities” and “ecological garden cities”.

However, with the rapid development of modernization and urbanization, the landscape system that integrated folders, canals, lakes, ponds, villages and cities is rapidly changing. Some inherently interpenetrated and integrated networks in the natural environment are being broken by a variety of artificial constructions, bringing about natural fragmentation, separation of natural systems inside and outside cities and the decrease in both landscape diversity and biodiversity, as well as a decline in ecological function of green spaces. In many areas, the balance between natural systems and the artificial systems has been lost. The main reason was that the gluttonous cities are encroaching on their surrounding natural environments fiercely. Unlike ancient cities, modern urbanization does not associate with the natural and agricultural resources or the underlying water systems. The focus of the utilization of land has shifted from working with the nature to working on the nature. Today, more and more artificial systems manipulated by men has replaced the ancient systems that was mostly driven by the nature.

Under the background of the rapid urbanization, how to secure the ecological safety, how to maintain the completeness of the natural systems inside and outside the cities, and how to build a balanced relationship between the artificial and the natural systems will still be the focus of the Landscape Architecture in the next coming year.

Dec. 18th, 2016 WANG Xiang-rong