When Design Defines a City

MARIA JOSé MASNOU

IN the 20th century， China and Spain faced thecommon challenge of urban transition. In China，it began with the urbanization and revitalizationprocess with the inception of the reformand opening-up in 1978， and in Spain， with the transformation and recovery of city centersand suburban areas since the democratic transitionof the 1980s. During the process， outstandingurban design projects that improved city landscapesand residents' quality of life emerged insuccession.

Certain world events have contributed significantlyto these transformations， namely， the 1992Barcelona Olympics， the 2008 Beijing Olympics， the2010 Shanghai Expo and the 2016 G20 HangzhouSummit.

Three main factors shape urban design and cityplanning： urban governance， the planning frameworkand its tools， and the role of public space inthe urban project.

Barcelona in northeast Spain and Hangzhou ineast Chinas Zhejiang Province， serve as compellingreferences with their distinct cultural identities， theexceptional quality of their public spaces， and theunique characteristics of their urban profiles. Theirrecent urban histories offer a rich and insight-ful backdrop to the three factors， deepening ourunderstanding of urban design and city planning.

Urban governance， a complex interplay ofvarious actors and institutions， holds the key toshaping the urban landscape. The relationshipsbetween these entities determine the course ofurban development. To effectively manage urbantransformations at all levels， strategy is imperativethrough establishing pacts and alliances betweenthese critical actors. This understanding of urbangovernance is crucial to urban planners and professionalsin urban design and city planning.

In Barcelona， the first democratic municipalelections of 1979 laid the foundations for thecorporatist characteristics of the citys governance，whose origin is explained by collaboration， dialogue，and initial consensus among the citys public，political， technical， and civic agents. The civicactivism and citizen involvement have prevailedand are essential in short-term political agendas.Moreover， citizens have developed a criticalopinion on urban interventions. In Barcelona， thevarious public and private actors involved share aculture of basic urban design in which public spaceis considered a common good.

In China， some scholars affirm that the urbanpolicies at the local level are related to nationaleconomic restructuring. The Chinese state hastransformed from a provider of goods and servicesto a developmental-entrepreneurial state whichproactively promotes globalization， economicdevelopment， and urban growth. In this entrepreneurialgovernance， important new stakeholdersas well as economic and non-state actors have alsoplayed a role in many metropolitan and regionaldevelopment projects. Provinces and regionsmobilize resources for growth in an environmentof intense urban competition. Iconic and mediaticurban design is a powerful tool to attract investmentand boost economic activity.

The urban tradition of Catalonia， of which Barcelonais the capital， has a fundamental architecturalcomponent manifested in the control andregulation of urban form， which takes considerablepriority， especially in Barcelonas metropolitanarea. This approach is manifested in extremeregulatory parametrization， care in the design of the urban form， and its projection through thedifferent scales of the urban projects that integrateopen space with architecture. Good urbandesign has been an efficient tool to enhancemany neighbourhoods planned and associatedwith community facilities.

In China， planning oriented to economicgrowth and the spatial location of resourcesdefined the character of the praxis of urbanplanning over a period of time. Urbanism mustbe understood within the framework of the eco-nomic and regional planning interests.

International conceptual competitions arean important tool for getting creative ideas forthe master plans of new city areas. The competitionfor the master plan of Qianjiang New City，Hangzhous chief business district， is an excellentexample with the design of the public space axis，including a grand theater， a conference centerand an area for cultural activities. This successfulplan consolidates the centralities of two areas inthe city： the historical West Lake area; and thearea along the Qiantang River.

The central business district appears as a citygrowth model and demands ambitious buildingsand public spaces that convey an image of successand economic development.

Regeneration and redevelopment is a strategyin Barcelona. This is the case of the 22@ neighborhood，a former industrial area. This planproposes urban redevelopment， substituting obsoleteindustrial uses. This new plan would makeit possible to modify the neighborhood's activityand help its economic transformation with activitieslinked to innovation， technology， education，and high-value-added services.

On the 200-hectare stretch of former industrialsites there are now more than 1，500 companiesin the fields of media， IT， energy， design，and scientific research. Old factories have beenredesigned to house new companies， blendingthe past with the future to achieve greater sustainability.The old textile mill Ca lAranyó nowhouses the Pompeu Fabra Universitys CommunicationCampus， and the fabric warehouse CanMunné is home to the Bau design school today.Be it restored or newly built， the buildings inthe 22@ district now stand as city icons， turningan industrial neighbourhood into a vanguardlaboratory for innovation.

Urban design patterns are related to theurban development stage of each city. In Barcelona，urban design has matured. Barcelona is adense， compact city. Since the 1980s， it beganto create public spaces to meet peoples needs.There is no single pattern or design scale， butseveral， depending on the city's transformationstages and needs. From the small designs for the Old City urban regeneration to the dignificationof suburban areas， urban policies have evolvedtowards a systemic vision of public spaces， includingmetropolitan green elements that builda green urban infrastructure.

In the 22@， the street supports integrationand contiguity between architecture and openspace. Its module fits perfectly the creation ofa permeable urban fabric that promotes urbanvitality. The street can hence be considered abasic public space unit.

Since the beginning of the 21st century，Chinese cities have experienced intense urbanizationand transformation. This stage of theirdevelopment has made them privileged laboratoriesfor diverse experimentations. Urbandesign is seen as an element that builds theidentity of new urbanized areas and attractsactivity， frequently in large-scale projects. Thisopen-minded attitude leads toa great diversity of approachesand solutions. These urbandesigns incorporate globaltrends. Their formal languagesand environmental solutionsgenerate great interest. Inparallel with this global design，“institutional” classicalpatterns can be seen in manyparks and public spaces， like the promenadesand gardens around the beautiful landscape ofWest Lake.

The construction of public space in any urbancontext with specific cultural， economic， social，and political factors is the result of the interactionbetween urban governance， the urbanplanning framework， and the public space in theurban project. Its failures， successes， or imbalancesconfigure a differential landscape foreach city. Each of these factors contributes tothe outcome of the public space with greater orlesser intensity， depending on the specific contextand character of the city.