People-Oriented Urban Planning Shapes the Global Trend

ZHANG HUI

POLITICAL and economic volatility and thedaunting challenge of global economic recoverynotwithstanding， countries are seekingways to improve peoples living environmentsthrough more scientific and people-oriented urban planning. Chinese President Xi Jinping setgreat store， during his recent inspection tours ofShandong， Shanghai， and Chongqing， on ecologicalprotection and the people-oriented developmentprinciples of urban planning.

In a recently published report projecting a globalurban development trend in 2030， Deloitte indicatedthe widespread application of smart transportationand urban management， green and people-friendlypublic spaces， and more accessible public facilities，among others.

China – a rising pace-setter in green development，and Spain – a bellwether of the preservationof ancient buildings and the construction ofsuperblocks – have had frequent exchanges in theurban planning and construction sector. ChinaToday sat down with Li Xiangning， former dean ofthe College of Architecture and Urban Planning，Tongji University， and currently director of theuniversitys Academic Affairs Department; andFelix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral， director of theBarcelona School of Architecture， to gain greaterinsight into how the two countries respectivelymake their urban blocks greener and more livable and renew ancient buildings in the contemporaryera.

China Today： Over the past decade， what new changesand characteristics have emerged in urban planningin China and Spain？ And what is your opinionof the new characteristics that define urban developmenttoday？

Li Xiangning： At the initial stage of Chinas reformand opening-up in the 1980s and 90s， when newcommunities and buildings mushroomed to meetthe needs of development， our focus was on technicalfactors， such as the density of buildings andtransportation accessibility. Cities hence developedin an extensive way. However， the past decade hasseen a more people-oriented trend in Chinas urbandevelopment， evident in the priority accorded toliving convenience and convivial communities.That energy-saving and carbon-reduction havebecome key concerns in urban planning is anotherstriking feature. Shanghai， for example， is building15-minute community life circles for its citizensthat make communities “suitable for living， working，relaxing， learning， and wellbeing.” With markets，shops， parks， and other public facilities withineasy reach， citizens may enjoy more convenientliving within the 15-minute walk radius， whichgreatly reduces transportation needs and diminishesthe carbon footprint.

Felix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral： Climate changehas become a major challenge for the world as awhole. Catalonia， for example， experiences no rainfor months at a time. This causes heatwaves， severedroughts， and consequently brutal problems in theagricultural sector. As regards housing， escalatingproperty prices in some parts of Spain have forcedpeople to move out of cities to more remote areas.This entails lengthy commutes to work by car andother means of transportation， all of which exacerbateair pollution.

Wood is the ideal material for green buildings.But as certain countries， including Spain， have insufficientresources in this regard， they need to importwood. This， again， necessitates carbon emissiongeneratingtransportation. It is therefore imperative to take full advantage of local materials.

China Today： As climate change has become theglobal common challenge， green and low-carbonurban design is in vogue. Could you please elaborateon such practices in China and Spain？

Li Xiangning： As regards the standard for greenbuildings， China is the undisputed world frontrunner.Nowadays， all government-financed public buildingsin our country have to pass environmental impactand sustainability assessments， by virtue of suchenergy-saving applications as specifically designedheating and cooling systems， and ground-source heatpumps. China has thus exercised effective carbonemission and energy consumption control in the constructionfield. Obtaining government approval for abuilding means fulfilling the relevant energy savingrequirement from the planning stage through to construction.Governmental compulsory requirementshence play a constructive role in the growing greentrend. In fact， our urban planning also emphasizesthe concept of harmonious coexistence between hu-man beings and nature. Last year， I curated Shanghaisurban art season， themed “symbiosis.” It accentuatedjust how crucial it is to achieve balanced andharmonious development of humankind and naturein the urban sphere.

Felix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral： Using localmaterials to promote green coverage is， of course，beneficial. However， there are much deeper problemsto resolve beyond creating green building fa?ades，which only mask them. Rooting out pollution callsfor global cooperation， political consensus， and sensibledecisions – all of which demand much moreeffort. Tackling pollution and garbage needs systematicsolutions.

China Today： Many cities in China and Spain havea history of hundreds or even thousands of years.Protection of ancient buildings and historical landscapeshas hence become a vital task for cities inboth countries. Meanwhile， how to renew or revitalizeancient buildings has topped the agenda of certainurban planners. Could you please elaborate on some practices in this regard in China and Spain？

Li Xiangning： Over the past four decades， awarenessof the need to protect and preserve ancient buildingshas become greatly reinforced among Chinesepeople. Its not just ancient buildings but certainold houses， even those built a few decades ago retainingstriking features of that specific era， thatwe want to preserve. For citizens， such old housescarry memories of that era which they want to keepalive. However， preserving old architecture doesntpreclude the possibility of renewing and reusing itin the new era. Renovation can give an old housea new look， by incorporating the styles of differenteras into one building. Both China and Spain have awealth of world heritage sites that enable us to learnfrom each other the art of world heritage protection.There are various ways of revitalizing ancientheritage. For example， the Forbidden City in Beijingis well protected and may not be modified in anyway. A range of cultural and creative products basedon the Forbidden City that are very popular amongpeople have hence been created， which renew itsculture and spirit.

Felix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral： I think itsimportant for some old buildings to be reused andrenewed in the contemporary era. For example， wevebeen working with textile factories along the LlobregatRiver， built in the late 19th century， which werevery prosperous during World War I. They suppliedtextiles for the uniforms worn by soldiers battlingin Europe at that time. At the end of the war， how toreuse these buildings became an issue. I think thatall you can do is to remold， reshape， and modify. Forexample， after bullfighting was banned in the SpanishAutonomous Community of Catalonia in 2010， arenowned bull ring in Barcelona， built in 1900， wasremodeled as a commercial complex and opened tothe public in 2011. Letting it stand derelict was justnot logical.

We must take the initiative to adapt old buildingsto the new needs of urban residents. Retaining theirspirit seems like a good idea to me.

China Today： While protecting and renewing oldbuildings， a city also needs to construct new ones that reflect local characteristics and the culturaltraditions of a country and adapt to local specialneeds. Can you talk about China and Spains practicesin this regard？

Li Xiangning： While learning from other countries，its also important to preserve and shape our uniquestyle of urban planning. China is a big country withcities that have different development histories andstyles. For Beijing， an ancient capital city with manyancient buildings， its important to preserve theancient capital layout， including hutong s， becausethey act as records of peoples lives over differenthistorical periods. However， the modern metropolisShanghai has different features， being a productof Chinese and Western cultural fusion. We musthence take different approaches to preserving andshaping the styles of different cities.

Felix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral： Its importantto retain a citys characteristics， but every city wantsan iconically new building. However， this generallyonly stays in vogue for around 10 years andthen fades from favor. Thats why its necessary tomaintain certain local architectural monuments. Abuilding can be renovated to adapt to new times，even after a relatively long period. The GuggenheimMuseum， a magnificent example of the most groundbreaking 20th-century architecture in Bilbao，northern Spain， was a catalyst for the city's renewal.Many cities tried to replicate this model， but it didnot work as well as in Bilbao.

China Today： In the field of urban planning， Chinaand Spain have had a lot of exchanges as both ofthem have some excellent practices worth promotion.Would each of you like to share your viewsabout this？

Li Xiangning： I think China's entire urban model，especially the concept of modern cities， has beengreatly influenced by the West. For example， TongjiUniversity， under the influence of German urbanplanning， was the first university in the countryto offer courses in urban planning. But it was， ofcourse， also influenced by Spain. For example， Barcelona'sneighborhood system and its corner-cuturban model are reflected in the planning of manyof our new communities. There have been manyexchanges in urban planning between China andSpain. For example， the so-called superblock is afamous project in Barcelona. In reducing the numberof lanes to make room for public spaces， thesuperblock improves community service， which isrecommendable.

Meanwhile， Chinas highly efficient urban managementhas greatly impressed our Spanish colleagues.They are particularly impressed by our urban governancetechnology， for example， that of emergencyresponse. They regard it as valuable and commend itsenabling of the rapid transmission of information andevacuation of people.

Felix Solaguren-Beascoa De Corral： I think theurban layout of Barcelona is commendable. With ahybrid program model， the city has housing， shops，offices， facilities， and green spaces all within citizens15-minute radius. It has an urban net that is equal inall directions， that is to say， equal among the entiresociety， and equi-distant to the school， as the schoolis almost the same distance from any house. I thinkan urban net thats equal for everybody， and hencedenotes an equal society， is ideal. Everyone derivesthe same possibilities， as people have the same facilitiesand equal access to them. So its perfect.