Transcending the Future in Urban Design

“I am determined to pursue the new idea ofincorporating the future into urban planning，”chair of architecture at European Universityof Madrid José Luis Esteban Penelas statedon June 28 at the China-Spain Dialogue on UrbanPlanning and Cultural Development held in Madrid.He went on to elaborate the new model of urbanplanning that his team are promoting. It involvesinviting engineers， sociologists， architects， and artiststo forecast a city’s future development， based onwhich the urban planning is expedited. “What I wantto say is， the future is already here， but we must nowsurpass the more distant future，” Penelas declared.

More than 100 officials and scholars from Chinaand Spain attended the China-Spain Dialogue on UrbanPlanning and Cultural Development， organizedby the Center of Europe and Africa under China"International Communications Group and the Academyof Contemporary China and World Studies.

The geographical distance between the twocountries has done nothing to diminish the bondbetween the two civilizations， the China-Spainfriendship having grown ever stronger over time.“Our countries share many similarities in regard tourban planning， for example， the concepts of beingpeople-oriented， respect for nature， valuing culturalinheritance， and green development，” said Hu Kaihong，vice minister of China’s Central Office of Culturaland Ethical Progress at the dialogue.

The two countries’ trade volume surpassed US $50billion in the year 2022， and in 2023， China and Spain"celebrated the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomaticrelations. The 20th anniversary of their comprehensivestrategic partnership， moreover， fast approaches，which will be due in 2025. A wide range ofexchange activities takes bilateral ties to new heights，the two countries having formalized 30 or more sistercity partnerships. Integrating modern urban developmentconcepts with history and culture is a key topicin dialogues between the two countries’ urban planners，Chinese ambassador to Spain Yao Jing observedat the dialogue in Madrid.

Focusing on new changes and features， attendeeshad in-depth exchanges on such topics as urban renewaland cultural revival， the building of urban public"spaces， green development， the infusing of culturalelements into urban planning， and building futurecities.

Livable People-Centered Cities

“The cities are built by the people and are for thepeople，” Chinese President Xi Jinping said duringhis inspection tour of Shanghai in November 2019.Standing in a Yangpu Binjiang public space， Xi marveledat the transformation of what was once a rustbeltarea and site of many industrial factories into abeautiful and livable zone. He stressed that the people-centered principle should be upheld at all times，whether in the context of constructing a new townor renovating an old one.

Liu Shilin， director of the Institute of Urban Sciencein Shanghai Jiao Tong University， analyzed duringthe dialogue the major process and experienceof urban renewal and cultural revival that has takenplace along Shanghai’s Huangpu and Suzhou rivers.This work has effectively transfigured the “rust belts”along the two rivers into desirable residential communitiesand site of dynamic innovation incubators.Shanghai’s hosting of the World Expo 2010， themed“Better City， Better Life，” was what inspired the renovations，embodying as they do the people-centeredurban planning principle. Liu laid particular storeby the government’s role in this urban renewal. “Thegovernment is able to coordinate the demands andinterests of different entities， while purely economicmotivation often fails to achieve the desired results，”Liu said.

Speaking on the topic of building a livable and humanizedcity， María Reyes Maroto Illera， member andspokesperson of the Regional Government of Madridfor the Socialist Parliamentary Group， emphasizedthe immense importance of building public spaces byhighlighting their key role in bringing people closer.As parking lots devour more and more space， thatset aside for sports， social activities， or just walking，dwindles. Illera shared the Spanish Socialist Workers’Party plan for transforming Madrid， whose aim is tomodernize the Spanish capital city by making it livable，equitably apportioned， and greener. Two-thirdsof public spaces will be earmarked for citizens， andone third for transportation， thus restoring and revivifyingthe people’s social life. Meanwhile， the plan’s"axis connecting residential communities will alsobe linked to such green infrastructure as parks andgreenbelts， in a rational manner.

Zhao Jie， vice director of the Nanjing MunicipalOffice of Cultural and Ethical Progress， recounted thepractices of the Chinese city of Nanjing in its peoplecenteredurban development. Noted for its sycamoretrees （Wutong）， this city in east China has adoptedthat tree as its cultural symbol. “In public spaces –like scenic spots， squares， commercial zones， andsmall parks – we built 62 small-scale urban servicehalls， named ‘Wutong Whisper’ urban parlors， withineasy reach of all citizens，” Zhao said. The small publicspaces that feature the integrated functions of publicservice， cultural exhibition， and recreation， have becomeintegral to the city’s 15-minute cultural servicecircles for local citizens.

Culture Is the Soul of a City

A city’s historical sites， cultural relics， and humanisticfeatures are embedded in that city’s life，President Xi once noted. If its cultural features areruined， that city， no matter how well built， will haveneither soul nor vitality. Xi once observed that oldtown renovation and upgrading should be part andparcel of the protection of historical relics and preservationof cultural heritage.

Attendees of the dialogue went on to share theiropinions on how to build a city that lays equal storeby inheriting history and culture and pursuing economicand social innovation.

On the topic of blazing a new path in urban development，Hu Kaihong stressed the following threepoints： inheriting cultural heritage and preserving thecultural roots of a city; encouraging cultural innovationthat embraces the future; and promoting culturalexchanges in the interests of mutual learning. “Weshould respect and protect old buildings， and exploreefficient ways whereby to protect， inherit and utilizea city’s cultural relics. We may thus endow new valueon ancient culture， and hence revitalize ancient cities，”Hu said.

Zhao Jie elaborated Nanjing’s practices in thisfield， from the perspective of integrating culturalelements， citizens’ cultural needs， and creative artdesign into urban planning and construction. “Duringthe renovation of ancient blocks， we have not only"preserved the original look of historical buildings， butalso introduced modern features， including teahouses，cafes， book stores， among others， that make thempart of the 21st century，” Zhao said.

Zhang Yingle， a lecturer at the School of Architectureof Southeast University， analyzed at the dialoguecertain key experiences， from the cultural perspective，of China’s renewal of ancient streets. Since China’surbanization entered the new stage of improvementsto existing urban areas， having shifted from that ofexponential expansion， the country’s urban renewalhas been more about people-centered upgrading. InZhang’s opinion， the most important thing aboutrenovating ancient blocks is not the form of buildings，but rather the preservation of their traditionalfunctions， and making all such ancient blocks opento the public. This will give visitors a taste of local life.“Interaction and fusion are great ways of preservingtraditions and keeping abreast of the times，” Zhangsaid. He believes that integrating ancient streets withlocal life， rather than just protecting them and maintainingtheir original looks， is vital to maintainingtheir innate dynamism.

Zhao Jie holds that the best way to get to knowa city is to go to the local farmer’s market. He illustratedhis point through Nanjing’s project to use the"arts in the renovation of its Kexiang Food Market.“We invited nine artists of ages ranging from 20 to 60or older， including poets， writers， calligraphers， andmusicians. Each of them proposed ideas from theirspecific angles. We tried to explore ways of linkingcitizens’ daily life with art， so making the routinepurchase of provisions an aesthetic experience too，and hence promoting improvement of local people’soverall quality，” Zhao said.

Zhao also talked of how inspired he was by theSan Miguel Market at Plaza Mayor in Madrid. “SanMiguel has totally subverted my understanding of afood market. What we saw there was not just peopleshopping， but also communicating with each otherand enjoying shared moments of leisure， by takinga seat， having a drink， and exchanging news. A foodmarket thus becomes a place for people to socialize，a concept I find so intriguing that I want to transportit back to China，” Zhao said.

Natalia Ucero Pérez， first secretary of the presidiumof the Foreign Affairs Committee of theSenate of Spain， commended the dialogue for connecting"urban planning with cultural development.She observed that urban planning is not just aboutdesigning venues， roads， and spaces for people tolive and work， but needs also to take various culturalelements， such as people’s living habits and customs，into account. “Both boasting a long history， each ofour countries witnessed the thriving of splendid anddiversified cultures in their lands， ranging from ancientbuildings to various intangible cultural heritage，including art， folklore， and literature. Our urban planningmust hence take all these cultural elements intoconsideration， because they have shaped the locallifestyle，” Perez concluded.

Building Future-Oriented Cities

During his inspection tour of Shanghai in December2023， President Xi underscored the necessity toimprove the resilience and safety of urban developmentin a comprehensive way， while quickening urbandigital transformation and advancing the overallgreen transformation of economic and social development.

Attendees of the dialogue offered their solutionsas regards how to build a future-oriented city withinnovative approaches while addressing the pressingproblems that impede urban development. HuKaihong said in his speech that the best way to carryforward history is to create new history， and the bestway to preserve human civilization is to innovatenew forms of it. “We encourage exchanges and theblending of different cultures， and advocate the combinationof technology and culture. Cultural innovationcan play a key role in shaping the future of urbancivilization，” Hu said.

María Rosa Cervera， a well-known Spanish architectand president of Cátedra China， meanwhile，believes that the answer lies in nature. “Nature canbecome our mentor， capable of dissolving our perplexity，”

she said. In her speech， accompanied by PPTslides， Cervera took the structure of a flower as anexample， pointing out that the arrangement of eachpetal is not random， but aimed at receiving optimumsunshine. In her view， many shapes and forms in thenatural world may be sources of inspiration for urbandesigners. Sustainable and organic buildings constituteher current major research topic. “We’re tryingto design buildings of diversified shapes， like thosein the natural world， in an energy- and material-efficientway. We call them green or sustainable buildings”Cervera said.

As climate change becomes the common challengeof urban development globally， how to reducecarbon emissions and capture carbon has becomethe foremost topic among urban designers. Expandingthe coverage of green plants is a good way tocapture carbon， but limited urban spaces have madeincreasing green coverage difficult. Cervera’s solutionis to breed microalgae on the facades of buildings.“They can not only provide us with biomass energyand fertilizer， but also capture carbon dioxide. Wegrow microalgae on the surface of buildings to forma closed circulation loop，” Cervera said.

Juan Albert， a Spanish architectural designer andprofessor at the Gengdan Institute of Beijing Universityof Technology underscored， while talking aboutthe harmonious coexistence between human beingsand nature， the guiding role of ancient Chinesephilosophy in modern urban planning. “Natural elementshelped to create the appropriate ambience forbuildings in ancient Chinese culture. Those culturalconcepts have enlightened us in our creation of anurban environment more harmonious with nature，”Albert said.

Angel Zarabozo， vice president of the MadridWorld Capital of Construction （MWCC）， underlinedthe importance of sustainable urban development，saying that urban planning should adapt to thechanging environment. “Undoubtedly， we need tointegrate old towns and new towns to reach a balance.Meanwhile， protection of cultural relics and innovationshould also reach a balance. It’s importantto preserve the cultural value of ancient blocks whileintegrating the new with the old in order to achievesustainable development，” Zarabozo observed.

José Luis Esteban Penelas impressed the audiencewith such novel concepts of urban planningand management as drone applications in smartcities and the biocomputational urban design andmanagement system， while also emphasizing theimportance of future prediction in urban planning.He highlighted various possibilities brought about bynew technologies in urban development， and calledfor the introduction of new approaches in urbanplanning to build future-oriented cities. “The futureis already here， but we need to surpass the more distantfuture，” Penelas stressed.