Landscape Urbanism in China

Landscape urbanism is in China– again. Again because one could indeed argue that it existed already for several millennia – when intrinsic logics of the land led man’s occupation in particular manners, often with an ingenuity borne of necessity. Today it is back in full force – albeit in a more academic, studied and even formalistic manner. At the same time, landscape urbanism in China could be the nation’s savior. As the country rushes forth to urbanize, one can only hope that landscape (and infrastructure) will provide the structure to guide were to urbanize (and more importantly, perhaps, where to not build at all). The urban statistics are daunting: China has grown from 150 cities 60 years ago, to more than 660 cities today, and is expected to build 400 additional new cities in the coming decades; in recent years, more than 10 million persons have immigrated from rural to urban areas every year. A contemporary landscape urbanism in China could define operative devices to accent the basic structuring characteristics capable of guaranteeing the existing diversity and quality of the landscape and to counteract negative tendencies, while concurrently providing a sustainable means for further urbanization.

 

On 31 October and 1 November 2009, approximately 600 participants hailing from schools, practices and public administrations all over China contemplated and enthusiastically discussed such ideas at the Chinese Landscape Architecture Education Conference & Landscape Architects Congress. The impressive gathering of students and professors from 128 universities, public administrators of land, urban planning and management agencies from central government and municipal governments, and +/- 50 major international design firms operating in China (including – amongst others – SWA, Sasaki, EDAW|AECOM, Atkins, Hassell, EDSA, MCM, Atlas) together convincingly asserted China’s interest in and contribution to landscape urbanism. The intensive two-day event was hosted by the Graduate School of Landscape and Architecture at Peking University and held in a majestic hall on the campus itself and also included a national exhibit of landscape architecture graduate students. There were a number of keynote presenters from Europe, America and Japan. Amongst them, Charles Waldheim (USA) explained the development of the very term “landscape urbanism” and traced the projects of its evolving discourse; Haruto Kobayashi (Japan) showed how a series of differently-scaled realizations in Tokyo not only re-established city/ nature interplays, but also increased awareness for the environment; Frederic Steiner (USA) revealed seven axioms of making territories in the move from rural to more urban contexts; Bart Johnson (USA) proclaimed the need to respond proactively and to create strategies of resilience and facilitation with regards to urbanization in an era of climate change. Chinese practitioners and academics made powerful presentations – including one on the notion of a slowly changing “taste” in China (Xiaowei Ma) and another polemical stance on the stunted growth of design in China (Pang Wei). As well, there were convincing presentation by resourceful and innovative Chinese leaders, including Hu Cunzhi, chief planner of the Ministry of Land Resources and Sheng Lei, deputy head of the Tianjin Planning Bureau. Hu stressed the need to “design” the landscape before urbanization also underlined the need of strategies for rural China.

 

However, it was the final, highly animated, presentation of Kongjian Yu that solidified landscape urbanism’s role in the future of China. He spoke of “Beautiful Big Feet’ – referring to a shift in mindset of unbound feet as beautiful and critical of all that bound feet and the ‘taming of nature’ represented for centuries in China. In declaring the necessity for ecological infrastructure, high performance landscapes and a new aesthetic he set forth a 7-point manifesto:

 

1) Make friends with floods

2) Go productive

3) Value the ordinary & recycle the existing

4) Minimize intervention & maximize return

5) Help nature to recover & let nature work

6) Landscape as living machine

7) From the Art of Survival to the art beyond survival