Adjustments in the Compound Archipelago

A thesis submitted to Tongji University and Technical University Berlin in conformity with the requirements for the degree Master of Architecture (Tongji University Shanghai) and Master of Science in Urban Design (Technical University Berlin)

Adjustments in the compound-archipelago Improving liveability in Shanghai’s peripheral neighborhoods

Candidate: Marco Capitanio Student Number: TU Berlin 335339 / Tongji Shanghai 1135072 School/Department: College of Architecture and Urban Planning Discipline: Architecture Major: Architecture Design and Theory Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Zhuang Yu Prof. Dr. Peter Herrle

June, 2012

“孤岛”状城市小区的群体性整合 上海宜居邻里的改良性策略

姓名: Marco Capitanio (马可) 学号: TU Berlin 335339 / Tongji Shanghai 1135072 所在院系: 建筑与城市规划学院 学科门类: 建筑学 学科专业: 建筑设计及其理论 指导教师: 庄宇 教授 副指导教师: Prof. Dr. Peter Herrle

二 六 # Ú&ı

Acknowledgments

Writing a thesis about a Country so different than yours is a demanding project.

In accomplishing this task I am grateful to my supervisors, Prof. Dr. Peter Herrle (TU Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Zhuang Yu (Tongji University), who gave me their guidance and support in every phase of the research.

I received insightful comments from Prof. Richard LeGates (San Francisco State University), and helpful suggestions from Prof. Zhou Jingmin (Tongji University) and Viktor Oldiges; they all provided additional strength to my argumentations and analyses.

Fellow students, from the Chinese and German program, were a source of inspiration and critical thinking, and my special thanks go to Adam Odgers and Maximilian Zeller.

Finally, I am deeply grateful to my family in Italy: without its discreet but fundamental support this thesis would not have been possible.

i

Abstract

A liveable neighborhood is the result of a multitude of actors and circumstances, pertaining, among other things, to the built-environment, the socio-political and economic context, unfolding and adjusting over time. In this respect, even though the professional figure of an architect/urban designer is ultimately concerned with spatial design, he should fully understand how a particular space is produced, especially when dealing with foreign cultures. In Shanghai, population and urbanization growth, and a consequent breakneck construction-pace have largely been researched from a quantitative point of view, exposing challenges and threats to the urban and rural environment. Besides the central districts’ restructuring, numerous new towns have been built, generally polarized between high-end developments or generic, serial highrises. A discourse on their liveability is a necessary step towards a shift to a qualitativebased approach. This thesis deals with the analysis and possible improvements of liveability in Shanghai’s peripheral developments, especially focusing on the neighborhood-scale in a middle-class context. The first, theoretical part contextualizes the new towns’ foundation within the larger frame of a decentralization strategy, introduces the notion of liveability, and outlines the differences between the western and the Chinese concept of the neighborhood. The second part contains an analysis of three case-studies, the Holland Village in Pudong, a relocation area in Pujiang New Town (south) and a middle-class district in Jiangqiao Town, investigated through four categories, including density/compactness, mixed land-uses, pedestrian permeability and public space, in addition to an inquiry on their social composition. The conclusive chapter will highlight the crucial role of a certain mixture of land-uses and the need of specific architectural typologies to house them, as well as the contradiction between the sense of enclosure and social contact, the mutating nature of public space. keywords: liveability, neighborhood, Shanghai’s periphery, new towns

ii

摘要 一个适宜居住的社区是居住者和环境相互作用而促成的，与周边的环境现状、社会政 治背景、经济状况密切相关，并且随着时间的推移逐渐发展成熟和不断调整完善。从这 个角度来说，建筑师和城市设计师不应该只关注社区的空间设计，将设计对象单纯的定 位在空间层面，他应该充分了解一个特定的空间是基于如何的社会文化背景而产生，尤 其是在涉及外来文化影响的复杂情况。对于上海快速的人口增长和城市化进程以及随 之而来的惊人的建设步伐，目前已经有大量的研究，这些研究表明城市化进程对城市 和农村的环境已经构成巨大的威胁与挑战。在城市化进程中，除了中心城区的重建，还 伴随着大规模的新城建设，这些新城建设呈现出高端和普通两极发展的趋势。对于新 城的宜居性讨论，有必要转向以定性分析为基础方法的研究。本论文主要涉及对上海边 缘城郊的宜居性分析和对其可改善空间的论述，特别针对中产阶级这一特定人群的居 住圈并从社区层面展开分析。论文的第一部分，从理论上介绍在“去中心化”的城市发 展战略下，新城建设背景中“宜居性”的概念，并概述西方和中国关于社区概念的差异。 第二部分包含三个案例分析,在浦东的荷兰村和浦江镇定向安置规划和江桥镇中产居住 区规划，通过密度，土地混合使用状况，步行环境和公共空间的分类讨论展开，还包括 社会状况的系列调查。结论部分将着重介绍土地的混合使用状况和所需的特定的建筑 类型，以及社会交往中圈地建新城的矛盾和公共空间的可变性等。

关键词：宜居性，社区，上海边缘城郊，新城建设

iii

Table of contents

Acknowledgments

i

Abstract

ii

摘要

iii

1.

Introduction

p. 1

1.1. Problem statement & goals

p. 2

1.2. Methodology

p. 3

FIRST PART

p. 5

2.

Background

p. 6

2.1. Modern history of Chinese urbanization

p. 6

In Shanghai

p. 9

3.1. Shanghai’s urban development until the 1950s

p. 9

3.2. Decentralization policies

p. 12

3.3. The (new) new towns: an urban experiment

p. 15

3.4. Present situation & social groups involved

p. 17

Defining liveability

p. 20

4.1. Concerns about liveability in Shanghai & the new towns

p. 21

The neighborhood: West vs. China

p. 25

5.1. Modern neighborhood in the West

p. 26

5.2. Modern neighborhood in China

p. 28

5.3. Key concepts: lilong, hukou, danwei

p. 30

5.4. Today’s compound, the xiaoqu

p. 32

3.

4.

5.

SECOND PART

p. 35

6.

Assessing liveability

p. 36

6.1. Density/compactness

p. 36

7.

6.2. Mixed land-uses

p. 39

6.3. Pedestrian permeability

p. 41

6.4. Public space

p. 42

Case-studies

p. 44

7.1. Holland Village

p. 46

7.1.1. Social context

p. 47

7.1.2. Density/compactness

p. 50

7.1.3. Mixed land-uses

p. 51

7.1.4. Pedestrian permeability

p. 51

7.1.5. Public space

p. 54

7.2. Pujiang Town (south)

p. 58

7.2.1. Social context

p. 59

7.2.2. Density/compactness

p. 61

7.2.3. Mixed land-uses

p. 64

7.2.4. Pedestrian permeability

p. 68

7.2.5. Public space

p. 68

7.3. Jiangqiao Town

p. 73

7.3.1. Social context

p. 74

7.3.2. Density/compactness

p. 75

7.3.3. Mixed land-uses

p. 78

7.3.4. Pedestrian permeability

p. 82

7.3.5. Public space

p. 82

7.4. Comparative assessment

p. 87

8.

Conclusions

p. 89

9.

Possible pathways

p. 94

Bibliography

I

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1. Introduction

A considerable amount of literature has been published in the last decade about patterns and pathways of Chinese urbanization. Nevertheless, while environmental and economic outcomes were extensively researched, the role of urban design in creating liveable environments remained often overlooked. Urbanization is welcomed to the extent that the original Chinese motto for the 2010 Shanghai Expo was “Cities make better life”1 (in contrast to a rural lifestyle). Chinese urban population is supposed to increase by a third over the next 20 years, from 607 mil. in 2010 to 879 mil. in 20302.

Since 1990, when it became possible for private developers to lease land from the government, Shanghai has undergone a high-speed construction pace. This resulted in congestion in the city center and uncoordinated development at the fringes, threatening the amount of arable- and open-land at disposal, together with water resources. To tackle these problems, in 2001 the municipality decided to embrace a decentralization policy, through the foundation of compact new towns in Shanghai’s periphery, the socalled “1-9-6-6 plan”. Industries have been relocated towards the outskirts of the city as well. Thus, industrial and population growth during the last decades took place mainly in outer areas3. While more intense urban cores were planned and built, there was also a rapid increase of suburban developments, though more mixed and denser than American sprawl, a pattern which some scholars identified as post-suburbia4. Population of Shanghai is expected to increase from ca. 16 mil. in 2010 to ca. 19 mil. in 20255, even though its growth-rate is decreasing6. In Shanghai, some 170.000 newcomers arrived in 2010, while 50.000 people have been relocated each year from the central districts towards the periphery7. Due to speculation and rising land prices, migrants and relocated families have often difficulties in finding an affordable apartment, resulting in an increasing degree of social segregation. On the one hand, we can explain these local phenomena as a consequence of global causes and Chinese urbanization as a whole, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

“城市，让生活更美好”. The official English translation was, however, “Better city - better life”.

UN-Habitat 2009:238 see Chiu 2008 see Wu & Phelps 2008 Un-Habitat 2010:168 4.79% between 1990-95, 1.73% between 2010-15 and 1.00% between 2020-2025, ibid.

Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

where outer areas, medium-sized cities and urban villages seem to play a pivotal role.

On the other hand, Shanghai’s historical, social and geo-economic peculiarities are crucial in understanding its present situation, problems and possible future outcomes.

1.1. Problem statement & goals “If you look at the streetscape, and at the scale, it is quite human. These towns are quite more liveable and walkable than the central city of Shanghai. These are mid-rise nice neighborhoods. If people are living there and change the style a little bit, it could be a nice neighborhood to live in.”8 Besides general concerns about land scarcity and Shanghai’s ecological footprint, the decentralization policy adopted by the Municipal Government and the kind of development pursued present specific problems. A few years after the completion of many new towns, it is already possible to investigate their degree of liveability. A number of them, namely the ones belonging to the One City Nine Towns plan, were invested with special interest and importance. Their design was given to western firms, asked to produce a town resembling the traditional architectural style of the firm’s country (e.g. English-, German-, Italian-town etc.). The majority of the new developments were, though, built in a serial, generic manner, constituting rather anonimous residences for the ordinary lower-class citizens. Many realizations show nowadays common downsides, “such as social segregation, discontinuity of the townscape and a lack of (useable) public spaces”9. The new towns’ core is often planned for higher-middle class and above, leading to speculation resulting in empty, gated enclaves. There is a general lack of affordable housing for a big proportion of the future inhabitants, and the principle of mixed land-uses has often unbalanced outcomes, either resulting in too much or insufficient commercial floor space. Accessibility is largely oriented towards private cars, even though many residents have to rely on public transport to commute to the city center because of jobs’ deficit. The neighborhoods’ structure is generally exclusive in attempt, with gates, fences and security guards

8 Li Xiangning in Lingerak 2011 9 den Hartog 2010:36

2

discouraging pedestrian permeability. Not unlike the central districts, the urban fabric seems made-up by an archipelago of compounds, the so-called xiaoqu. Moreover, masterplans did not often consider future expansions and modifications, resulting in formalism. Many new towns, especially the ones designed by western firms, have already been extensively analyzed, in terms of their design intentions, success or failure.

An analysis of the livability of less prominent, “ordinary� new developments still needs to be done though, especially in view of Shanghai’s attempt to create compact and dense urban environments. According to the literature10, the neighborhood scale is decisive to determine the quality of such urban milieus, therefore, in this thesis, we will concentrate on the key factors that contribute to liveability in newly-built peripheral neighborhoods.

From a social point of view, the focus will be put on lower- to higher-middle class, given its increasingly important role and emergence in contemporary China11. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of three case-studies will expose the main design challenges at stake and give hints about possible resolutory pathways.

1.2. Methodology This thesis is composed of a theoretical, research-based part, and an analyticalapplicative part. The first relies on existing literature, published mainly in English from both western and Chinese scholars, and deals with three macro-themes. First, the urbanization history of Shanghai will contextualize the new towns within the broader municipal strategy of decentralization and will highlight the reasons behind their foundation. Second, liveability issues in Shanghai will be introduced, after a definition of liveability and its differences from sustainability. Third, the neighborhood will be tackled as the scalar focus of this thesis, outlining its implications in China and the main differences with its European counterpart.

The second part introduces four key-criteria to be assessed from a liveability perspective. Density/compactness, mixed land-uses, pedestrian accessibility and public space will be analyzed in three selected neighborhoods, in the Holland Village, Pujiang Town (south) and Jiangqiao Town, located in the districts of Pudong, Minhang and

10 see Hassenpflug 2010:90-117, Chiu 2008 11 see chapter 3.4.

3

Jiading respectively. The social context and field-research is based on interviews with residents, existing studies and, most of all, personal observations on-site, drawn on multiple occasions, at different day-times and seasons. Through such an investigation we will test the main challenges and potentials of designing new developments at Shanghai’s periphery.

Through an inductive process based on the data collected, the compared three casestudies will highlight specific trends, evaluated in the conclusions. The proposed possible improvements of the status quo belong to the physical, programmatic and policy-making level. The conclusive chapter, by means of a hypothetical design project in Pujiang Town, is supposed to be a bridge to narrow the gap between theory and practice, between recomendations and actual implementation.

First case-study Assessed elements

Second case-study

Third case-study

fig. 1: The methodology applied to this thesis.

4

Conclusions and possible pathways

FIRST PART

figg. 2-7: In Jiading district; Thames Town: Anting New Town; in Jiading district; on the way to Holland Village; on the way to Lingang Harbor City.

2. Local background

In order to give a context to the following research about new developments at Shanghai’s urban fringes, we must first introduce the local peculiarities in which these spaces are produced12. For a coherent understanding and theoretical speculation, China’s historical and local characteristics cannot be underestimated13. Borrowing from Neil Brenner, instead of considering “the places themselves, the question is: what are the tendencies, mechanisms and processes that produce them? What are the diverse determinations that condition concrete outcomes of objects?”14 Moreover, even though it exceeds the scope of this thesis, we have to keep in mind that globalization plays also a role in the production of space in Shanghai’s new towns. As Chen puts it, “[m]any local, regional, and city-level governments in the developing world are creating [...] new integrated townships, on the fringes of existing large urban centers, as another common form of globalizing the local. These supposedly self-sufficient new towns [...] manifest the current urban development strategies of attracting capital investment.”15 As pointed out already, besides the recognition of global mechanisms, Chinese specificities have to be taken into account. Outside forces are, in fact, only partly determining a development that has strong propellers from “within”, thus explaining why urbanization has been happening in China at such an extraordinary pace16. I will therefore, in the following paragraphs, briefly overview the main transitions and changes in Chinese modern urbanization history.

2.1. Modern history of Chinese urbanization Some scholars have spoken about high-speed urbanization when analyzing China’s urban transition happening since the last two decades17. We can consider the period of 12 see Lefebvre 1991 13 Frederic Jameson (1981:9) in the preface of his The Political Unconscious proclaimed “Always historicize!”

14 Brenner 2010:78 15 Chen et al. 2009:436 16 see Friedmann 2005 17 see Ipsen 2004

6

time between 1949, when the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded, and 1976, year of Mao Zedong’s death, as the maoist era. Policies adopted by the Communist Party, aimed at propelling industrialization and at discouraging migration to cities, had tremendous socio-spatial impacts. Pursuing the goal of a socialist society, land ownership was transferred in toto to the state in 195318, and agricultural production had to increase. Moreover, China had to abruptly industrialize and its cities were to become productive nuclei. In fact, from 1955 onwards, production, housing, services and institutions were organized into virtually self-sufficient unities, the danwei19. Each one had similar characteristics and was a local-scale expression of the Communist centralistic approach. An ideal danwei would satisfy the needs of its inhabitants, who in turn would have no reason to ever leave it. Moreover, industrialization was not only bound to cities, but many industries were established in rural areas as well. Given the fact that, in its early years, the PRC faced a great migration from the countryside to cities, the Communist Party decided to restrain urbanization. New urban inhabitants were a challenge to their hosting cities, and thus to the Party, unwilling to implement the existing infrastructure and housing stock. Urbanization come to a halt with the establishment of a household registration system, the hukou (from 1960). By fixing one’s birth place to its residence it was impossible for the population to move-out. This system eventually differentiated between a rural hukou (the great majority) and an urban one, the latter entitling its holders with numerous privileges. An additional policy, adopted 1957 but strengthened during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), sent several millions of urban residents to the countryside, being they educated people who were a threat to the central government or just undesirables.

We can consider these attempts relatively successful, since, when the PRC was founded in 1949, 10.9% of the population lived in cities, whereas in 1978 urban population reached only 17.9%20.

After Mao’s death and the following struggle for power, Deng Xiaoping’s figure emerged. From 1978 onwards he embarked on a series of reforms that opened China to market economy and were to cause one of the quickest and most prominent urbanization processes in history. In fact, China reached in 2000 an urbanization of 36.1%21, already 18 19 20 21

den Hartog 2010:16 see chapter 5.3.

Yeung 2006:1 ibid.

7

increased to 46.1% by 200922. It is expected that by 2015 50% of the Chinese population will be living in cities23. In the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1986-90) the government’s aim was to “speed up the development of the coastal region”24, and coastal areas had to play the pivotal role in attracting (foreign) capital and economical development. In order to achieve this goal, certain selected areas were granted a special status, involving fiscal and regulatory privileges. Depending on their scale and location they became “open economic areas (e.g., the Pearl River delta), special economic zones (e.g., Shenzhen), free trade zones, economic and technical development zones”25 etc. “In addition, three municipalities were raised to provincial status to be directly administered by the State Council: Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin.”26 Besides these “development’s focuses”, Chinese countryside as a whole benefited from the gradual abolition of collectivization and of communes, replaced in 1983 with the household responsibility system, and farmers slowly gained more freedom of mobility. As a result, many of them migrated, seeking better opportunities and a better life-style, whether to nearby urbanizing areas or to coastal cities, often to medium-sized, rather that larger ones. They became known as the “floating population”27, because, even tough migration policies have somehow softened, the restrictive hukou system persists. These people do not have an official status but they are, until certain limits, welcomed by municipalities as a source of manpower, especially for difficult, dangerous and dirty jobs (the so-called 3-Ds).

Their number is so relevant, that “[i]n coastal cities, it is common for the temporary population to constitute as much as a quarter to a third of the total population.”28

22 23 24 25 26 27

World Urbanization Prospect 2010:19 den Hartog 2010:8 Yang 1997:29 Friedman 2005:22 ivi:23 In Shanghai, according to statistics, there were in 2000 nearly 400.000 persons accounted as floating population, while in 2010 they were more than one million. Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2011 28 Yeung 2006:4

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3. In Shanghai

This section deals with the urban history of Shanghai, focusing on the decentralization policies that led to the foundation of numerous new towns. It will help understand how attempts to decongest the cramped city center are part of the history of this metropolis.

The final chapter explores the main characteristics of the new towns belonging to the One City Nine Towns plan.

3.1. Shanghai’s urban development until the 1950s Shanghai as an urban center developed through textile production and was a trading hub during the late Song dynasty (960-1279), even though the area has been inhabited for thousands of years by fishermen. Its favorable location at the mouth of the Yangzi River was the natural advantage that turned Shanghai in the major center of the region, bolstering a highly-developed network of canals and dykes. Moreover, the city is traversed by the Huangpu River and the smaller Suzhou Creek, Shanghai’s very name (上海) meaning “above the sea”. The Yangzi River, running roughly east-west throughout China for nearly 6500 km, is a formidable natural piece of infrastructure.

The old city with an oval shape is the area which was enclosed by a city wall built in 1554, in order to defend it against pirates29 ( fig. 8). To find major changes in Shanghai’s history, we have to wait until the XIX Century, a time when the population was supposedly around 250.00030.

When the British East India Company began trading in China (Canton, or Guangzhou, was the only open port), the Qing dynasty had already become weak and conservative.

Foreigners were interested in buying Chinese products like tea, silk and porcelain, but they were demanded to pay silver in return. When foreign powers started worrying about their silver stocks, they began to repay with opium, which the Chinese soon became addicted to. The following two Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-60), and especially the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), progressively granted more trading and economic

29 Balfour & Shiling 2002:33 30 ivi:40

9

privileges to the western powers and opened other ports to trade, including Shanghai. The city was seen as the most ideally located one and, thanks to the Treaty of Wangxia in 1844 and the concept of “extra-territoriality”, first Americans (1844), then British (1845) and French (1849), had the right to build their own settlement and also be judged under the law of their respective Countries. This part of Shanghai came to be known as the International Settlement and was a sort of striking “twin city”31 to the old Chinese one ( fig. 9).

As the Qing dynasty grew weaker and weaker, numerous upheavals and rebellions spread throughout the whole Country.

In Shanghai an organization called Small Sword Society, took over the old Chinese city in 185332. The fight of the rebels against the reactionary government destroyed the Chinese Shanghai and the surrounding countryside but left the concessions untouched. As a result, many refugees fled to fig. 8: The old Chinese city. Map from the late XIX Century fig. 9: Official Chinese map of Shanghai 1902. At the bottom the oval-shaped Chinese city.

10

31 ivi:63-81 32 ivi:56

the foreign districts. Such an abrupt migration and land-demand turned the foreigners into entrepreneurs and real estate became a very lucrative business. Following another defeat in the First Sino-Japanese war, from 1895 onwards Shanghai hosted a Japanese concession, and saw the appearance of the first industrial factories. Moreover, at the end of the XIX and beginning of the XX Century, many of Shanghai’s landmarks were constructed, notably the Bund, the boulevard along the Huangpu River.

In 1911 the Qing dynasty finally collapsed, and, in the following decades until the end of World War II, control over the Chinese nation was disputed between the Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang, and the Chinese Communist Party. The latter, which managed to defeat the Kuomingtang in 1949, was founded in Shanghai in 1921 in a lilong33 in the French concession. In 1927 the city was officially granted municipal status and plans for a new Chinese center north-east of the concessions were started the same year.

The aim was to counterbalance the economic hegemony of the foreign districts, and to foster through architecture Chinese national spirit ( figg. 10, 11). Two years later the first competition was held and by the beginning of World War II some monumental buildings were erected, though the problem of combining Chinese tradition, modern technical standards and representative issues was far from resolved34. War brought to an end

fig. 10: The cross-shaped new center of Greater Shanghai. fig. 11: The center (in black and white) lays north-west from the foreign concessions (in pink).

33 see chapter 5.3.

34 KĂśgel 2009:461-64

11

the further development of such a new center (and to the foreign concessions as well).

In 1946 already, a new Greater Shanghai Plan was initiated, this time introducing the concept of the satellite city35 and the development of the Pudong area, i.e. the opposite bank of the Huangpu River. This plan, sharing a similar destiny with its predecessor, was put aside when the Communist Party came to power in 1949. Given the fact that the government propelled agricultural production, the aim of a new master plan in 1953 ( fig.

12) was to produce a compact city and to prevent further expansion, thus preserving arable land in the countryside36. From now on, until Deng’s reforms, Shanghai’s planning practice will be deeply influenced by the Soviet Union.

3.2. Decentralization policies Following the principles of the First Five-Year Plan (1953-57), limiting the size of large cities and decentralizing industrial production and urban growth37, in 1959 a fourth plan for Shanghai came into being ( fig. 13). Satellite towns and industries at the city’s fringes were proposed, sometimes bordering the central area. “With an optimal distance of at least 20 km from the Central City, the satellites were located near existing main infrastructure lines to minimize government investment. [...] [T]he optimal population of a new satellite was 50,000 to 200,000. The plan was to surround the new industrial areas and satellite cities with green belts.”38 After a stasis due to Mao’s policies, Shanghai’s development regained vitality in the second half of the 1980s. In 1986 a fifth master plan ( fig. 14) drew heavily on its 1959 predecessor, but it had a much longer projected time-span, until 202039. Seven, administratively autonomous satellite towns were to be built, coupled with industrial production. This project was to be later abandoned, not unlike the previous satellite experiments. In fact, “[t]he residential mix in the seven satellites was extremely one-sided (poorly educated workers) and urban quality was lacking.”40 Shanghai started changing its appearance during the

35 36 37 38 39 40

den Hartog 2010:14 ivi:16 ivi:14 ibid. ivi:22 ibid.

12

fig. 12: The 1953 masterplan.

fig. 13: The 1959 masterplan.

fig. 14: The 1986 masterplan.

1990s. Pudong was finally developed, becoming the city’s skyscraper-downtown, office and financial district. A number of ring-roads, elevated roads, metro-lines and new train-stations revolutionized the traffic, bringing both huge potentials and congestion.

It became possible for privates to lease land, causing a construction boom and the inevitable real estate speculation. Meanwhile, a number of surrounding counties were declared urban districts, meaning that their inhabitants could enjoy the benefits of an urban hukou41. A 1994 revision of the master plan depicted Shanghai as the center of a polynuclear region. Congestion problems had to be addressed through a further decentralization, compact new towns and demolition of run-down low-rise in the center, to be replaced with new high-rise buildings. Sprawl had to be avoided in order to preserve arable land. In the 2000s, expansion of the underground-lines continued at an astonishing rate and now the city is conveniently connected with its outskirts and with nearby cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Ningbo. 19 new underground lines are planned to be built by 2020.

Shanghai’s urban development, like other megacities, is partly shaped by local peculiarities, partly by globalization trends. Aiming at attracting capital, the city has been pushing outside of the center manufacturing plants and industries, and has been tearing-down lilong structures in favor of high-rise, office towers and real estate

41

ivi:26

13

fig. 15: Eight central, eight outer districts.

fig. 16: Foreseen expansion in 2020: in grey industrial area, in green underground lines.

speculation. In 2000 Shanghai’s population was about 16 millions, spread over 6340 square kilometers, while in 2010 it reached 23 millions, taking into account floating population42. Population density (central districts and peripheral districts) was in 2010 ca. 36 pph. Shanghai is by now divided into 16 districts, 8 of which constitute the city proper and are by far smaller than the suburban ones ( fig. 15). The municipality accounts also one rural county, Chongming island. In the upcoming years population in the central city is supposed to decrease, according to the Shanghai Master Plan (19992020) ( fig. 16).

3.3. The (new) new towns: an urban experiment The development of XX Century new towns in Shanghai was officially established with the 1999 Master Plan. It is necessary, for clarity’s sake, to distinguish between the 1-9-6-6 model and the One City Nine Towns one, even though both stem from

42

Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2011

14

the same background and the same master plan. The 1-9-6-6 model is the general decentralization strategy adopted by the municipality, and it is based on a fine-grained hierarchical organization of Shanghai’s future urban development. It foresees “one Central City oriented towards the services sector, nine new decentralized ‘key cities’ as administrative centers, one for each district/county (300,000-1,000,000 residents), sixty small towns (50,000-150,000 residents) and six hundred central villages (averaging 2000 residents). [...] The focus is on the nine new key cities, which together have a capacity of 5,4 million residents. Within the nine, a distinction is made between three strategically situated new cities [...] and six new cities that border on ‘municipal industrial estates”43. Within this general plan, a sort of pilot project was given more prominence, resources and, most of all, international advertisement. It was the “One City, Nine Towns Development Plan” ( fig. 17), “in which one new city (an extension of the old satellite city, Songjiang [...]) and nine strategically located new towns (each with 30,000-100,000 residents [...]) were worked out as an experiment.”44 Being generally close to manufacturing and multinational companies’ headquarters, they were thought to be targeting higher-middle class residents and young professionals. Moreover, these new towns were supposed to boost further economic development. Thanks to a strong top-down, state-driven planning, their location on easy-to-compensate farmland and no organized resistance, they could be planned and built at a breakneck speed. A common characteristic shared by all of them is that they are supposed to be relatively autonomous entities, being often more than 30 km away from the central city, thus deserving the name of “new town” rather than of “satellite”. In many cases, public institutions, such as universities, together with services have been relocated to support the development of the One City Nine Towns program.

Their international character was bolstered inviting foreign architectural and design firms to participate in “western-only” competition. Developers were looking for foreign-looking designs, real themed towns, to appear attractive to a still-to-bedeveloped Chinese middle-class’ taste. In this respect, competitions were held for the English, Canadian, German, Italian, Dutch, Scandinavian and Spanish town. Other two forefront projects, but not included in the One City Nine Towns program, were Lingang Harbour City and Dongtan Eco City. The former, designed by the German firm GMP

43 den Hartog 2010:28 44 ivi:30

15

fig. 17: The new towns of the One City Nine Towns plan and Dongtan and Lingang New Cities.

on reclamated land, is now being slowly developed, while the latter is suffering from an unclear future. Often the plans embody an aura of luxurious life-style, featuring abundant greenery, water, spacious layouts, and sometimes, like the English-looking Thames Town, have become no less than tourist attractions. This sort of marketing reflects the fact that this “urban theming” could only constitute a small center at most, but it is not intended to be a well-functioning, autonomous town. “The thematically

16

connoted parts have a germinal function, stimulating larger-scale development.”45 From an international perspective, such a decentralizing plan refers back to previous XX Century experiences, borrowing from Howard’s Garden City movement, British New Town movement and contemporary American New Urbanism. Given the experimental status of such projects, the Eleventh Five-Year Plan made a selection of the developments that deserve to be pursued further, and receive more resources46.

3.4. Present situation & social groups involved Between 2000 and 2020 the government plans “to relocate more than 1.15 million people to the suburbs”47, following a so-called “‘principle of dispersion-concentration’. [...] [W]hich means reducing the population from the central city and concentrating facilities in the suburban new towns”48, together with an increase in greenery. The very concept of suburbia is rather new in China, and we do not see here the sprawl typical of north America. In fact, some scholars argue that, at the periphery of metropolitan areas such as Shanghai and Beijing, urbanization is skipping the suburban stage, directly entering in a post-suburban one49. In comparison to its American counterpart, postsuburbia has a more mixed land-use and hosts many degrees of density, besides being more “cosmopolitan” and rich in differences (we think for instance at techno- and science-parks or multinational headquarters, like the Giant Interactive Group Campus in Songjiang by Morphosis).

The various decentralization policies adopted by the municipality target mainly two social groups and have completely approaches and outcomes. The first group is

45 ivi:36 46 “[T]hree locations have come out on top: Jiading New City, Songjiang New City and Lingang New City. The populations of all three will grow to 700,000 or more. [...] With its population of ca. 800,000, Sonjiang is now more or less ‘complete’ [...]. From 2010, all eyes will be on: Qingpu-Zhuiiajiao, Nanqiao New City and - again - Jiading New City [...]. Of the three, Jiading is expected to become the most affluent, due to the recently expanded hub, Hongqiao Airport, as well as good road and rail connections. Nanqiao is expected to develop in a more industrial direction. Lingang Harbour City will probably continue to grow at a slower pace than intended”. ivi:36-7 47 ibid.

48 Xue, Zhou 2007:22 49 see Wu & Phelps 2008

17

constituted by people who have to be relocated because the land they were living on has to be redeveloped. This is a forced eviction, generally compensated by a certain sum of money offered to the relocated families. Besides a monetary compensation, they are sometimes offered the possibility to choose between a few number of different locations, where they could either buy an apartment or have one assigned to. In order to make clear ground for the 2010 Expo, 18.000 families and 270 factories were relocated to the periphery50. One of such relocation areas was Pujiang Town (south), which will be one case-study in the second part of this thesis. On the one hand, protests and resistance against this kind of policies is growing, on the other hand the very poor are also welcoming the moment of their eviction, since they could earn some compensation.

In general, relocating families unwilling to move from the city center towards the periphery harnesses their opportunities to be close to income sources and cuts social relationships, and it is not a desirable policy in view of social sustainability51.

The second group involved in Shanghai’s decentralization attempts is constituted by the middle and upper-middle class. Those households, in contrast to relocated people who generally belong to the lower social strata, have the opportunity to choose where to move and where to buy a house. It is particularly important to understand the behaviour of such part of the population in order to have a clearer picture of the reasons considered when selecting the location of an apartment. The proportion of middle-class in Shanghai over the total population depends on how we define it. Recent official statistics considered households with an annual pro-capite income between ca. 16.000 and 37.000 RMB52 as middle class. Given this income, 38% of the local population belongs to this group53. A research conducted by Linghin Li (2011) exposes the main reasons which play a role when moving out from the city center, distinguishing between middle class and upper-middle class ( fig. 18). He highlighted the importance for both groups of finding a relatively affordable house, with special attention to future value appreciation.

He concluded that the former group is more flexible in choosing a potential location, as long as it is well connected to the center via underground. The latter group, instead, very likely owning a car, places more importance to proximity to the work-place and 50 Li, T. 2010 51 see Woodcraft et al. 2011 52 ca. 1.930 and 4.470 â‚Ź.

53 Wang 2011

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to the CBD, revealing a more pronounced tendency towards shopping. Neighborhood infrastructure and the presence of sufficient retail funcions play a more important role as well. As a conclusion, we could say that Shanghainese middle class appreciates a rather urban lifestyle and does not dislike high densities, placing more importance in the physical and social infrastructure rather than on the housing typology itself.

fig. 18: Elements taken into account when moving to peripheral districts; their weighted importance in brackets.

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4. Defining liveability

“What makes a liveable city? Liveability is generally defined by performance in three main areas: environmental quality, neighbourhood amenity and individual well-being [...]. The key elements of a liveable city often include attractive public spaces, walkable, mixed use, higher density neighbourhoods that support a range of green infrastructure and transport, affordable housing”54.

Even though liveability is often equaled to sustainability, there is a growing amount of literature and practice that tends to grant liveability a more autonomous role; nonetheless, the two agendas tend to overlap. Some point out that liveability is more concerned with the present state of a city or neighborhood and is not so much focused on future outcomes, while others highlight the fact that measures of liveability are locational, i.e. stress the idea of place, while sustainability takes into account a broader range of variables55. In comparison with sustainability, “liveability focuses less on abstract themes and on more specific human needs and people’s subjective reactions to places.”56 Moreover, researchers like Jane Jacobs and Kevin Lynch have exposed in the 1960s and ‘70s the benefits of liveable and sociable places. Sustainability and liveability go often hand in hand and they mutually support each other though. In this respect, the city of Melbourne states that “[l]iveability reflects the wellbeing of a community and represents the many characteristics that make a location a place where people want to live now and in the future.”57 The city council has stated five main principles to be pursued, namely retaining local character, ensuring connectivity, higher density living, diversity in land use and ensuring a high quality public realm58. In view of this thesis’ scope, I will consider the last four elements, which will be the basis for the analytical, second part.

54 55 56 57 58

Ling & Yuan 2009:3 ivi:156-57 Wheeler 2007:503 VCEC 2008:XXI Ling & Yuan 2009:157-8

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4.1. Concerns about liveability in Shanghai & the new towns “The question becomes How do we turn mass-produced urban landscapes into places that have character and nurture community? How do we make cities attractive and comfortable to all groups within society [...]?”59 Shanghai is, generally speaking, a very dense and relatively compact city. Its densities60 are much higher than those in European cities61, comparable to Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo62. Population density has increased in the last decades from ca. 25 to ca.

36 pph in 2010, but it is important to distinguish between densities in central districts, (200-340 pph), and in peripheral districts, (15 and 60 pph)63. In Shanghai some 170.000 newcomers arrived in 2010, while 50.000 people have been relocated from the central districts towards its periphery, as a result of demolition and urban renewal64.

As we have seen before, the Municipal Government has been trying to de-congest the central districts and densify the periphery, mainly through the creation of new towns.

Even though these new towns are generally compact in attempt, the results are very heterogeneous, and the compact model, as a way to preserve land consumption and gain critical mass to sustain efficient public transportation, was loosely followed. In fact, high-density was mostly applied in the form of high-rise65, anonymous lower-class developments ( fig. 20), while villa-like housing mushroomed for the upper-classes, especially in Pudong and Songjiang66 ( fig. 21). In some cases, in order to support the development of the new towns, public functions were relocated there, and universities seem to play a pivotal role, like in Songjiang and Lingang Harbor City67. Often the

59 Wheeler 2007:503 60 In the second part of this thesis I will give more accurate measurements and definitions of density.

61 The population density in the central districts being “more than ten times that of Amsterdam”. den Hartog 2010:12 62 Chiu 2006:537 63 Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2011 64 ibid.

65 Between 2000 and 2010, buildings under construction higher than 8 storeys have increased by five times, while floor area of constructions has only doubled. ibid.

66 In 2000 villas accounted for 1,2% of residential housing, while in 2010 they accounted for 3,85%. ibid.

67 “The new city of Songjiang, for example, has had seven universities transferred out to it [...], this in an attempt to avoid the mistakes associated with new towns in the west, which have primarily

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distance to the nearest underground station is too big: one aim was to discourage commuting to the central districts, but job opportunities in the new towns are not enough68. Anting New Town lays close to large car manufacturing industries, but the development designed by AS&P does not suit, in term of costs and way of life, the lower social strata that could work in such industries69. In Thames Town the situation is not much different70. A number of developments within the One City Nine Towns program remains to these days uninhabited. Anting New Town, Thames Town (the center), Pujiang New Town (north) are fully equipped towns with infrastructure and housing but few inhabitants. There are different reasons why many of the western new towns failed

fig. 20: High-rise in Songjiang.

fig. 21: Single-family villas in Thames Town.

become dormitory towns for commuters.” den Hartog 2010:34 68 “While the assumption continues to be that the residents of the new towns in the directcontrolled municipality will seek employment in the appurtenant industrial estates, in practice this appears to be less and less the case. [...] Despite enormous investments in public transport, the accessibility of many suburban districts and new towns remain relatively poor.” ivi:372 69 “With the price of the residential buildings rising to 7,000 yuan (850 €, A/N) per square meter, only expatriates and senior Chinese managers and engineers working in the nearby VW plant can afford to buy, while even some of the middle-class Shanghainese who have a desire to move into Anting could be priced out.” Chen et al. 2009:459 70 It “only provides single-family houses or townhouses. The price of the England-style villas ranges from 5 to 50 million RMB (600.000 to 6 million €, A/N). The average price for the rest of Songjiang New City is about 5,000–7,500 RMB (600 to 900 €, A/N) per square meter. It is still not affordable for the lower income households. A lot of workers in the new towns have to live outside of the towns.” ivi:447

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until now to become real urban environments, while much of the ordinary Chinese development around is extensively inhabited. In many cases, apartments were quickly sold out, but buyers turned out to be speculators71. Given the fact that the themed centers were already targeted to higher-middle class families and professionals, i.e. expensive apartments, speculation could only restrict even more the number of potential buyers.

A critical lack of amenities and services is common to the majority of the new towns as well. Moreover, since developments are carried out by privates acquiring land-use rights (40 to 70 years72), a balanced mixture of services and public functions could not be achieved in many cases. There is a general lack of affordable housing, apart from relocation areas, in a society in which the great majority of apartments and housing is privately-owned73. “Market research into the demand for particular developments is almost never conducted, and the result is that what’s on offer doesn’t always meet

fig. 22: Plan of Thames Town.

fig. 23: Plan of Anting New Town.

71

“Estimates from electricity meter readings show that 64,5 million apartments and houses stand empty in China’s urban areas.” Lingerak 2011 72 den Hartog 2010:66 73 “In 2002 the Ministry of Construction reported that more than 80%(!) of the housing stock was privately owned. [...] The annual ‘Economic Blue Book’ in 2010, [...] reveals [that] [...] 85% of Chinese people cannot find an affordable house in the city!” ivi:70

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demand.�74 All this exacerbates Shanghai’s increasing spatial segregation75. On the other hand, western designers worked on the new town projects rather naively, trying to adapt foreign typologies to the Chinese context (e.g. Anting by the German firm AS&P), or without criticality, producing carbon-copies of western architecture (e.g. Thames Town

by Atkins group). Much of the literature focused on these two cases76 as opposite design attitudes ( figg. 22-23).

74 ibid.

75 In 2010 China as a whole had a Gini coefficient - a statistical measurement of inequalities - of 0.47, crossing 0.4 being considered socially dangerous. Shanghai, according to not up-to-date data, had in 2005 a coefficient of 0.32, way above Beijing (0.22 in 2003) but below Hong Kong (0.53 in 2001). Un-Habitat 2010:192-93 76 Hassenpflug 2010, Chen et al. 2009, Oldiges 2004

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5. The neighborhood: Europe vs. China

Subdividing the city into smaller parts has always been a rational and almost natural act.

In this respect, we could easily see the analogy with the State, also an entity composed of different regions, provinces or Länder77. This section explores the fundamental differences between the concept of neighborhood in the West and in China. “[T]he historic Chinese city is significantly different from the European city in history, where walls generally delineated an independent, self-governed legal domain [...]. Chinese cities were never corporate entities with their own legislative bodies”78, in contrast to the medieval city-state in Europe, which embodied commercial and administrative power. As Hassenpflug (2010) points out, throughout China’s history, family- and community-relationships were given priority over societal ones. In fact, the very notion of “civil society” did not historically develop in China, and this condition had, and still has, profound influences on the Chinese production of space. While in Europe public space, an expression of civic-ness, is a natural conterpart of private space, in the Middle Kingdom it was an alien concept. The closed house’s coutyard, reflecting family-related values, was the true communal space, protected by walls from strangers and enemies, while the space outside was virtually meaningless ( figg. 24-25). Hassenpflug

Public space City boundary (wall)

Family/clan

fig. 24: The historical Western city.

77

78

fig. 25: The Chinese city.

“Nations have to be understood as projects; there are geopolitical projects, geocultural projects, geoeconomic projects. What if the same is true for cities? [...] [W]e have to think of them as projects produced by particular coalitions of forces to produce the idea of a structural coherence of urban development around those particular spaces.” Brenner 2010:79 Hassenpflug 2010:50

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thus proposes, when speaking about the Chinese city, to consider the duality closed/ open space, instead of private/public space. In the following paragraphs we will see that, even though the exclusive neighborhood is the basic building unit of the contemporary Chinese city, public space is slowly emerging.

5.1. Modern neighborhood in the West The concept of neighborhood had a scientific and academic exposure at the beginning of the XX Century. Sociology from the Chicago School embodied, among the others,

by Robert Park, “argued that face-to-face human relationship had a geographical basis.”79 A key figure for the development of a theory of the neighborhood unit in USA is Clarence Perry80. A social activist, planner and educator, he started developing his own ideas about the neighborhood unit during the 1920s.

A neighborhood unit, in Perry’s view, is centered around an elementary school and it is big enough to support it, being mainly a residential area, with integrated green spaces, playgrounds and shopping. Major thoroughfare roads are meant to encircle the unit, so that inside the neighborhood vehicular traffic is limited. Shops should border the unit, located along the main roads. He foresaw neighborhood applications in several contexts, like industrial, suburban sites and dense, urban locations ( fig. 26).

International practice was another source of inspiration, in fact, Perry borrowed from the Garden City movement in the United Kingdom, from Ebenezer Howard (1902) and Raymond Unwin, the developer of Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb. Apart from the general intentions and principles, Perry was very pragmatic in calculating from statistics the size of the neighborhood unit, its inhabitants and densities. In the case of a suburban area, population would be between 4800 and 9000 people, with at least 1000 households, preferably homogeneous single family houses, covering an area of 160 acres (ca. 0.65 sq.km, thus 73 to 138 pph), for walkability’s sake. The concept of the neighborhood unit, sometimes unrelated to Perry’s theorization (e.g. the superquadras in Costa and Niemeyer’s Brasilia, Le Corbusier’s district subdivision in Chandigarh in India, fig. 27), sometimes more closely connected (e.g. the British New Towns after

79 Lu 2006a:21 80 see Perry 1929

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World War II), was often adopted in the creation of new towns and cities worldwide.

Nowadays we can see in the New Urbanism movement81 some references to Perry’s work and his emphasis on community-building, attention to pedestrian environments and alternative models to urban sprawl. The neighborhood unity has also received much criticism and it is worth here to briefly address it. One of the main controversial aspects is that Perry did not tackle the problem of work. In fact, he assumed that people had to travel somewhere out of their neighborhood, creating a form of zoning that, pushed to its extremes, contributed to the rise of the American sprawl. His concept has also been regarded as too much concerned with spatial criteria, rather than with the promotion of local identity, unlike Jane Jacobs’ Greenwich Village82. Another, much debated aspect is the extreme homogeneity of housing typologies, thus presupposing homogeneous prices and a homogeneous social groups. Ultimately, a neighborhood can be both an expression of community-relationships or a planning tool that plays against social inclusion.

fig. 26: Perry’s apartment house unit.

fig. 27: Detail of Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh masterplan.

81 see Duany 2001 82 see Jacobs 1961

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5.2. Modern neighborhood in China “The neighbourhood has long been the basic spatial unit to organize cities and towns.

In ancient China, a normative principle of urban planning, which organized the city into separate wards, had been established since Zhou times (c. eleventh century–256 BC)”83.

During the Qing dynasty a household registration system regulated urban residents’ lives, it was called baojia, and its aim was to keep residents under control. One hundred households formed a jia, ten of which forming a bao with its own responsible person84.

As we know already, the historical and contemporary Chinese city is “a closed city, consisting of omnipresent walls, fences, and gates; a cellular landscape of partial spaces cut off from one another”85. Let us now explore the influences of modern planning on Chinese neighborhoods. In the 1946 plan for Shanghai the city was divided into districts and neighborhoods, each of the latter having 4.000 residents, but the plan was not carried out, accused of being very rigid and idealistic86.

After 1949 and the founding of the PRC, influences from the Soviet Union increased exponentially. A notable large-scale example is Caoyang New Village, built in 1951-53, as a residential development for workers ( fig. 28). Covering an area of over 94 ha, it was designed by Wang Dingzeng, who had graduated in USA, and followed the basic principles of the neighborhood unit, with a division between neighborhood, cluster and the whole village. “Each cluster had its own nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools. [...] The village had community facilities such as co-op shops, post offices, cinema, theatres and cultural clubs at the centre while commercial establishments at the periphery.”87 During the 1950s the superblock model was transplanted from the Soviet Union to China. It was constituted by housing slabs, four- to six-storeys high, grouped around a central open space and with some public facilities in the middle ( fig.

29). This layout created some problems though, notably the fact that many apartments faced east and west, a situation at odds with fengshui principles. Moreover, the blocks facing the streets suffered from noise and pollution related to traffic. As a result, the 83 84 85 86 87

Lu 2006b:371 Lu 2006a:26 Hassenpflug 2010:48 Lu 2006a:26 Lu 2006b:377

28

pure superblock scheme was soon abandoned, in favor of a compromised mixture between slab typology and western, neighborhood unit urban design, while other Soviet planning principles, such as the clear separation between housing and industries by green belts was throughly followed. Another popular urban design model borrowed from the Soviet Union, become popular in China in the late 1950s, is the microdistrict or mikrorayon, which is “a selfcontained residential district with an area of 75–125 acres (ca. 30-50 ha, N/A) and a population ranging between 5000 and 15 000. Four to five microdistricts, each with a service radius of 300–400 m, made a residential complex.”88 ( fig. 30) Wang Dingzeng designed also a microdistrict, dividing the overall residential scheme into four hierarchical levels. “[T] he residential group (300–500 residents), the neighbourhood cluster (2000–3000 residents), the microdistrict (8000–10 000 residents) and the residential district or satellite town (50 000–

fig. 28: Caoyang New Village. fig. 29: 1955 design based on the superblock. fig. 30: Zaojiatun Residential Cluster.

88

29

Lu 2006b:381

60 000 residents).�89 The principles to be followed were the same of the neighborhood unit, i.e. the integration of services and public function and the exclusion of through traffic.

5.3. Key concepts: lilong, hukou, danwei Lilong (é‡Œĺź„) is a hybrid housing typology stem in Shanghai in the 1860s and built until the 1950s; in the 1920s, the great majority of the city was constituted by these residential buildings. Their origin can be found in the traditional courtyard house in southern China, here replaced by the shikumen, characterized by a stone-made entrance for each unit ( fig. 31). In Shanghai, through the establishment of the foreign concessions, western elements fused together with local ones: in fact, the first lilong were rented by foreigners to Chinese migrants. Even tough we can distinguish between different types of lilong (e.g. shikumen-, new style-, garden-, apartment-lilong), its main characteristic is a fishbone organization, with main lanes, through which it is possible to exit the lilong, and

fig. 31: A typical shikumen lilong.

89

fig. 32: A cramped lilong alley.

Lu 2006b:382

30

fig. 33: Commercial functions in Xintiandi with guard on the right.

secondary paths90 ( fig. 32). The houses are south-oriented and can be two- to fivestoreys high. After the 1950s they became associated with cramped living conditions, lacking running water and sanitary infrastructures, and many of them began being torn-down, their inhabitants relocated to make room for high-rises. Nowadays we face a revival of interest in them, and some lilong have become flagship projects for high-end commercial renovations (e.g. Xintiandi, Tianzifang), hosting boutiques, expensive cafes and restaurants ( fig. 33).

As we have briefly seen in chapter 2.1., the hukou (户口) was a household registration system that linked a person’s residence to his birthplace. It was gradually adopted from 1955 onwards as a way of controlling the population and preventing migration. There were two kinds of hukou, the rural and the urban one, the latter entitling its owners to more privileges, such as grain subsidies, housing and access to better education etc., while rural inhabitants were supposed to be autonomous91. Such a regulatory system has been described by some authors as promoting “incomplete urbanization”92 and fostering “cities with invisible walls”93. Another, somehow less known distinction, is the one

fig. 34: Academic danwei, 1990s. fig. 35: Industrial danwei, 1992, Beijing.

90 Li & Zhang 2008 91 Friedman 2005:11 92 see Alexander & Chan 2004 93 Chan 1994

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between local and non-local hukou94. In fact, after the reforms in the late 1990s, the duality rural-urban hukou lost much of its meaning, given the fact that in a city there might be agricultural hukou holders as well. Migration is then distinguished between hukou-migration, happening when a person can change his hukou location, and nonhukou migration, when people do not have virtually any right in the receiving town or city, since they do not hold a local hukou. To the latter category belongs all the “floating population”, no matter if they come from an urban or rural area. Even though some policies have softened, e.g. hukou transfers to small towns are easier than before, a localurban hukou is generally granted only to rich or highly-educated people, remaining a discriminating practice. In this respect, the main differences, in comparison with the past, is that now local municipalities and governments can settle their own rules, instead of depending on the central government95. During the late 1950s this administrative organization took spatial form into the work unit, or danwei (单位), “a walled compound organized around a state-owned enterprise or other institution (educational, research, or administrative).”96 This collective institution was responsible for supplying jobs and housing to citizens, truly organizing their entire life from cradle to grave ( figg. 34-35).

With Deng’s reforms the danwei gradually lost its importance, no longer providing jobs and housing, since private enterprises and local municipalities started to operate more autonomously, giving way to the xiaoqu.

5.4. Today’s compound, the xiaoqu We could say that the xiaoqu (小区) , literally “small district”, is an up-to-date version of the danwei, one that has to cope with a market economy and where residence is not assigned but bought, not anymore linked with workplace. It can sometimes comprehend a few facilities like kindergartens, fitness centers etc., that could also be used by people living outside the xiaoqu. This sort of developments, given the stress on security and control issues embodied by walls, fences and guards, are often referred to as compounds. They are usually constituted by a group of high-rise, south-oriented

94 Chan 2008 95 ibid.

96 Friedman 2005:102

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residential buildings accessible through a limited number of patrolled gates and entrances. They clearly separate the open, “public” space of the street outside and the semi-private space inside them, thanks to fences or walls, usually combined with thick greenery. Around their perimeters there can be found rows of outwards looking shops, and, in principle, every resident can open up a business inside the compound, converting his house to a shop or office. The benefits of having a row of shops surrounding the xiaoqu are manifold. Since they do not have to be southerly oriented, they can be built on all sides, creating a barrier that contributes to the urbanity of the outer street and protects the inside from noise and pollution ( fig. 36). The residential buildings are nearly always grouped around a central element, usually a park with varying degrees of paved area, eventually including pergolas, sport facilities etc. ( fig. 37) “[T]he microdistrict has emerged as the dominant basic unit of urban governance. Each microdistrict has a Residents’ Committee [...], which operates as a mass organization under the Street Office [...], the sub-district urban government. The main function of the Residents’ Committee is to organize a corps of volunteers to perform daily maintenance and security work for the community [...]. The volunteers help to collect maintenance fees, organize group leisure activities, disseminate official and community notifications and so on. Together these volunteers [...] link residents of individual microdistricts

fig. 36: Xiaoqu: high-rise residential and shops along the perimeter.

fig. 37: The central park around which the buildings are placed.

33

to the local government.”97 Chinese authorities see the xiaoqu as the basic means of community building (shequ jianshe)98, and the contemporary Chinese city can be understood as an archipelago of xiaoqu, holding drawbacks and potentials. Even though they represent exclusiveness, in reality they tend to be more open than they seem, with loose access restriction, given the fact that in many of them are also integrated nonresidential functions such as offices and shops. They can represent lack of urbanity and socio-spatial segregation, the most expensive ones being real gated communities, but, “[a]lthough the ‘archipelago’ of xiaoqu does not truly promote urban cohesion, the xiaoqus themselves do constitute a means for creating community identity.”99 More xiaoqu grouped together form a shequ (社区), a community. As we have already pointed out, xiaoqu are the built expression of a social structure, where communal relationships have preeminence over societal ones. In this respect, Hassenpflug (2010) sees the neighborhood as a kind of urban village within the city, speculating further that, despite the physical appearance, the Chinese city still incorporates fundamentally rural elements.

97 Lu 2006b:385-6 98 Bray 2005:181 99 den Hartog 2010:380

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SECOND PART

figg. 38-43: In Pujiang Town (north); Qingpu; at Wanda Plaza in Jiangqiao; Thames Town; ivi; near the Holland Village

6. Assessing liveability Within this part of the thesis I will introduce the elements (derived from existing literature and from contextual adaptations) that I consider crucial in order to assess the liveability of a neighborhood, before applying them to the analysis of three selected case-studies. Each of these elements has an introductory paragrah illustrating its importance especially in relation to the Chinese context.

6.1. Density/compactness Density has been, especially during the XIX and XX Century, a very controversial topic. In its beginnings, Modernism aimed at relieving the overcrowded industrial city, on the one hand producing extremely dense but not compact proposals like the Ville Radieuse (1929-31) by Le Corbusier100, and, on the other hand indirectly influencing the development of extensive suburban environments, thanks to the celebration of the automobile. In spite of the noble intentions (e.g. gain more sunshine and better air circulation for every apartment) the results of ideology pushed too far were often unfair, superblocks and high-rise becoming a social ghetto dispersed in greenery. Historically, density is measured in mainly three ways, home density, population density and Floor Space Index (FSI)101.

fig. 44: The three settlements have the same density (75 dwellings per hectare) but completely different urban form.

100 The project foresaw 1000 pph and 3200 pph in the periphery and in the center respectively!

101 In the USA this index is called Floor Area Ratio (FAR).

36

R. Unwin in Nothing gained by overcrowding (1912) proposed a maximum density of ca.

30 houses per hectare, F. L. Wright in The disappearing city (1932) came to the extreme of ca. 2.5 houses per hectare and J. Jacobs (1961) theorized a minimum of 250 dwellings per hectare for central urban areas102. The FSI index, officially adopted in Europe in 1948103, measures the total floor area of buildings in m² over a surface, and is generally used in planning practice. Recently, the benefits of an increase in density for urban environments have been sharply exposed, specifically in view of a sustainability agenda.

Enough critical mass in terms of inhabitants can sustain public transport and is directly related to a reduction of car ownership104. Dense developments can save land and reduce infrastructural needs, ultimately influencing the carbon footprint of a city. Even though there is a general agreement in the academic world about the benefits of densification, density has long being disconnected from compactness, i.e. without consideration of kind of urban environment a certain density can produce. In fact, density as such does not give us any clue about urban form, lacking any sort of qualitative value ( fig. 44). Not only must a city be dense, it has also to be compact, ensuring walkability, interesting pedestrian environments and short trips between different activities. This is true not

fig. 45: The chart combining FSI FSI, GSI and L. L

102 Berghauser & Haupt 2004:22 103 ivi:23 104 Jabaren 2006:41

37

only for the western city, but also in China, den Hartog remarking that in Shangahi’s new towns “[s]patial contrasts should be bigger and the density more dramatic, to preserve agricultural land, supply the metro system, and keep this wildly developing city under control.”105 In an attempt to combine quantitative measurements with a description of the urban form we will rely in this thesis on the Spacemate research by M. Berghauser Pont and P. Haupt (2004), developed at the TU Delft.

Spacemate integrates three variables in the same chart, FSI (the density itself, or the intensity of a settlement), the GSI (Ground Space Index, or the compactness of a settlement) and L (Layers, or the average number of floors) ( fig. 45). In order to calculate the four variables, the gross floor area (the total amount of a building’s m²), the built area (the footprint of a building in m²) and the plan area (the unit of analysis in m²) are needed ( fig. 46). Given the scope of this thesis, the gross floor area calculation has been simplified106, making the hypothesis that every building has one underground floor.

FSI = Floor Space Index gross floor area / plan area The FSI expresses the intensity of an area.

GSI = Ground Space Index built area / plan area The GSI expresses the compactness of an area.

L = Layers gross floor area / built area The FSI expresses the average number of floors in an area.

fig. 46: The three variables adopted from the Spacemate research.

105 den Hartog 2010:410 106 For a precise calculation, outside spaces should not be considered, while areas under a pitched roof and underground floors should be considered.

38

6.2. Mixed land-uses Talking about mixed land-uses means moving away from a considerable inherit of Modernism, i.e. zoning. With the Athens Chart (published in 1943, among others, by Le Corbusier) zoning acquired the status of an uptodate design tool, and it took nearly 20 years until this principle, based on the separation between living, working, recreation and circulation, was criticized by J. Jacobs (1961) or declared literally dead, as pointed out by Charles Jencks after the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing scheme in St. Louis in 1972 ( fig. 47). “Most researchers agree that properly conceived multiple use development could bring variety, vitality and viability to a place [...]. [A] sophisticated mixing of various uses is a precondition for sustainable urban development.”107 An ideal mix is rather naive to conceive, since it varies according to place and time, but the general trend is to assure it not only in the horizontal dimension, but also, and maybe most crucially, in the vertical dimension, like in the common mix of a business activity at ground-floor and housing upon. Nonetheless, in the past decades developers and investors have sometimes been reticent towards mixed use, mainly because it was thought to be cost-inefficient and difficult to manage. Moreover, in the Chinese case, the extensive application of mixed use policies has to face concerns about security and public control.

While the mixture of diverse functions is generally advocated, it remains rather unclear which are the uses that should be mixed together and to which degree. Interestingly, according to van den Hoek, “during the period of industrial modernization the scale level and grain size of mixed-use expanded from a mix on a building level to the level of the district. [...] In the late 20th century whole city districts became occupied with one type of housing or one type of production facilities. [...] One of the essential results of mixing-uses within a framework of the walk-able scale of the block and the neighborhood is the generation of a public realm.”108 Nowadays, a high degree of hybridity in urban areas seems more and more crucial in order to achieve performance, livability and sustainability.

We will analyze the case-studies in two ways. On the one hand, quantitatively, by calculating the amount of floor-space devoted to residence, work (e.g. offices and

107 Jenks & Dempsey 2005: 155 108 van den Hoek 2008:7

39

industries), amenities (e.g. commercial activities) and public functions (e.g. schools).

Those functions will be represented by a percentage over the total floor space of the area. On the other hand, qualitatively, by distinguishing between specific kinds of businesses and which typologies they are housed in. This will show which specific functions are most needed at a neighborhood-level, and which are belonging to a larger scale. In fact, “[p]eople live complex lives and relate both to communities that are defined by where they live, and ‘communities of interest’, based on interest, religion, or shared identity.”109 Some functions could be identified as expressions of a local lifestyle, while others belong to the “super-local”, following a W. Christaller’s pattern ( fig. 48).

fig. 48: Diagram of Christaller’s theory.

fig. 47: Pruitt-Igoe’s demolition.

109

Woodcraft et al. 2011:31

40

6.3. Pedestrian permeability Connectivity and permeability could be considered a sort of glue holding the city together. Encouraging pedestrian movement and bike-use is a commonly accepted strategy when aiming at reducing CO2 emissions and creating more interesting and vital urban milieus. A compact urban form and mixed land-uses alone cannot guarantee an increase in non-motorized trips, if they are not combined with a high pedestrian permeability. The degree of openness of a settlement, the quality and character of connections at ground floor and the presence of gates or fences determine pedestrians’ behavior. In principle, interconnected streets and pathways are preferable over cul-desac and dead-end streets, which do not encourage transit. Some scholars argue that a so-called fused grid (a mixture between a classical grid and the Radburn pattern) has the benefit of assuring enough permeability for pedestrians while limiting the negative externalities of traffic, such as noise and pollution110. In the Chinese city, as we have seen in chapter 5.4., the urban typology of the xiaoqu plays the dominant role, and controlled access through a limited number of entrances ( figg. 49-50) dramatically

fig. 49: More xiaoqu form a shequ.

The few entrances limit pedestrian permeability.

fig. 50: A guard in front of a vehicular entrance in Pujiang Town (north).

110 see Jin 2010

41

increases pedestrian distances and freedom to choose an own route, eliminating possible shortcuts. While, on the one side, this need of control seems to suit the rising Chinese middle-class and could play against urbanity, on the other side it goes hand in hand with “the high importance of the community and the neighborhood with its closed, introverted and exclusive spaces”111. A compromise between these two needs should be fostered.

According to A. Mandanipour, accessibilty is regulated by essentially three kind of barriers. First, physical barriers, e.g. fences and walls. Second, perceived barriers like codes and signs, e.g. “we may be hesitant to enter an expensive-looking shopping center if we do not have access to the resources needed for the activities there”112. Third, social control, e.g. legal prohibitions. In the following case-studies the degree of enclosure of different xiaoqu will be analyzed by mapping the physical barriers at ground-floor, and by a qualitative comment on mental and perceived boundaries.

6.4. Public space As we have seen in chapter 5., in China “[i]n the past, urban space was considered as a part of the Emperor’s body and public space was inexistent. Collective spaces, rather than public spaces, were predominant [...]. Public life generally occurred in temples, markets and tea houses. Under Mao’s rule, public space was considered as a scene, where power could be displayed.”113 However, this does not mean at all that in contemporary China public space does not exist. In fact, thanks to the influences of globalization and market reforms, practices of public space, often in the form of experiments or hybrid results, are emerging. For instance, parks started being used even more intensely than in the West ( fig. 51). Also because of poor air-quality and cramped apartments, we can see retired people taking care of their grandchildren, elderly playing games or taiji, couples having a stroll, young families out for a Sunday walk or entire groups enjoying outdoor dancing. Streets are maybe the main form of public space in China, and a recongnition of the fundamental role that informality (from food stalls to

111 Hassenpflug 2010:150 112 Madanipour 2007:162 113 Ferrari 2010:22

42

an innumerable kind of services) plays in assuring liveliness to an often monotonous and “generic city”114 is indispensable ( fig. 52). A rather new kind of hybrid public space is represented by the neighborhood or district shopping center ( fig. 53). It is the expression of new players in the shaping of the contemporary city in China: private developers.

While being spaces mainly devoted to commerce, many of them feature additional functions, often buildings are arranged around a central square or plaza accessible to anyone, or are interconnected by pedestrian alleys. “Open space can develop into public space only very slowly. [...] [A]gainst the background of a continuously growing middle class, we can already foresee the strengthening of elements of civil society and the articulation of corresponding spatial demands.”115 J. Gehl distinguishes between two types of activities in outdoor public space116. On the one hand, compulsory ones, which will happen regardless of the spaces’ quality, weather conditions etc., e.g. going to work or shopping. On the other hand, optional ones, that may or may not happen, dependending on specific characteristics of the location, e.g. an evening stroll. When considering the intensity of optional activities it is possible to understand how appreciated and successful a space is.

fig. 51: Heping Park in Shanghai. fig. 52: Informal street vendor. fig. 53: Thumb Plaza in Shanghai.

114 Koolhaas et al. 1995:1238-64 115 Hassenpflug 2010:147 116 Gehl 1987:11-13

43

7. Case-studies

The three selected case-studies are meant to represent new neighborhoods in the periphery of Shanghai, according to a social group ranging from lower- to higher-middle class. The first case, in the Holland Village, is one of the themed centers of the One City Nine Towns plan; in the second case, Pujiang Town (south), we deal with a relocation quarter, which quickly gained vitality and vibrancy; the third case, in Jiangqiao Town, targets middle and higher-middle class thanks to the proximity of a newly-opened commercial center. The criteria adopted when choosing the case-studies were: _lower- to higher-middle class target _comparable size _mix of different architectural and urban typologies _already built and, at least partly, inhabited _possibility to gain data

Town/City

Typology

Remarks

Anting New Town

Open block

Mostly uninhabited

Holland Village

Block + slab/townhouse

Sparingly inhabited

Thames Town

Townhouse/villa

Mostly uninhabited

Pujiang Town (north)

Slab/open block/row house

Mostly uninhabited

Pujiang Town (south)

Slab (5-11 storeys)

Lower- to middle class

Lingang Harbor City

Slab (4-11 storeys)

Only one block developed

Qingpu New City

Slab (various heights)/villa

Lower- to higher-middle class

Jiangqiao Town

Slab (6-14 storeys)

Middle to higher-middle class

44

Holland Village

Jiangqiao Town

Selected case-studies

Pujiang Town (south)

Visited towns/neighborhoods

N

fig. 54: Location of the selected case-studies within Shanghai municipality.

45

0

25 km

7.1. Holland Village

Located in Gaoqiao, Pudong district, the Holland Village (荷兰村) belongs to the One City Nine Towns plan and it is supposed to function as a center for the whole Gaoqiao New Town. This area is situated in a Special Economic Zone, close to the Yangzi River and to the sea, characterized by logistics and port-oriented industries. The original masterplan and urban design was the result of a competition won by the Dutch office Kuiper Compagnons (later joined by Atelier Dutch). The first design-phase began in 2001, followed by a second in 2003 and a third in 2004, while construction began in 2003, proceeding slowly, to the point that, until now, roughly half of the original masterplan has been built. An advantage of the Holland Village, in respect, for instance, to Thames Town, Anting New Town or Pujiang Town, is that it is located adjacent to an existing town, thus benefiting from already established services and functions.

This is arguably a crucial support to new neighborhoods’ liveability, since inhabitants

Underground station Hospital School Case-study area

N

0

500 m

fig. 55: Satellite map of the Holland Village.

46

can satisfy their everyday needs without covering long distances. The Chinese partner office, in charge of the on-site implementation and construction supervision was the Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Institute117. It played an increasingly important role since the two Dutch offices decided to abandon the project, due to disagreements with the contractors. Holland Village features compact developments, laid-out in a mixture of perimeter blocks and south-oriented slabs, an alternative to the standard xiaoqu model. The buildings are an homage to traditional Dutch architecture, featuring pitched roofs, facades’ patterns and colors reminding of medieval cities in Holland. The town is the closest to the central city among the ones in the One City Nine Towns plan (ca. 15 km to People’s Square) and it can be reached in ca. 45 minutes by underground, even though, from a pedestrian point of view, the stations’ location is far from the new town’s core.

7.1.1. Social context Many houses had to be demolished and local residents, mostly farmers and lower-class workers, were relocated to nearby apartments. “The municipality demanded 15 percent low-priced housing and 15 percent expensive housing. The rest was for middle-income groups. [...] The target group for the new housing was a representative range of local residents [...] and executives working for foreign companies in the Free Trade Zone.

Most inhabitants now seem to be wealthier local middle-class people, among them many entrepreneurs and governmental officials.”118 The current population amounts to a few thousands residents, but the projected population for 2020 ranges between 7.000 and 12.000 inhabitants. All apartments119 have been sold, but only a part of them is occupied, a result of aggressive speculation. Some inhabitants of the adjacent existing town come to the Holland Village to fish in the canals or to have a stroll in the quiet and empty pedestrian streets, but, given the pronounced social difference, they cannot contribute to the town’s liveability. In fact, as pointed out by Lingerak (2011), wealthy residents find in social homogeneity a special reason to live in the Holland Village, in terms of sense of security.

117 den Hartog 2010:106 118 ivi:110-14 119 Apartments in the Holland Village have a floor area of 100-130 sq.m. Ivi:114

47

0% Ground space

50%

100% Built space 18% Infrastructure 25% Open space 57%

N

48

0

250 m

figg. 56-59: (Opposite page) figure-ground plan; community space in a compact xiaoqu; a more airy community space; (current page) positioning of case-study area within the Spacemate diagram.

Typical inner-city xiaoqu Typical lilong housing L

13 12 11 10

9

8

7

6

5

FSI

2,5

4

2,0 3 1,5 2

Average positioning

1,0 1

0,5

Example xiaoqu 0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

GSI

Total area

Estimated inhabitants

Inhabitants/ha

Open space/inhabitant

40 ha

1.500-2.000

35-50

115-150 sq.m.

49

7.1.2. Density/compactness The Holland Village presents a hybrid urban typology, a mixture between perimeter block (often in the form of townhouses) and mid-rise slabs within it ( fig. 56). This seems to be a compromise between the original idea of urban blocks proposed by the western designers and the peculiarities of the Chinese city, e.g. the southerly orientation. The result consists of relatively small (ca. 150 x 250 m.) and compact blocks, potentially highly walkable; the 3- and 6-storeys buildings emphasize the human scale of the development. The main streets are flanked by the buildings’ main facades ( figg. 60-61), a feature that has the potential to foster urbanity, whereas inside the blocks buildings turn to a southerly direction. The density, in terms of floor space (between 1,5 and 1,9 FSI) is considerably lower than that of xiaoqu in the central districts of Shanghai but matches the one of lilong housing ( fig. 59). On the other hand, the compactness (between 0,27 and 0,32 GSI) is slightly higher that that of inner-city xiaoqu, but far from that of typical lilong. The open space inside the blocks is compact but not oppressive, even though larger patches of green are a welcomed presence and sometimes carparking tends to clog the space ( figg. 57-58). The estimated population is only about 1.500-2.000 inhabitants, largely due to speculation, so that it is still difficult to analyze the performance of such an urban form, until it is put under stress by a higher amount of people.

fig. 60: Towards a liveable town?

fig. 61: The main pedestrian street.

50

7.1.3. Mixed land-uses Nearly 70% of the floor space is devoted to housing, 60% of which, as we have already seen, still remain empty. Especially problematic are the townhouses facing the main pedestrian street and an exclusive block composed only of semi-detached houses ( fig.

62); this expensive accommodations are still not accepted by the Chinese higher-middle class, either willing to live in a free-standing villa with a private garden or in a high-rise apartment. Thus, this alien typology has been simply rejected. On the other hand, the apartment slabs inside the blocks are almost fully inhabited by a more ordinary middle class and have already acquired a lively character. Public functions are represented by a school, a kindergarten, an elderly home and a church (!), all of which used. They occupy (this comes with no surprise) prominent locations, and they are secluded from the rest of the development, constituting a fenced-off block on their own. A relatively conspicuous amount of office space is located around the main square, housed in replicas of Dutch traditional architectures ( fig. 64). These buildings do not have any particular program and it seems they were designed as decorated “containers�, waiting for whathever function might come at hand. Until now they have remained empty, being an exotic scenery for the town itself. Commercial space is situated along the main pedestrian street only, along both sides, at the ground-floor of the townhouses (which have a separate access from the back). More than 60% of the shops are empty; with a few customers per day and an expensive rent to pay, only certain kinds of businesses can survive: among them a supermarkets/convenience stores, up-market restaurants and spas. Only one informal activity, a food stall, was found in the whole neighborhood, close to a xiaoqu’s entrance.

7.1.4. Pedestrian permeability When considering the degree of enclosure of a settlement it is important to distinguish between physical space and perceived exclusiveness, as Madanipour suggested in chapter 6.3. The xiaoqu are not only defined by the layout of buildings, but also by the fact that they are surrounded by fences, occasionally coupled with greenery, or walls ( figg. 67-68). Guards can be found at nearly every entrance ( figg. 69-70), and around

51

Residential 69,5%

figg. 62-66: Map of land-uses; the only informal activity found in the Holland Village; empty buildings of the “cultural plaza�; (opposite page) empty townhouses and empty shops; empty town-houses and occupied shops.

Public 11% Work 9,5% Commercial 10% Empty buildings Informal activities

N

52

0

250 m

0% Floor space

50%

100%

LIST OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES Restaurant/Eatery 4 Barber shop/Massage 4 Tertiary services 3 Real Estate 2 Supermarket/Convenience Store 2 Children-care 2 Bank 1 Work 95% empty

Commercial 65% empty

Residential 60% empty

Total floor space

Sq.m. public/inh.

Sq.m. work/inh.

Sq.m. commercial/inh.

412.000 sq.m.

26

32

13

53

the town as well, sitting in small booths. The power of enclosure, in fact, is very much visual and psychological: someone not living in the area might be intimidated by going through a patrolled gate, even though, the most exclusive xiaoqu of semi-detached houses apart, it is unlikely that somebody will be stopped when passing through an entrance. The overall perceived enclosure of the neighborhood conveys a slight sense of oppression; this might reassure middle class inhabitants themselves, but fences inhibit possible shortcuts for pedestrians and bikers.

Avg. n. entrances/xiaoqu

Avg. distance between entrances

1,8

500 m.

7.1.5. Public space When dealing with public space in China, as highlighted in chapter 6.4., we are aware of the profound differences with its western counterpart. Even though no “pure� form of public space can be defined, it is possible to analyze different spatial typologies with a certain degree of publicness, e.g. open spaces inside a xiaoqu, green spaces (parks) outside a xiaoqu and commercial streets ( fig. 71). Open space within the compounds’ boundaries amounts to 67%, but only a small portion of this is actually green, so that outdoor activities are reduced to a minimum, also given the fact that middle and higher-middle class tends to privilege secluded spaces and a higher degree of privacy.

Along the main canal a public park was designed: it is well-maintained and attractive, but only a few people seem to be using it ( fig. 72). It could play an important role in revitalizing the Holland Village if it was more integrated and connected to the existing adjacent town, but this could only be achieved with a more inclusive attitude towards lower social classes. Since the development is supposed to recreate the atmosphere of a traditional Dutch town, much emphasis is given to open spaces with an urban character, in this case a straight pedestrian street which ends in a vast square. Spare visitors walk by the (mostly empty) shops and almost no one sits or stops to enjoy whatever kind of outdoor activity ( figg. 73-74). There are multiple reasons for such a failure, for instance,

54

Guard

figg. 67-70: Map of pedestrian permeability; special guard for exclusive residential area; main entrance to a xiaoqu.

Entrance Fence/wall

N

55

0

250 m

this space is not supported by adequate commercial activities, the rest of the town is only partly inhabited, lacking enough critical mass to sustain a vital outdoor life, and the architectural style and presence of guards intimidates the inhabitants of close-by neighborhoods.

Sq.m. public “urban� space/inh.

Sq.m. public park/inh.

14

29

56

0% Open space

50%

100% figg. 71-74: Map of builtand green-space; view from the park towards pedestrian street; groups of passers-by are still a rare event; the desolate and empty main square.

Public “urban� space 11% Public park 22% Open space inside xiaoqu 67% Canal

N

57

0

250 m

7.2. Pujiang Town (south)

Pujiang (蒲江) south is formally part of the One City Nine Towns strategy. In 2001 the Italian office Gregotti Associati won an invited competition to build an “Italiantown” in Shanghai’s southern district of Minhang. The office was fully responsible (even though through the mediation of its Chinese partner office) for the masterplan and a small architectural implementation in the northern part of the district, targeting high-class buyers. The rest of the town was (and is being) designed by local companies, and built by a number of different developers. When Shanghai won the bid to host the 2010 World Expo, the municipality chose to redevelop an area on the eastern bank of the Huangpu river, resettling the industries and households located on that site. The southern part of Pujiang was selected as the area where to relocate these people, to the

Whole Pujian Town area (developed and not developed)

Pujiang North

Underground stations

Pujiang South (World Expo Home)

Case-study area

N

0

fig. 75: Satellite map of Pujiang New Town.

58

2 km

so-called “World Expo Home” area120. Moreover, farmers and peasants who used to live on Pujiang’s site were relocated to the (southern) new town as well. Given the need to complete construction and relocation as soon as possible, the municipal government was directly involved in the development, constituting the Shanghai World Expo Land Holding Company in order to smoothly manage the process. Another local company, the Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Group, was hired to carry-out the urban and architectural design. Construction started in 2004 and was completed by 2006; 15.000 were the households relocated, spread over 15 blocks121.

Northern Pujiang is thus considerably different from the southern. While the first aims at attracting higher-middle class, by means of more luxurious apartments, the second retains a “generic” character, and, being more affordable, has developed a more friendly character. The two parts share, nonetheless, the same street layout, the standard block measuring 300 x 300 mt, thus every block is thought to be an own xiaoqu. Pujiang, like the Holland Village, is relatively close to the central districts (ca. 15 km to People’s Square), and it can be reached by subway (completed in 2009) in 40 minutes, although the three stations’ location, along the town’s eastern edge, is not ideal. Public bus lines operate also to Huaihai Zhong Rd., this trip taking ca. 1 hour.

7.2.1. Social context As we have already seen, Pujiang south started as a relocation development. The relocated households were thus belonging to lower- and lower-middle class; they received a compensation sufficient, at least, to buy an apartment in their new neighborhood. Nowadays we face a heterogeneous mix of inhabitants: on the one hand there are relocated people, either from the Expo site or from the former villages situated on Pujiang’s area, on the other, middle class households which are either renting an apartment or have bought one. Given the fact that Pujiang north is still largely uninhabited, a considerable number of white-collar workers decided to move here, because of proximity to work and convenient apartment prices (see following interview).

Farmers, who used to live in the same area, had to abruptly adapt to live in a new urban

120 CPIT Shanghai 2004 121 Chinadaily 2007

59

environment. Even though access to commercial facilities and other services for them has improved, they generally lack now enough indoor storage space and, most of all, cannot anymore grow vegetables and raise livestock in front-yards as they used to.

Generally they point out how everyday expenses have risen122.

There is a moderate satisfaction with the living environment, especially because of air-quality and community-greening, and inhabitants, according to a recent surveyproject123, have generally adapted to their new condition. However, it also becomes clear the lack of commercial amenities, in particular connected to the accomplishment of daily needs, and the lack of venues where it is possible to have social encounters124.

M.Y., around 40 years old, resident in Pujiang south, talks about his experience: Marco Capitanio: Where are you from and why and when did you move here?

M.Y.: I am from a middle-sized city in Shandong Province and I moved here two and a half years ago. I am one of the owners of a glass factory in my hometown and I needed to expand the business in the Shanghai area.

My office is located closeby, so I chose to live in this district.

M.C.: Is it not too far from the city center?

Do you feel a lack of commercial and fig. 76: M.Y. interviewed in Pujiang south.

entertaining facilities?

122 Zhou et al. 2010 123 see ibid. and den Hartog 2010:348 124 According to Zhou et al. 2010, interviewees expressed their dissatisfaction concerning social interaction. Most of the inhabitants said they were never involved in communal leisure activities and are eager to socialize more. Interaction happens mainly between close neighbours or former friends prior to the moving-in; the communal public spaces inside the xiaoqu are by far the most used outdoor spaces, while a majority of interviewees affirmed to spend their leisure time mostly at home. Property management plays a considerable role in maintaining the communal green and open space orderly, and residents wish this could be carried-out more effectively and with more participation.

60

M.Y.: Which center do you mean? Lujiazui (in Pudong, N/A)? Commuting takes only one hour, from my point of view it is ok. Of course here there is not such a wide range of commercial services, so I go often shopping to the nearby Walmart. For my lifestyle the neighborhood is anyhow comfortable enough.

M.C.: What do you like especially about living here?

M.Y.: I enjoy very much jogging in the open air here, since I like sports. It is not only a matter of air-quality, here there is also plenty of space! I could not do this in the city center.

M.C.: With whom do you live and are you planning to stay here many years?

M.Y.: Right now I live by myself. My girlfriend stayed in my hometown, so, when I will have saved enough money, I will definitively go back to Shandong Province.

7.2.2. Density/compactness The whole area presents a mid-rise character, with a degree of compactness comparable to compounds in the central districts but with sensibly lower densities, which are, in turn, comparable to the ones in lilong housing, only much less compact ( fig. 80).

Buildings are generally 6- and 11-storeys-high, the former usually located along the xiaoqu’s border, the latter towards the center of the compound, more protected from street noise and pollution, enjoying a better position and thus more expensive. Even though the urban design is extremely simple, a monotonous repetition of housing slabs facing south ( fig. 77) (given also their quick design and construction), the community area inside the xiaoqu feels rather airy ( fig. 78). It is the space between xiaoqu that is more problematic. In fact, from the point of view of a pedestrian, streets are too broad and buildings’ facades too distant to each other, generating a feeling of exclusion ( fig. 79). In general, different densities above 1.5 FSI seem to have similar impacts on an area’s liveability, so that, from a sustainability point of view, buildings could be even higher. Compactness is a rather more decisive factor, especially when aiming at

61

0% Ground space

50%

100% Built space 20,5% Infrastructure 13,5% Open space 66%

N

0

250 m

62

figg. 77-80: (Opposite page) figure-ground plan; community space of a 11-storeys xiaoqu; a typical street-crossing; (current page) positioning of case-study area within the Spacemate diagram.

Typical inner-city xiaoqu Typical lilong housing L

13 12 11 10

9

8

7

6

5

FSI

2,5

4

2,0 3 1,5 2

Average positioning

1,0 1

0,5

Example xiaoqu 0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

GSI

Total area

Estimated inhabitants

Inhabitants/ha

Open space/inhabitant

75 ha

12.000

160

41 sq.m.

63

fostering “life between xiaoqu”, since pedestrian movement and commercial functions take place almost exclusively on the ground floor.

7.2.3. Mixed land-uses More than 80% of the floor-space in the area is devoted to residence. Being a relocation, virtually the totality of the apartments are inhabited. Public functions are represented by two schools and a kindergarten, serving the whole new town. Supra-neighborhood functions are clustered around the neighborhood’s main central axis, in this case the afore-mentioned schools, a Walmart (opened in 2011) and office buildings. They are spatially detached from residential xiaoqu, thus becoming a block on their own.

Regarding office space, it is important to note that more than 80% of it is empty; from field-observation it seems that this mid-rise, exclusive typology cannot target local needs. In fact, apart from large companies, it is difficult to imagine lower- to lowermiddle class working here. Residents are mainly working in nearby factories and less expensive offices.

We could distinguish between two typologies of commercial activity, one belonging to the neighborhood-scale and one to the district-scale. The first are small businesses which serve the daily needs of each xiaoqu, and they only need a basic, and almost standard architectural typology, i.e. a one-storey, relatively narrow (2.5-5 mt) shop ( figg. 88-89).

The most common activities include restaurants/eateries, food shops and clothes/shoes shops. When more spacious (and more expensive) typologies are built, they remain either completely empty ( fig. 90), or their second floor is used, at best, as storage. An expression of the social background is the high number of small workstations (generally various kinds of hardware reparations), indicating that light-industrial activities are strong and could be well integrated close to residences. Shops, as seen in chapter 5.4., tend to form a “bracket” encircling a xiaoqu, either following the north-south axis, where no apartment slab would be put for orientation reasons, or along major streets.

Besides neighborhood-scale activities there are district-scale ones, such as Walmart.

Much more than a shopping mall, it hosts a number of restaurants, high-end stores, entertainment opportunities (though many of them still empty), targeting not only customers from immediate neighborhoods, but from the whole Pujiang Town. In fact,

64

“every group of neighborhoods in the new suburban developments of Chinese metropolises has to receive a shopping and service center ranking above the decentral shopping strips”125.

The lack of enough services exposed by the inhabitants ( fig.

81) is reflected in the conversion of ground-floor apartments into informal businesses ( figg. 8283, 87). Resellers of small-sized goods, barber shops and the like tend to appear along the main internal xiaoqu’s axes, close to the entrances, or along the borders where no rows of shops were designed. Occasional informal stalls can be found both inside and outside a xiaoqu ( fig 86).

125

Hassenpflug 2010:79

figg. 81-84: A long queue at the ATM gives a hint about lack of services; apartments converted into shops along a xiaoqu’s edge; apartments converted into a barber-shop and food-store inside a xiaoqu; self-help pigeon house.

65

figg. 85-90: Map of land-uses; one-floor, relatively narrow shop-row; apartment converted into a foodstore inside a xiaoqu; informal fuit-stall in a carpark; (opposite page) one-floor, narrow shops seem to function easily; larger, two-storey shops are often empty.

Residential 88,2% Public 5,5% Work 0,8% Commercial 5,5% Empty buildings Informal activities

N

0

250 m

66

0% Floor space

50%

100%

LIST OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES (EXCLUDING WALMART) Restaurant/Eatery 40 (23,5%) Food shop (Greengrocer/Bakery/Tofu/Butcher/Dairy/Drinks) 19 (11%) Clothes/Shoes 19 Workstation 14 (8,5%) Home appliances (Curtains/Furniture etc.) 13 (7,5%) Liquor store/Tobacconist 13 Barber shop/Massage 11 (6,5%) Real Estate 9 (5,5%) Supermarket/Convenience Store 6 (3,5%) Telephone shop/Electronics 5 (3%) Pharmacy/Health care 4 Tertiary services 3 Newsagent/Books 3 Animal shop 2 Bar/Entertainment 2

Commercial 21% empty (not considering Walmart)

Work 83% empty

Residential 5% empty

Total floor space

Sq.m. public/inh.

Sq.m. work/inh.

Sq.m. commercial/inh.

970.000 sq.m.

4,5

0,7

4,5

67

7.2.4. Pedestrian permeability All xiaoqu present a typical pattern, with fences (occasionally substituted by shopping strips) and gates (usually one/two vehicle- and one/two pedestrian-only-entrances) to regulate access ( figg. 91-94). A majority of gates is patrolled by one/two guards, checking each car driving through, but rather indifferent to pedestrians. By means of on-site observation, everyone who does not look particularly extravagant or potentially dangerous might enter each xiaoqu with ease, and locals are walking through a xiaoqu in order to shorten the distance they have to walk. In the entire case-study area there are only two buildings completely free of fences, the Walmart and an office building on the opposite side of the street, besides a public square. Even though the blocks in Pujiang are bigger than those in the Holland Village, the average distance between entrances is much shorter, around 360 m.

Avg. n. entrances/xiaoqu

Avg. distance between entrances

2,6

360 m.

7.2.5. Public space Space enclosed by fences or walls has always been considered as a “place�, carrying meanings and shared values, since ancient China. From this point of view, it is no wonder that most outdoor recreational activities are happening inside the xiaoqu, often in landscaped areas with grass lawns, plants and trees. There can be found elderly chatting, playing or doing physical exercises, their bikes besides them showing that some come from another xiaoqu ( fig. 101). Open parks have still to be appropriated by local inhabitants though. They are used as transitional spaces, e.g. nicer shortcuts, but not seen as places to be enjoyed, and, according to the on-site observations, they were almost always deserted, even though their overall quality was better than average green spaces ( fig. 100). On the one hand we can explain this because of their design, i.e. linear parks, with limited dimensions and young trees, not conveying a feeling of protection.

On the other hand, issues about density, pollution and sunlight in the neighborhood are not prominent, thus reducing the need of such a space. Nevertheless, they could

68

Guard

figg. 91-94: Map of pedestrian permeability; main entrance to a xiaoqu; pedestrian-only entrance with guard; original vehicles’ entrance, now pedestrian only.

N

0

Entrance Fence/wall

250 m

69

play an increasing important role in the near future. A large plot of land, besides Walmart and located exactly in the central axis of Pujiang, because of its neglected and non-designed state was converted into an orchard, cultivated by different people ( fig.

95). It is a hint that an amount of informal temporary uses is highly needed in case of quickly built and inhabited neighborhoods.

Similarly to enclosed open spaces, commercial streets are historically an ordinary component of the Chinese city. The analyzed streets with shop brackets selling their goods and services are very lively ( fig. 96), while streets bordered by fences, especially the ones located far from the underground station or from public functions, host very few passers-by. In a hypothetical catalogue of contemporary Chinese public space we could also find typologies imported from the West.

figg. 95-101: A plot of land besides Walmart has become an orchard; streetlife; the square equipped with benches hosts a few people; imitation of an urban pedestrian alley inside Walmart; (opposite page) map of built- and green-space; empty public park; elderly in a xiaoqu’s communal space.

70

0% Open space

50%

100%

Public “urban” space 1,8% Public park 3,2% Appropriated space 4,7% Open space inside xiaoqu 90,3% Canal

N

0

250 m

71

In Pujiang south we found an example of an “urban” square ( fig. 97). A few people were sitting on their own, some of them eating, this situation giving a hint about a potential that could be more consciously exploited, if adequate services and businesses were located there. From this point of view the Walmart plays a great role as an attractor.

Because of its numerous offers of services (including a post-office) it represents without doubt a central reference for the neighborhood’s inhabitants. Its internal open spaces mimic an urban environment, halfway between enlarged alleys and small plaza ( fig. 98).

Though naturally a commerce-oriented spot, access is open to anyone, and, especially during weekends, it becomes an entertainment choice for many young families with children. While being popular among younger generations, it is interesting to note the elderly’s behaviour: they tend to gravitate and visit the shops along the perimeter of Walmart, but do not seem attracted by the inner courtyard.

Sq.m. public “urban” space/inh.

Sq.m. public park/inh.

Sq.m. appropriated space/inh.

1

1,7

2,5

72

7.3. Jiangqiao Town

Jiangqiao (江桥) Town is situated in Jiading district, ca. 15 km from People’s Square, similarly to Pujiang. Its location is now strategical, since the Municipal Government is pursuing the goal of creating a new transportation hub and city-subcenter centered on the Hongqiao airport and railway station, some 10 minutes drive from Jiangqiao. The area is thus rapidly developing and gradually targeting middle- and higher-middle class (offering high-quality apartments and attracting third-sector firms in dedicated officeand science-compounds), though not eliminating the industrial production currently existing.

The selected case-study area is centered on a recently built Wanda Plaza, a typical landmark of Chinese metropolises. Not only the development comprehends 200.000 sq.mt floor-space of commercial mall, but also “dwellings, deluxe dwellings, commercial premises at lower levels of residential buildings, SOHOs (small office/home office, N/A) and outdoor pedestrian streets”126, a hotel and an IMAX cinema as well. Completed in

Case-study area

Foreseen line 13 station

Foreseen line 17 station

N

fig. 102: Satellite map of Jiangqiao Town.

126 Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties 2011

73

0

1 km

June 2011 by Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, Jiangqiao Wanda Plaza is claimed by its developer to be a huge commercial success, supposed to generate 10.000 jobs, and “a significant contribution to the development of Hongqiao Development Zone and will promote urbanization and industrial upgrading in the area”127. Two new underground lines are currently under construction: when completed by 2015 they will dramatically increase the attractivity of the area (see following interview), which can be now reached from Shanghai’s outer ring-road in 20 minutes, either by public bus or car.

7.2.1. Social context In order to better understand the social group that the developers of Jiangqiao are targeting, here follows an interview with a young professional, recently graduated from Tongji University, who was considering buying an apartment in a xiaoqu close to Wanda Plaza. His motivations are in line with the general middle-class trends exposed in chapter 3.4.

Marco Capitanio: Why are you considering buying an apartment in Jiangqiao?

G.D.: I basically have three different reasons. By far the most important one is the proximity to workplace. I recently started working for a firm located in Jiading District and commuting from my actual residence, in Hongkou District, is not convenient. A second reason has to do with affordability: you can buy there a highquality apartment for 17-18.000 RMB/sq.mt fig. 103: G.D. interviewed in Hongkou district.

(ca. 2.100 €, N/A), much cheaper than in central districts. It is nonetheless a high

127 Administration of Jiading District 2011

74

budget for me (and my parents!), so I still have to make up my mind. A third reason for this particular location is that the close-by Hongqiao sub-center is currently being developed. It will be a major transportation and commercial hub in the near future.

M.C.: Which are the advantages of moving there, compared to living in central districts?

G.D.: As I said, I will be closer to my workplace; public transportation has also improved a lot and an extension of underground line 13 is under construction, with a stop close to Wanda Plaza. When it will be opened, it will be really convenient.

Moreover, the apartments are new and, in general, there is a better environmental quality, especially purer air.

M.C.: And which are the disadvantages?

G.D.: There is a general lack of educational facilities, such a schools, kindergartens, libraries etc. Another major drawback is the absence of nearby hospitals or healthcare services, I guess that this is typical of many new neighborhoods. Additionally, transportation, though improved, cannot equal that of the city center. Despite the big Wanda Plaza nearby, the lack of amenities and shops is critical, even tough I think it is a situation destined to be improved.

7.3.2. Density/compactness In terms of compactness the case-study area in Jiangqiao is identical to the case in Pujiang Town ( figg. 104-108). The development is perceived as rather airy in xiaoqu with higher buildings (6, 11 or 14 storeys), reminding of a park, but in more compact situations space between buildings can be more easily adapted to the human scale and inhabited, creating a more pleasant atmosphere ( fig. 105). Compared to Pujiang Town the overall density is slightly higher, and the more luxurious nature of the development is reflected in a more pronounced difference between different xiaoqu. The most exclusive, called Wanda Apartments, presents the highest density (a fact connected

75

0% Ground space

50%

100% Built space 23,5% Infrastructure 11,5% Open space 65%

N

0

250 m

76

figg. 104-108: (Opposite page) Figure-ground plan; more compact xiaoqu with lower buildings; community space in the denser Wanda Apartments; park-like communal space; (current page) positioning of case-study area within the Spacemate diagram.

Typical inner-city xiaoqu Typical lilong housing L

13 12 11 10

9

8

7

6

5

FSI

2,5

4

2,0 3 1,5 2

Average positioning

1,0 1

0,5

Example xiaoqu 0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

GSI

Total area

Estimated inhabitants

Inhabitants/ha

Open space/inhabitant

88 ha

10.500

120

54 sq.m.

77

with investment reasons), where higher buildings, coupled with a strongly landscaped green space conveys a slight feeling of oppression ( fig. 106). On the other hand, too broad buffer-space turns out to be hostile to appropriation by inhabitants, who lack some spatial reference points to cling to ( fig. 107).

7.3.3. Mixed land-uses The more aggressive private investment intentions in Jiangqiao Town is reflected in the mixture of land-uses ( fig. 114). Considerably less floor space, compared to the previous two cases, is given to public functions, represented just by a school, fencedoff from the surroundings, while office-space abounds around Wanda Plaza (given the recent construction, data about vacancies could not be collected). Development is proceeding gradually block by block and, at the current stage, a large industrial activity is sandwiched between Wanda Plaza and a xiaoqu ( fig. 109). Preexisting businesses are neighboring the area and they definitively play a great role in supplying everyday services to newly-built communities, contributing to liveliness on the streets.

The totality of apartments are inhabited in the less expensive xiaoqu, while Wanda Apartments present a vacation-rate of ca. 60%, empty apartments being, with great probability, owned by speculators.

Similarly to chapter 7.2.3., we can distinguish two levels which commercial activities and amenities belong to, the neighborhood-scale and the larger district- or town-scale.

Comments made for Pujiang Town seem also valid for Jiangqiao Town, i.e. businesses’ location along the xiaoqu’s borders and the typological problem of two-storey shops ( fig.

118-119). Even though the kind of services offered is very similar, the relative percentage of each one is substantially different. In fact, while restaurants/eateries still play the most prominent role, business related to the tertiary sector and middle-class lifestyle, such as beauty-shops and car-resellers, gain in importance, while workstations diminish.

Wanda Plaza, besides being more than three times bigger than Walmart in Pujiang, hosts more functions, such as a hotel, an Imax Cinema and office-space ( fig. 115), its size a considerable contribution in developing a city sub-center.

Informal activities have been opened only in the less-luxurious xiaoqu, usually foodshops, barber-shops, massage parlours and home-offices offering different kinds of

78

repairs or tertiary services ( figg.

110, 116-117). Such transformations can more easily happen when two conditions are met: a favourable location along the main axes or pedestrian routes and a suitable architectural and urban design typology is given (e.g. a glassedsurface or a low-balcony; alternatively lattices and the like can be modified by the owners).

Moreover, the ground-floor has to be visible and accessible. In fact, thick greenery in front of an apartment, which, on the one hand, should provide privacy and sense of security, is an inhibition to such informal shops. Other self-help activities, such as raising chickens, can be found ( fig. 111). Outside the xiaoqu food- and beveragestalls can be seen hovering around Wanda Plaza, being a welcomed and relieving low-budget offer ( figg. 112-113).

figg. 109-113: Industrial activity neighboring xiaoqu; informal business offering decoration services; raising chickens inside a xiaoqu; food-stall close to Wanda Plaza; informal streetfood vendor is asked to move his stall by a guard.

79

Residential 67% Public 2% Work 12% Commercial 19%

figg. 114-119: Map of land-uses; view towards Wanda Plaza; pedicure service opened inside a xiaoqu; commercial activity opened inside a xiaoqu; (opposite page) the shops’ first and eventual second floor is used as storage space at best; row of one-storey shops.

Preexisting businesses Empty buildings Informal activities

N

80

0

250 m

0% FS

50%

100%

LIST OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES (EXCLUDING WANDA PLAZA) Restaurant/Eatery 43 (30,5%) Barber shop/Massage 18 (13%) Food shop (Greengrocer/Bakery/Tofu/Butcher/Dairy/Drinks) 13 (9%) Home appliances (Curtains/Furniture etc.) 11 (8%) Real Estate 9 (6%) Clothes/Shoes 7 (5%) Workstation 6 (4,5%) Supermarket/Convenience Store 5 (4%) Telephone shop/Electronics 5 Pharmacy/Health care 5 Bar/Entertainment 4 Tertiary services 3 Car/motorbike reseller 3 Animal shop 3 Newsagent/Books 1 Liquor store/Tobacconist 1 Hotel

Work ???% empty

Housing ca. 30% empty Commercial 12% empty (not considering Wanda Plaza)

Total floor space

Sq.m. public/inh.

Sq.m. work/inh.

Sq.m. commercial/inh.

1.340.000 sq.m.

2,5

12

24

81

7.3.4. Pedestrian permeability Many comments made about the Holland Village and Pujiang Town are also valid for the Jiangqiao Town. However, the following differences can be noted. The size of xiaoqu is much bigger than in the other two cases ( fig. 120), and the average distance between entrances is the longest as well. The streets’ grid is so broad and the environment inside a xiaoqu so different different from the one outside, that one has the impression of moving from one island to the other, in an urban archipelago connected by infrastructure. Security is, as we might expect, stronger and more effective in the Wanda Apartments, also from a symbolic point of view, its gates being massive and heavily decorated ( fig. 121). The other xiaoqu show a less strict character ( fig. 122); nonetheless occasional guards walk around patrolling the area.

Avg. n. entrances/xiaoqu

Avg. distance between entrances

2,5

560 m.

7.3.5. Public space Following the premises drawn in chapter 7.1.5., we will distinguish between different typologies of public space (or, more-precisely, spaces with a certain degree of publicness) ( fig. 127). First, green spaces inside a xiaoqu have the reassuring quality of representing a community and convey a sense of protection and shared values, given the tendency of hosting homogeneous social groups. It is, most of all, a space for elderly and for children ( fig. 130). In contrast to Pujiang Town, this inner green landscape is not designed with a clear center, being either a visual axis, a paved square etc. Rather, buildings are generally floating in undistinguished greenery, contributing to the monotony of the urban design. Canals traversing the compounds are a relief, both because of their pleasant aesthetic appearance and because, by their exceptionality, constitute an element of legibility and orientation. Green spaces and left-over plots of land outside the compounds are sometimes used for agricultural purposes, similarly to what observed in Pujiang Town ( fig. 123).

82

Guard

figg. 120-122: Map of pedestrian permeability; a currently pedestrian-only entrance to Wanda Apartments; a guarded entrance.

Entrance Fence/wall

N

0

250 m

83

Streets belong essentially to two categories, either are they “nonplaces” or “spaces of flow”, too broad and lacking attractiveness to be pedestrian-friendly ( fig. 124), or they are supported with shops and broader sidewalks, becoming easily lively with activity ( fig. 125).

Place-making, in this case, happens through “program”, through functions, not being so much dependent on the designed physical space.

Finally, the role of Wanda Plaza is comparable to the Walmart in Pujiang Town, only on a bigger scale ( figg. 126, 128-129). Its gigantic outer square and urbanlooking alleys are relatively empty (especially on a hot day!), but the mall is very popular and successful in the air-conditioned inside.

Families with children, couples and teenagers seem to be the main target of an entertainment-oriented

figg. 123-130: Agriculture on left-over plots of land; too wide street with no attractivity; street vitality gains momentum through small shops; gigantic square in front of Wanda Plaza (opposite page) map of green- and builtspace; recreation of an urban pedestrian street inside Wanda Plaza; interior commercial space of Wanda Plaza; communal space inside a xiaoqu.

84

0% Open space

50%

100%

Public “urban” space 7% Appropriated space 1% Open space inside xiaoqu 92% Canal

N

0

250 m

85

offer. The shopping center has to represent the idea of centrality, of extraordinarity and exclusiveness. In fact, its design was assigned to a western firm, ZNA, based in USA, with an office in Beijing.

Sq.m. public “urban� space/inh.

Sq.m. appropriated space/inh.

4,2

0,6

86

7.4. Comparative assessment

Holland Village

Pujiang New Town

Jiangqiao Town

Social class

Higher-middle

Lower- to middle

Lower- to higher-middle

Population

1.500-2.000

12.000

10.500

Typology

Townhouse/perimeter block/slab

Slab

Slab

N. floors

3/6

6/11

6/11/14

ca. 150 x 250 m.

ca 300 x 300 m.

ca. 300 x 400 m.

Block size

Built space

Land-uses

Empty commercial Empty work

Missing data

Empty residence Informality inside xiaoqu

No

Common

Possible

Informality outside xiaoqu

Very rare

Scarse

Rare

87

Holland Village

Avg. distrance entrances

Guards

Peception

Pujiang New Town

Jiangqiao Town

500 m.

360 m.

560 m.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate control

Loose control

Mixture of loose and strict control

Underused/unrecognized

Occasionally used

Sustained by commerce

Occasionally used

Underused/unrecognized

No

No

Agriculture

Agriculture

Public space

Public “urban�space

Public park

Appropriated space

88

8. Conclusions

Following an inductive method, we can now speculate on the data collected and suggest possible improvements regarding built form, program and policies. We generally noticed that built space has a less relevant impact on liveability than expected. Densities between 1,5 and 2,5 FSI in peripheral areas are a common standard for a broad spectrum of Shanghainese society, ranging from lower- to higher-middle class. They are not only a way to achieve enough “critical mass” to support public transport and public services, but they also have to be necessarily pursued in view of sustainability goals, such as reducing land-consumption and CO2 emissions. Thus, villa-developments for the very-rich should be, at least, more strictly regulated. From a behavioural point of view, Shanghainese are well-used to dense urban environments, however, different social classes present different needs in regard to compactness. Lower social strata tend to prefer more compact typologies, with a closer relationship to the ground-floor, lower number of storeys and narrower space between buildings. This reflects a lifestyle in which more time is spent at home and self-help activities take place in the open-air or in a courtyard, as highlighted in Pujiang Town in chapter 7.2.1. Such urban design and architectural typologies are, nonetheless, never built, so that there is very much space for improvement and experimentation in pursue of new models other than the everpresent building slab. Middle- and higher-middle class are, instead, more concerned with privacy and they tend to prefer higher architectural typologies, e.g. the Wanda Apartments in Jiangqiao Town illutrated in chapter 7.3.2., indicating the emergence of new lifestyles. Pursuing liveability only in terms of human-scaled urban form, though, is a hopeless attempt, as shown by the Holland Village in chapter 7.1.2.

A mixture of land-uses is probably the single most important factor contributing to the vitality and liveability of Chinese peripheries. Market and speculation, as exposed in chapter 4.1., are driven by what might be called “[c]heckmate Real-Estate - [...] which leads the home-owner and the average citizen struggling for quality of shared space. Generally there is a surplus of commercial facilities, a lack of public facilities, and oddly mismatched infrastructure. In addition the market research has a very short focus”.128 A balanced mixture of land-uses, like in the most successful city

128 Mars & Hornsby 2008:190

89

centers, is a historical process adjusting over time, and the problem that architects and urban designers (among other professionals) have to face is: how to make instantneighborhoods work from the beginning? Obviously, the location of a new development adjacent to an existing town has the advantage of relying on already functioning infrastructure and services, while developing its own, as seen with the Holland Village in chapter 7.1.3. In this respect, enormous progresses could be made in terms of policy-making and planning in carefully selecting the most suitable sites where to build new communities. From our case-studies analysis, the lack of enough public facilities became evident, especially concerning health-caring. Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged the crucial role of one or more schools integrated in a neighborhood.

Comparable strategies can be found in the West as well, e.g. C. Perry’s 1929 theorization of neighborhood design. Schools are often grouped and housed in vast, fenced-off plots, influencing only the vitality of the adjacent xiaoqu. More decentralization could help maintain a balance between different parts of the neighborhood. Office-space is often too expensive and grouped in clusters, remaining empty and creating vast unused lots in the town-fabric, as exposed in the first two case-studies. From this point of view, SOHOs should be fostered, spread in a more discreet way in every compound, helping creating a stronger mixture of people during different times of the day. Commercial activities, according to our analysis, are in deficit, as proved by the many examples of inhabitants converting their ground-floor apartment into a business, a trend found in Pujiang Town and Jiangqiao Town and illutrated in chapter 7.2.3. and 7.3.3. respectively.

Every compound should have, within walking distance, commercial activities targeting daily needs (e.g. restaurant/eateries, food-shops etc.), slightly differing according to the social group involved. Single-storey, narrow typologies suffice this goal in most of the cases, while two-storeys, larger and more expensive shops are often left empty. Brackets of shops, when present, are always designed along xiaoqu’s borders; it seems worthy to experiment with other commercial typologies inside compounds, injecting functions targeting the entire neighborhood, such as a sport facilities, health-care services, cinemas etc. This could help breaking the isolation and hermeticism of the compoundarchipelago, by the mere fact that people living elsewhere would have a reason to enter another compound. Conversely, such a particular function could also be used as an element fostering identity, distinguishing through specialization one xiaoqu from the other. This opening-up steps could be achieved, though, only through a compromise

90

with security issues, which, as noted throughout our analysis, are more symbolic than actually needed.

Room for self-adjustments over time and the need of flexibility is visible in various kinds of informality, from the afore-mentioned shops opened at ground-floors of apartments, to agricultural activities on left-over plots of land to various kinds of stalls on the street. When planning and building is carried-out quickly, without participation from the bottom, often the outcome is not calibrated to real needs, as the analysis of all three case-studies has shown. In this respect, “[in] big monofunctional residential areas, informality can be seen as a form of resilience”129 and temporary uses (Zwischennutzung), especially related to agricultural purposes, should be recognized as having manyfold beneficial effects.

Even though “the enclave should be understood as the typological success formula of market-controlled urbanization”130, incidentally reflecting the traditional Chinese preference of familiar and community relationships over civic ones, this urban model is helping exacerbating social segregation (in contrast to the danwei), a harm for future societal well-being. Moreover, it clearly states the inferior role of the “space between xiaoqu”, regressed to the state of indistinct “plankton”131. Within this archipelago some islands stand out. They are the neighborhood shopping centers, combining convenience (e.g. supermarkets, cheap eateries), luxury goods (e.g. boutiques) and entertainment (e.g. cinema, KTV, restaurants), illustrated in chapters 7.2.5. and 7.3.5. They represent the emergence of a middle-class lifestyle, where entire families enjoy going out and spending weekends shopping or just window-shopping (it is not a coincidence that many attractions inside such commercial centers are directed at children). “The agglomeration effects of neighborhood centers are irrefutable”132, and, moreover, they indicate the emergence of a hybrid kind of public space, one mainly devoted to commerce but capable of hosting a number of accessory situations, thanks to his large squares, pedestrian alleys and mix of low- and high-quality services with corresponding prices.

Our analysis confirms that “commercialization is [...] indispensable for the genealogy of [...] public spaces”133 and that the private sector is destined to play an ever-increasing

129 130 131 132 133

Ferrari 2010:29 Mars & Hornsby 2008:187 Koolhaas et al. 1995:937 Hassenpflug 2010:79 ivi:32

91

role in this process. When children, now used to go to a shopping center on a weekend, will grow up, those spaces will appear to them a natural and indispensable component of their perceived city-making.

Koolhaas134 exposed the frictions between Generic City and need of centrality, between standardization and loss of identity, between same-ness and obsessive variation. We argue that, the more generic the Chinese city looks, the stronger a quest for identity and centrality is. This is demonstrated, not only by the whole One City Nine Towns plan, through the foundation of themed cores, supposed to recreate an exotic atmosphere, but also by the branding of different compounds, e.g. World Expo Home in Pujiang Town or Wanda Apartments in Jiangqiao Town, and by neighborhood shopping centers themselves. A possible strategical pathway to be followed, when aiming at progressively move away from the compound-archipelago model, could be to downscale the tendency towards specialization from the neighborhood- to the xiaoqu-level.

Considering the last 100 years, Shanghai transformed from lilong-, to danwei- to xiaoqu-based metropolis; moreover, the case-studies exposed the changes that new neighborhoods, a fertile ground for experimentation, are subject to. From a western point of view, failing to acknowledge and to understand the forces behind the production of the Chinese city is pure naivety. But to consider the xiaoqu a given model to be followed seems to us reactionary thinking; it should rather be challenged.

134

Koolhaas 1995:1238-67

92

9. Possible pathways

This thesis concludes with a design “test”. After a research project is concluded we might wonder how the knowledge collected could be actually used, how it could be implemented into practice. Given the fact that the previous analysis has provided manifold concrete suggestions in pursuit of more liveable peripheral neighborhood, it seemed natural to test them within a design project. The chosen site is a block in Pujiang Town, 500 m. to the south of the case-study area in chapter 7.2. The main principles followed were: 1) A mixture of typologies, including low-rise, thus achieving a density of 1,5-2,0 FSI with a more compact fabric (0.35 GSI). 2) Mixing land-uses within the block and not just at its borders. 3) The design should work both with and without fences, given the degree of unpredictability of security issues. Low-rise courtyard housing is a means of conveying sense of enclosure without relying on an additional xiaoqu’s fence.

COMMERCIAL

MIXING LAND-USES within xiaoqu PUBLIC

WORK

fig. 131

94

MASTERPLAN mixing different architectural typologies

6 storeys

15 storeys

fig. 132

95

N

0

2/3 storeys

50 m

GROUND-FLOOR PLAN

N

shops

orchards

fig. 133 96

0

10 m

light industrial

AXONOMETRICAL VIEW & STREET VIEW

3 storeys

2 storeys

shop

figg. 134, 135 97

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VIDEOS Lingerak, D. (2011) Urbanisation in China: Happiness Is Seen Everywhere, 2011

VI

List of figures

All images, diagrams and tables from the author, except the following:

fig. 8:

Untitled, Shiling, Z., Chen, Y. (2007) The urban development and redevelopment in Shanghai, [online] The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, London, presentation given on the 11th Oct, available: http://www.space. bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/chamspam/events/shiling_zheng_chen_yi_london.pdf, [accessed 1 Feb 2012]

fig. 9:

“Official Chinese map of Shanghai 1902”, Balfour & Shiling 2002:65

fig. 10: “Shanghai City-Center Zoning Plan, 1929”, ivi:74 fig. 11: “The Greater Shanghai”, Shiling & Chen (see fig. 3) fig. 12: “Master Plan for Central City and Suburbs (1953)”, den Hartog 2010:15 fig. 13: “Master Plan for direct-control municipality (1959)”, ibid. fig. 14: “Master Plan for direct-control municipality (1986)”, ibid. fig. 15:

“The direct-controlled municipality of Shanghai”, ivi:36

fig. 16: “Development by 2020”, ivi:19 fig. 17: “One City Nine Towns plan”, ivi:81 fig. 18: “Comparison of factor weights between the two target groups”, Li, L. 2011:14 fig. 19: “Decline in per person biocapacity at the global scale (1961-2007)”, WWF 2010:9 fig. 26: “Diagram illustrating the kind of layout that might be used for an apartment house neighborhood”, Larice & Macdonald 2007:62 fig. 27: “Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh Masterplan”, LANDLAB’s Weblog (2011) QT8 - Chandigarh - la Martella [online], available: http://landlab.wordpress. com/2011/04/08/qt8-chandigarh-la-martella/ [accessed 6 Apr 2012] fig. 28: “Caoyang New Village (1951–3) in Shanghai provided an integral living quarter for workers”, Lu 2006b:377 fig. 29: “The 1955 award-winning residential design proposal based on the Soviet superblock schema”, ivi:378 fig. 30: “Site for Zaojiatun Residential Cluster, Hongqing People’s Commune”, ivi:383

VII

fig. 34: “Academic work unit (danwei) housing and high school campus, Beijing, mid1990s”, Friedmann 2005:14 fig. 35: “Industrial work unit (danwei) housing and factory in Beijing, 1992. This area has since been redeveloped as community housing”, ivi:103 fig. 44: Untitled, Berghauser & Pont 2011:2 fig. 45: Untitled, Berghauser & Pont 2004:30 fig. 46: Untitled, ivi:32; untitled, ivi:36 fig. 47: “Die Theorie der zentralen Orten”, TU Berlin (2011) Chair for Urban Design and Architecture [online], available: http://cud.architektur.tu-berlin.de/ wordpress/?p=313 fig. 48: Untitled, Keel, R. (2011) Pruitt Igoe and the End of Modernity [online], available: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/010/pruitt-igoe.htm fig. 49: Untitled, den Hartog 2010:379

VIII