NUS LANDSCAPE: OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES OF BAOSHAN DISTRICT by NUS Department of Architecture

OPERATIONAL, AND FUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES OF TAGORE FOREST LANDSCAPE SCENARIOS BAOSHAN DISTRICT

Landscape Architectural Approaches for a Housing Development in a Tropical City

School N UNUS S Sch o o l o f of D eDesign s i g n a nand d E Environment n v i r o n m e n t | | Department D e p a r t m e n t of o fArchitecture Architecture MLA Nov N U SLA4701 MLA DE S I G Studio: N S T U DQuarter, IO LA 58 7 0Aug 2 3 1- 14 JAN - 22016 3.APR Amanda Jennifer Chandra | Bai Zhuhui | Dai Junwei | Sun Hao Jen Ashley | Wu Yitong | Yan Ran A m a n d a J e n n i f e r C h a n d r a | BTutor: a i Z h uHwang h u i | DYun a i J uHye nwei | S u n H a o J e n A s h l e y | Wu Yi t o n g | Ya n R a n Tu t o r : H w a n g Yu n H y e

PREAMBLE

Taking up a big chunk of the northeastern part of Shanghai, Baoshan rapidly developed from extensive farmland into a major industrial district within two decades, and, as a result, its ecosystem drastically changed. For successful industrial-urban integration in the next stage of Baoshan’s development, how can landscape architects guide decision making towards ecological sustainability and resiliency? How can landscape planning improve the district’s urban habitats while meeting the increasing demands of human development? Given the future development requirements and environmental issues, can we propose design solutions that will incorporate multiple operational and functional values into the urban context? More specifically, how might operational and functional landscapes be combined with a healthier environment and lifestyle in Baoshan in the short and long term? The MLA studio seeks to answer these questions by exploring the extended role of the landscape architect as the project’s lead designer, the person who sets the tone for all site design decisions in collaboration with ecologists, urban planner, urban designers, architects, engineers and other specialty consultants and who devises new strategies and design applications based on ecological principles and predicated on a deep awareness of the multi-faceted nature of Baoshan. As the first design action, students are asked to propose landscape plans for five sites that highlight socio-ecological roles for both existing and potential natural resources. The resulting six showcase design projects integrate these natural resources into the urban environment under the topics of altered hydrology and ecologies, improvement of habitat movement and patterns, design of productive processes, landscape catalysts and activation initiatives for inaugurating environmental, social, cultural, environmental, and economic transformation. The studio emphasizes incremental, tactical, and cumulative projects and processes; a combination of the physical and the operative, of the pragmatic and the inventive, is at the heart of the investigations. Section 1 introduces the socio-ecological characteristics of Boashan district, including the geographic context, natural and human resources, the hydrologic system, environmental pollutants, green space distribution, and biodiversity. Section 2 summarizes site-specific challenges and addresses issues of five different sites and shape design projects that are developed in the next phase. Section 3 features six showcase projects, with detailed design strategies and explanations of their quantifiable ecological, environmental, and socio-economic value. Section 4 displays a consolidated vision of the projects towards sustainable, resilient, and liveable Baoshan.

Published by Department of Architecture School of Design and Environment National University of Singapore 4 Architecture Drive Singapore 117566 Tel: +65 65163452 Fax: +65 67793078 Copyright @ 2019 Hwang Yun Hye (ed.) ISBN: 978-981-14-0742-0

SECTION 1. SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BOASHAN DISTRICT 1.1. GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT & LAND FORM CHANGES & TOPOGRAPHY P 10 1.2. ECONOMIC,LAND USE& NATURE AND HUMAN RESOURCES P 11 1.3. WATER SYSTEM & PERMEABILITY P 12 1.4. SOIL & WATER & AIR POLLUTIONS & TEMPERATURE P 13-14 1.5. GREEN SPACE DISTRIBUTION & FUTURE PLAN OF GREEN NETWORK P 15 1.6. BIODIVERSITY & VEGETATION TYPES P 16-17

SECTION 2. ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SITE

2.1. SITE 1: GUCUN PARK P 20-21 2.2. SITE 2: QILIAN SENSITIVE AREA P 22-23 2.3. SITE 3: SHANGHAI FIRST STEEL PLANT P 24-25 2.4. SITE 4: BAOSHAN CBD AREA P 26-27 2.5. SITE 5: MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN P 28-29

SECTION 3. ECOLOGICAL VALUE OF DESIGN PROPOSAL 3.1. A REVITALIZED GREEN AND BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE OF GUCUN NEIGHBOURHOOD P 32-35 3.2. REMEDIATED LANDSCAPE FROM NEGLECT TO VALUE P 36-39 3.3. REGENERATIVE LANDSCAPE IN BAOSHAN: RECONCILING INDUSTRIAL PAST WITH AN ECOLOGICAL FUTURE P 40-43 3.4. CONNECTED LANDSCAPE FOR BAOSHAN CBD P 44-47 3.5. EVERYDAY ECOLOGY: DESIGNING EDGE OF MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN P 48-51 3.6. IN-BETWEEN LANDSCAPE: TOWARDS INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY OF MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN P 52-55

SECTION 3. DESIGN VISION P 56-57

SECTION 1. SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BOASHAN DISTRICT

1.1. GEOGRAPHY CONTEXT, LAND FORM CHANGES, TOPOGRAPHY

1.2. ECONOMIC,LAND USE& NATURE AND HUMAN RESOURCES

1. 2. 1 WATER SYSTEM

Baoshan district is located at the river mouth of Yangtze River Delta (Fig 1), which was formed through the alluvial process over thousands of years (Fig 2). The lower reaches of the Yangtze River which run through the city brought lots of mud and sand into its estuary. The wind, the river flow and the tide together accounted for the alluvial plain. From 221BC to 1000AD, the land form of Baoshan district is formed through the alluvial process of Yangtze River (Fig 3), and nowadays the coastline is still changing with the natural process. The topography of Baoshan district is very flat, with the average elevation is between five and eight meters. Across the Yangtze River, there is Chongming Island, the third largest alluvial island in China. Through the comparison between current context and the historical map of the Yangtze River Delta (Fig 4), it is noticeable that few offshore islands and their coastline have also changed in recent decades. Located on alluvial plain, Baoshan district’s water network is very dense, which provides a suitable condition for agricultural irrigation and the development of water transportation. Thanks to its strategic location, Baoshan has also become an important river-sea port of Shanghai.

Fig 1 Baoshan location

20km

Fig 2 General map of Shanghai in 1920

Source: Whangpoo Conservancy Board,1920. Earth Science and Map Library, University of California,Berkeley.

20km

Economy of Baoshan district is dominated by industrial and logistics sector. Figure 5 shows how industrial and logistics alone contribute about 77% of economy generating land use while the sector also contributes to more than 60% of total Baoshan district’s GDP (National Bureau Statistics of Shanghai, 2010; refer to Fig 5). Based on the 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of Baoshan district, the industrial practices in Baoshan will be developed and restructured towards the trend of scientific and technological innovation . Natural resources of Baoshan can be seen in terms of land and production. Currently there is only 2400 ha of agricultural land in Baoshan (5.8% of total land area) and projected to be decreased even more according to 2035 Shanghai Land Use Plan (Fig 6). Luojing town is currently the only agricultural town in Baoshan whereby Yangtze river hairy crab is major contribution towards the town’s economy. By 2014, Baoshan population was about 1.95 million. By 2015, many migrants moved from Chongming Island to Baoshan in search for economy benefits. The heavily industrialized district also attracted population of male (age 20 to 40).

2018 Land use Agriculture Industrial Warehouse Residential School Commercial Green land

Industrial complex : Tertiary industries Secondary industries

2018 Natural resource map Agricultural land Water bodies

Primary industries Warehouses/ logistics/small industies Cluttered steel industries

Fig 5 Industrial and logistics contribute economy generating land use while the sector also contributes to f total Baoshan district’s GDP

221 BC (Qin Dynasty)

751 AD (Tang Dynasty)

1730 AD (Qing Dynasty)

2018 AD

Fig 3 Historical changes of land form and water

Fig 4 Historical changes of coastline

Source: S h a n g h a i h i s t o r i c a l g e o g r a p h y m a p s ; P e n g p a i N e w s , 2 0 1 7 .

Source: Ya n g t z e R i v e r D e l t a P r o j e c t , C a t h e r i n e Seavitt,2013

Fig 6 Baoshan economy sectors by area

1.3. WATER SYSTEM & PERMEABILITY

1.4. EXTENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN BAOSHAN DISTRICT SOIL, WATER, AIR & TEMPERATURE

1.3.1. WATER SYSTEM Baoshan, situated at the intersection of Huangpu and Yangtze River, is recognized as the “water gate” of Shanghai. The Wusongkou Cruise center is one of the most important facility in Baoshan which accommodates ships from 164 countries and 400 ports. The Baoshan district is located as part of the Taihu Lake watershed (Fig. 7). With the developing water needs from agriculture and shipping industries, many of waterways were modified to become grid systems from their natural passages (Fig 8). There are a total of 25 main rivers in Baoshan, with the more prominent rivers being Yunzaobang, Lianqi River and Panting River. The district is separated into two halves by Yunzaobang River, whereby water flows from west to east direction in the north zone, and north to south direction in the south zone respectively. The other notable water typologies consist of streams, man-made lakes, natural ponds, as shown in fig 9.

50km

0 1927 waterways

Fig 7 Tai Lake watershed

The extent of environmental pollution within the Baoshan district varies dramatically across the 5 sites. Site 2 and 3 are the most environmentally polluted, since these sites have histories of being industrial enclaves for the past decade. 1.4.1. WATER POLLUTION Water pollution within site 2 and 3 is a cause of concern. According to the Regional Water Pollution Map of Shanghai (Fig 11) , the Huangpu River, which run through the corner of Baoshan District is ranked to be Class IV with I being the best water quality and Class V being the worst. The main cause of water pollution was due to the fact that Taihu Lake, being the main water source for the region, is heavily polluted from high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus discharge. Secondly, there is a high population of manufacturing industries along the river from Taihu lake to Huangpu that conduct illegal discharge of industrial wastes which further pollutes the water downstream. Within Baoshan district, the site 2 and 3 are the most affected by water pollution as Yunzaobang, being one of the tributaries flowing from Taihu lake, runs through both of these sites.

5km

1994 waterways

2018 waterways Fig 8 Historical change of waterways

1.3.2. PERMEABILITY

The total area of impervious surface in Baoshan is 21636ha which make up 72.13% of Baoshan surface (Fig 10). The high impervious surface ratio would not only increase urban flooding risk during big rainfall event, but also affect river ecology by flushing pollutions into water systems. From 2002 to 2007, the impervious surface area within the district was recorded to have increased by 41.93%. Fortunately, from 2007 to 2017, the rate of increase was recorded to be slower, at 2.73%. R u n o ff C o - e ff i c i e n t

High Low

Fig 11 Regional water pollution map of Shanghai

1.4.2. SOIL POLLUTION Similarly, both site 2 and 3 suffer from soil degradation due to their industrial nature. According to Soil Pollution in Baoshan District (Fig 12) , these sites are have heavy metal contamination of Arsenic, Lead, Copper, which are above the levels of Shanghai’s soil background levels but below the second class National Soil Environment Standard. Site 2 suffers from higher than average levels of Mercury, Zinc and Cadium, whereas site 3 suffers from higher than average levels of Zinc, Cadium, Lead, and Copper.

Main rivers Branches Streams Man-made lakes Nature lakes Mire Coastal water body

3km Fig 9 Typologies of water bodies

3km

Fig 10 Permeability map of Baoshan

1.5. GREEN SPACE DISTRIBUTION IN BAOSHAN DISTRICT The Green Outer Ring Road of Shanghai, embodied as a green loop encompassing central Shanghai, is the main ecological corridor of the city (Fig 14). The green belt along the Outer Ring Road has a large number of green extensions to the city center, which also aims to extend ecological services from the green corridor.

Fig 12 H e a v y m e t a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n B a o s h a n

1.4.3. AIR POLLUTION In terms of air pollution, the team found no correlation between the Fine Matter Particulate Concentration and amount of greenery within the Baoshan district. According to Air Pollution Map in Baoshan, the area with 50-52ug/ m3 is also dominated with high levels of green spaces (Fig 13). Similarly, the areas with high amounts of greenery have the lowest recorded temperatures in the district. Site 3 have the highest level of recorded temperature across the five sites, whereas the other 4 sites have similar average temperatures.

PM 2.5 of China in 2016

PM 2.5 of Shanghai in 2016

NDVI of Shanghai in 2016

PM 2.5 of Baoshan area in 2016

NDVI of Baoshan area in 2016

Fig 14 Green space distribution in Shanghai

The Baoshan District comprises of 15% of the ecological corridor of Shanghai, illustrating her ecological role as a strategic habitat stepping stone between the Huangpu River with Chongming island. In addition, the five selected neighbourhoods are located along this ecological corridor, highlighting their potential to transformed into more ecological habitats within the Baoshan district.

Fig 13 Air pollution map (Pm 2.5 as standards to assess air quality)

Site 1 is Gucun Park situated along the ecological corridor, located in the west side of Baoshan. Site 2 an extension of the ecological corridor, located in the southwest of Baoshan District, northwest to Shanghai downtown. Site 3 and 4 are both located close to the mouth of the Huangpu River. Site 5 is in a location a distance from the circle of green belt, but it is connected by an extension from the ecological corridor. In all, the five sites are connected to one another via the ecological corridor, thus they possess great potential to be part of the larger ecological network of Shanghai. 15

1.6. BIODIVERSITY AND TYPE OF GREEN SPACE 1.6.1. HISTORICAL CHANGES OF VEGETATION TYPES

1.6.2. BIODIVERSITY

Due to its location on the mouth of Yangtze River delta, historically most of Baoshan area was covered by mud flats. Agricultural lands gradually replaced the mud flats after the establishment of Jiading County. Due to urban expansion in the last decades, more than half of the agricultural land and mud flats has been turned into urban built-up area and urban green spaces (Fig 16). Currently, green spaces of Baoshan take up only 19.6% of total land area of Baoshan, and the typology can be classified into 8 types as seen below (Fig 15). More specifically, agricultural land (43.5% of green spaces area), wetland (5.6%), urban green, which includes residential green, roadside green, sports field and attached green (42.9%), ecological forest (0.1%), and public parks (21 parks) which account for 8% total green space.

Shanghai is located within one of the major bird migration paths, more specifically Asian birds’ migration path (Fig 17). As such, coastal mud flats of Baoshan provide important habitats for migratory aquatic birds, including the Wusong Wetland Park and Chenxing reservoir. Wide expanse of farmlands also potentially provides habitats for many farmland bird species. However, with the decrease of coastal mud flats and agricultural land area, bird species recorded in Shanghai decreased from 379 in 1993 to 359 in 1999, while number of birds recorded also reduced from 200,000 to 150,000 within year 2006 to 2010. The decline in species was similarly recorded for non-avian species. With the concern of dwindling biodiversity in Baoshan, list of target species and their habitat requirements was generated as reference for potential use within the design studio. There are some considerations made in choosing the target species, which include: 1) The availability of biodiversity hotspots as species migration source, 2) Potential habitats creation (to contain the corresponding species) within Baoshan geographical context, 3) The inclusion of common species together with rare species due to the limitation of urban environment.

Total number 359 species

Farmland Wetland

habitat bird

Ecological Forest

61 species

Public Park Farmland

Shanghai

Attached Green Space

Low mountain and hills habitat

Residential Green Space

bird

Roadside Green Space

38 species

Sports Field and Golf Course 1 km Fig 15 Typology of green space in Baoshan

Wetland habitat bird 298 species

passing bird winter bird summer bird resident bird Flyway

Urban green

2000

2005

2010

Fig 18 Number of bird species

Internationally important shorebird site

Farmland Fig 17 East Asian Australasian flyway Fig 16 The historical change of green space in Baoshan Source: Correlations between Socioeconomic Drivers and Indicators of Urban Expansion: Evidence from the Heavily Urbanised Shanghai Metropolitan Area, China

Source: https://www.picquery.com/c/asian-migration; http://www.huanbao.tv/gongyi/dw/11554.html; http://www. chinadaily.com.cn/dfpd/sh/2015-03/17/content_19831533.htm

SECTION 2. ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SITE

2.1. SITE 1: GUCUN PARK

Gucun Park is located at the intersection of planned Jiabao ecological corridor and outer-ring green belt. As the biggest green patch in Baoshan with potential connectivity to Wusong wetland park, Chenxing reservior, and Jiabao ecological forest belt, the park provides important habitat for wildlife with various home range, such as small mammals (Siberian weasel, Chinese hare) and over 22 land birds (most are moderately “urbanophile” species). It is then necessary to conserve and enhance the site’s ecological value in order to improve the quality of ecological network in Baoshan. As of now, the existing vegetation quality of Gucun Park and its surrounding neighbourhood area is low with monotonous vegetation type (Fig 19). Three types of unmanaged green with higher ecological value account only for 1.2% of total green area, while 5 types of managed green with lower ecological value account for the other 98.8%. Moreover, the high ecological value green spaces are highly fragmented by various manmade structures such as the express way, 4-lanes main road, and the intensive built-up area with fences which further impede wildlife movement (Fig 20). The fragmentation of green spaces leads into 32% of total green patches are of size class 3 and below (<1 ha), and 15% of the total green patches are of size class 4 (1 -5 ha)(Fig 21). What followed is uneven distribution of permeable surfaces within the site. The downstream area, although located within the vicinity of a park, is still intensively paved, causing it to suffer from high peak runoff during intensive rainfall seasons (Fig 22).

Forest Forest Shrubland Shrubland Forest Forest Water Water plant plant Shrubland Shrubland Water plant Water plant Park Park Park Agriculture Agriculture Agriculture Park Urbangreen green Urban green Urban Agriculture Streetscape Streetscape Streetscape Urban green Sports field Sportsfield field Sports Streetscape Waterbody Waterbody Waterbody Sports field

Fig 19 Vegetation type

Waterbody

Barriers scale Strong

Weak Waterbody Fig 20 Wildlife movement barriers

>50 ha

Runoff Co-efficients:

Area:

31-50 ha

0.9 Roofs

11.32%

11-30 ha

0.75 Drives & Walks

15.09%

6-10 ha

0.70 Residential area

26.08%

1-5 ha

0.50 Industry area

4.86%

0.5-0.9 ha

0.25 Agriculture land

4.27%

0.1-0.4 ha

0.20 Urban green & Roadside green

16.82%

<0.1 ha

0.15 Park

13.04%

0.1 Forest

1.02%

Water bodies

7.50%

Fig 21 Patch size

Fig 22 Permeability Q=527917.5586 m3/h Qyear=9371740.1239 m3/year (10 year intensity in Shanghai=65.8mm/h, Annual rainfall of Baoshan=1168.1mm)

2.2. SITE 2: QILIAN SENSITIVE AREA

The Qilian Sensitive Area is located in the southwest of Baoshan District, northwest to Shanghai downtown. The establishment of this sensitive area is to primarily guide the orderly development of urban spatial form, in a bid to control the development and spread of the central city. The secondary aim of this area is to also enhance the ecology within the city while reserving the space for strategic urban development. Despite so, increasing population growth results in environmental degradation, worsening social conflicts owing to the establishment of factories into this area over the last 40 years. In terms of green, Qilian area is located along the ecological corridor of the Outer Ring Road (Fig 23 ). The existing green is fragmented due to the industry and village expansion. Green space per capita is only 9m², ranging below the standards of 11 m² per person. There is massive potential for Qilian area to be enhanced and serve as a green intervention to connect the fragmented green spaces along the ecological corridor of the Outer Ring Road. This intervention can also change the monoculture typology of vegetation in the existing situation to attract more animal species into Qilian area.

Fig 23 Green distribution and types in Baoshan and Qilian area

In terms of the blue, the blue network is likewise fragmented, due to the urban development (Fig 24). Many small branches which were previously polluted by agriculture, were eliminated and filled as part of the urban fabric. Water pollution is originated from the east Baoshan Industrial Zone, with more than 50% of the river banks being concrete, lacking in not only ecological value but also ill equipped as purification systems. In terms of brown, 36% of the soil onsite is heavily polluted by heavy metal of Hg, Zn and Cd, based on soil tests from research papers (Fig 25). The concentration of the 3 heavy metal has exceeded the third class of National Soil Standards, rendering the area unhealthy for human inhabitation.

Fig 24 Water condition in Baoshan and Qilian area

Fig 25 Soil contamination in Baoshan and Qilian area

2.3. SITE 3: SHANGHAI FIRST STEEL PLANT

The Shanghai First Steel Plant is located within an industrial area within Baoshan district whereby it consist of primarily manufacturing industries. The site is bordered by green corridors on one side, and a large forest patch which runs diagonally across the neighbourhood. In comparison to the other sites, the industrial area has low amounts of green (78ha of green). Despite so, the site located strategically close to neighbouring ecological wetland patches, as well as being situated along the outer ring green corridor which encompasses the downtown area of Pudong. A tributary named Yunzaobang river runs across the site, which connects to the larger Huangpu river. Yunzaobang is a highly polluted river, ranked a Class V+ according the Environment Quality Standard of Water Grade in China . The degree of soil pollution is higher closer to the river edges, as the edges are mostly dominated by ports, which is a highly polluting program secondary to manufacturing industries within the neighbourhood. The Shanghai First Steel Plant is one of the factories that is in the process of relocating away from the region as the steel manufacturing industry is gradually becoming obsolete. Thus it could be assumed that this industrial area would require an urban renewal regime to revitalise the landscape and its community within.

Fig 26 Soil and Water Pollution in Site 3

Furthermore, the site has long been dominated by mega enclaves for an extended period of time which separates people and the landscape. Since the industries were established for decades, the communities living within the neighbourhood found themselves to be disassociated with nature and some could be seen to be living within the crevices of industrial sites, which is a worrying way of life that deserves to be reconsidered.

Fig 27 Potential as birds habitats due to bordering green spaces

2.4. SITE 4: BAOSHAN CBD AREA

The Baoshan CBD area is located adjacent Yangtze River, which is home to the most important international ports of Shanghai. The landscape of the area is flat, owing to its historical landform as a result of river current and it is deposition of silt. In addition, Baoshan is naturally flood prone, with wet months being June to September. In the event of a big rainfall, there is a 35% chance that the rainfall volume will exceed the discharge ability of the designed urban drainage systems. Through calculating the permeability of the urban areas, the severe issue of flood is exhibited in Fig 28. In terms of ecological value of the site, there are notably four typologies of aquatic bird habitats surrounding Shanghai which makes Baoshan an important stepping stone for migrant bird populations. The urbanisation of the city fragments green spaces within the city, and the reduction in green patch sizes would adversely affect urban biodiversity. In the case of the CBD, the ecological value of green spaces are evaluated based on size and quantity of avian species. The Wusong Wetland Park is deemed to have the highest ecological value, since it represents the species pool of the area. Public green spaces, namely street greens, cultural sites, business sites and administrative offices has the potential to support biodiversity movement, despite being of degraded quality (Fig 29). The high dense urban area creates barriers for animal movement. In terms of social infrastructure, the existing urban context presents a rigid grid structure. The rigid grid creates barriers of movement for not only biodiversity, but also human. By cross referencing the infrastructure network of Baoshan with the Singapore CBD area, it is clear that Singapore’s system is better designed with smoother and more flexible movement flow, despite both being grid systems (Fig. 30). Last but not least, the building program of Baoshan constrains the flow of human movement. Nevertheless, old enclaves within the area could provide opportunities for designers to explore new ways of movement throughout the site (Fig. 31).

200m

Runoff Co-efficient

High

Ecological value

Low

High

Fig 28 Permeability map of Baoshan CBD

Low

Clean water Polluted water River

Fig 29 Ecological value map

1 Km Singapore CBD

Baoshan CBD

1978-1989

200m

1989- 1999 1999- 2009 2009- 2018 Under construction

Fig 31 Block age

Source: He,2018

Singapore infrastructure system Baoshan CBD infrastructure system Fig 30 Infrastructure system comparison

Vegetation and water type Unmanaged green

Managed green

2.5. SITE 5: MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN

Meilan Lake New Town is located at the suburb of Baoshan district whereby it was built as part of the One City Nine Town projects. The town has large amount of green (419.2 ha) in which low ecological value golf course consists about half of the green on site. Vegetation type is dominated by managed greenery of low ecological value (see Figure 32) while unmanaged greenery of higher ecological value only consists of 15.9% of the total green area. Currently there are two bird species that were spotted on the site during the field trip, which were little egret and resident swallow. Both birds use the trees along naturalized canal banks on the two major canal axis as their habitat. The challenge of Meilan Lake New Town is also for the public green alone to achieve intended 45% of the total planning area . The original intention was to make the green corridors designed as public green space, while the reality there is only limited share of public green spaces. As of now, public green can only achieve 17.8% of the total planning area.

Water

Ecological and social value

With the massive new town developments in recent years, the water system has been completed changed. The largest water body within the site is the Meilan Lake which is nearly 11.34 ha large and currently used as tourist attraction. According to the historical maps and satellite images, the water network in the site was highly connected and very dense, with canals already channelized for agricultural irrigation use. With the urbanization process, the agriculture land was gradually transformed into the new housing and industrial development. The water network has become more and more fragmented. The interaction between human and water becomes less tight, and the main channels are used for industrial transportation. Although there are sidewalks along most of the riverbanks, there is not much public waterfront recreational space for the residents. Most of the riverbanks are also occupied and fenced up by the private estate.

Blue Ecological value rank

Multi-functionality:

Agriculture Underdevelopment

Fig 32 Image shows green (vegetation) and blue (water) type of site 5 with the ecological and social value.

SECTION 3. ECOLOGICAL VALUE OF DESIGN PROPOSAL

3.1. A REVITILIZED GREEN AND BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE

Recognising the importance of improving the ecological value and enhancing the connectivity of green spaces in Gucun neighbourhood, the main aim of this project is to enhance the ecological connectivity between Gucun Park and its surrounding area by creating green and blue infrastructure in order to restore local habitats and reduce barriers for both biodiversity and humans. A walkable network, integrated with diverse and flexible programs, will be introduced on the site, together with designed stormwater management system to increase water holding capacity of the site and rainwater recycling system for site irrigation. Three main strategies are provided to achieve the project aim. The first strategy is to diversify habitat in order to improve ecological value of green spaces and to integrate existing high-quality green spaces with isolated green to improve ecological connectivity. Disjointed green and blue are interwoven by naturalizing covered canal into a meandering stream with restoration of natural riparian habitat. Existing mature trees and high-density greenery are integrated with surrounding isolated green by creating an urban forest which mimics the spatial and structural form of original forest of Shanghai. Reconfiguration light industry buildings also provides a new layout which allows green fingers branching out into built up area, with terrace rooftop gardens designed to attract biodiversity. The scattered residential green and nearby roadside green are integrated by tearing down the fences and rearranging the road of residential area, with the insertion of native flora species. The second strategy is to reduce existing barriers to improve wildlife movement. A tunnel is created in the existing 4 lane road allowing vehicles passing underground, while vegetated area above the tunnel functions as linear park which connects the urban forest area and Gucun Park. Partially naturalized banks of canals and open water bodies in residential area enhance the ecological connectivity along continuous waterway. The third strategy is to increase the water holding capacity based on stormwater management. Rainwater collection system include bio-swales, cleansing biotope and detention ponds are designed running through the linear park, while recycled run-off and rooftop rainwater is used for irrigation of the plants factory and community farms. At the planning level, green patch calculation shows the improvement of the connectivity as such: the number of green patch size of size class 3 and below (size<1 ha) decreased from 870 to 720, and the number of size class 6 patches (>10 ha) increase from 13 to 17. At the design level, 19 types of habitats are provided for over 18 target species. Natural and semi-natural riparian habitats are restored for aquatic birds. Urban forest, terrace roof gardens and improved streetscape enhance the terrestrial bird movement in dense urban environment. The continuous high-density green provide habitats and corridors for small mammals, while the bio-swales along the streets connecting to detention pond and natural stream act as important corridors for amphibians. Permeable surface has increased by 18.14%, with the increase of 1006.5 m3 water storage volume and 13.6% reduction in peak run-off. Lastly, 1580 m continuous pedestrian path is also provided as the human circulation mode, improving the connectivity within and into the site.

Design process Existing green and blue typology

Existing water flow

urban green park streetscape canal park pond water plant

surface run-off direction underground water flow water flow existing greenery

Existing vegetation density

Existing landuse + human flow industry residential commercial human flow

grass grass+shrub grass+tree grass+shrub+tree water plant waterbody hardscape building

Msaterplan

Design tactics

1 4 5 6

1. natural stream from covered canal

2. open water in residential area 3. waterfront plaza 4. continuous boardwalk 5. terrace roofgardens 6. cleansing biotope and detention pond 100m

7. linear park above tunnel

Strategy 3: Provide accessible network integrated with activity programs to improve connectivity for human

Strategy 1: Diversify habitat to attract local species and improve the ecological connectivity

dynamic open space

shared living street pedstrain network community gardens boardwalks recreation pond pedestrian path community farm activityboardwalks nodes programs waterfront plaza fitnesswalkway corner accessible recreation deck accessible green plant factory semi-accessible green terrace outdoor canteen natural trail forest outlook soundscape gardens cleansing biotope

Little Egret Egretta garzetta

dynamic open public space 1 shared living street 2 community gardens 3 recreation pond 4 community farm 5 waterfront plaza 6 fitness corner 7 recreation deck 8 plant factory 9 terrace outdoor canteen 10 natural trail 11 forest outlook 12 soundscape gardens 13 educational cleansing biotope

Grassland

Chinese Grosbeak Eophona migratoria

insect

Decideous forest/woodland

Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula

Eastern Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis

fruit

mixed forest/woodland

Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cooki

farmland

Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

grain

White Wagtail Motacilla alba

nuts

gardens & urban park

Japanese Quail Coturnix japonica

Japanese Waxwing Bombycilla japonica

open wetland

migratory bird

seeds

Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus

100m

shrubland

Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

invertebrates

Benefits: 19 Types of Habitats are provided for over 18 Target Species

Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis

lakrshores

European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

small mammal

100m

Benefits: provides continuous pedstrian path: 1580m

rivers/canal

Siberian Weasel Mustela sibirica

Chinese Hare Lepus sinensis

urban greenery

Chinese Edible Frog Rana rugulosa

Cyprinus carpio Common carp

Butterfly

Strategy 2: Increase water capacity for stormwater management increased permeable surface woodland & grass land permeable paving green building existing green existing blue

rainwater storage & treatment natural stream open water detention pond (206m2*2m) cleansing biotope (188m2*1m) bioswale natural & semi-natural riparian filter vertical green surface run-off direction run-off treatment rooftop rainwater collection

increased rainwater retention volume of naturalized canal

average sectional area length retention volume

12m2 163m 1956m3

13.5m2 175m 2362.5m3

reduced run-off

A= 210176

increased increased permeable permeable surface surface woodland woodland & grass&land grass land permeable permeable paving paving green building green building m2 vertical vertical green green natural & natural semi-natural & semi-natural riparian riparian filter filter existingexisting green green existingexisting blue blue

Before: Q(peak)=8282 m3/h Q(year)=147027 m3/year rainwater rainwater storage storage & treatment & treatment bioswalebioswale

cleansing cleansing biotope biotope After: detention detention pond pond Q(peak)=7156 m3/h natural stream natural stream Q(year)=127041 m3/year open water open water run-o direction run-o direction surface surface run-off run-off

(10 year intensity=65.8mm/h run-off treatment run-off treatment rooftop rainwater rooftop rainwater collection Annual rainfall ofcollection Baoshan=1168.1mm)

Benefits: increased permeable surface: 18.14% increased water storage volume: 1006.5 m3 reduced peak run-off: 13.6% 34

3.2. REMEDIATED LANDSCAPE FROM NEGLECT TO VALUE

The design area is located in the south of the Qilian Sensitive Area, occupying one of the main green extensions of the ecological corridor. At present, this green extension is merely a large patch of grassland, part of an urban park underutilized by residents, owing to the surrounding industrial landscapes. Currently, the villagers are waiting eagerly for the area to be transformed. A large concretized river flows through the site from the East Baoshan Industrial Zone, with rubbish being visible within the channel. The concrete bank possesses low biodiversity richness. Despite so, this part of the river has the potential to improve the water quality within the whole Qilian area. This is because of the design site plays the role of the entrance for water to enter this area, and ultimately interventions will improve the water quality of the Yunzaobang Canal. Most notably, the site is a site of heavily polluted industrial area, adjacent to the existing grassland. Thus this area could be an exemplar to transform the contaminated site by remediation by integrating the existing green and blue networks. In terms of urban tissue, the site could be regarded as the transition from urban to nature as it could be deemed as the extension from the existing ecological corridor, which is connected the central road Qilian Shan Road of Qilian area. Three strategies will be employed to demonstrate the transformation of the contaminated site into the livable environments by new ways of development. The goal is to treat the contamination on site and re-use them for the new development. The first strategy is the phase development of remediation, which will be conducted to deal with the contamination of soil and water during the process of transformation (Fig4). In the first phase, the heavily polluted soil will be classified; valuable green, blue and structure will be reserved while a nursery will utilize the existing grassland to produce trees for the new development here. In the second phase, one of the soil remediation which is soil stabilization will be applied here by utilizing the preserved structure of the heavy industry. In the third phase, wetlands will be constructed to purify water by using the washed soil from another soil treatment plant in the eastern Qilian Area and stabilized soil will be recycled for construction material. Soil stabilization plant will be transformed into amenities. The second strategy is integrating nature into dense urban development (Fig5). Fragmented green patches and waterway onsite, which has the potential to connect extend the existing large green corridors, will be integrated into the new urban development. New habitats will be created by naturalizing rivers and forest. These two types of new habitats will function as the key to interlock the surrounding urban context with the ecological corridor. The third strategy is to create a sense of place by transforming old structures and landscape into the amenities with modern function (Fig6). The evolution of the site will be perceptible with experience of the interpreted landscape, such as waterfront residence, waterfront farm, postmodern industrial landscape and soil monument plaza. From this example of the remediated landscape, we could envision the future transformation of neglected resources, such as contaminated sites, into something of bigger value for new urban redevelopments, provided that they were transformed creatively.

3.3. REGENERATIVE LANDSCAPE IN BAOSHAN | RECONCILING INDUSTRIAL PAST WITH AN ECOLOGICAL FUTURE

The site calls for a landscape renewal regime as it is located within the premises of an obsolete steel factory, encompassed by polluted rivers and degraded soils (Fig. 5). Strategies are employed to reconcile the physical dysconnectivity between human to nature as the industries were previously barriers in between. The underlying theme of the proposal is to create regenerative landscapes while retrofitting on site resources. The first strategy is to compensate the degraded nature by conducting soil and water remediation with a water treatment wetland. The second strategy is to recycle existing natural resources (namely soil and vegetation) to enhance the heterogeneity of biodiversity as the site has potential to be thriving habitats due to its strategic location. The last strategy is to activate social spaces through the creation of usable transition zones for both water and people, all in a bid for users to connect more closely with nature. From the first strategy, the water treatment wetland is planned to have a flowrate of 200m3/h, with the hydraulic residence time (HRT) being 6 days within Water Quality Treatment Wetland system and 4 days for water stabilization system (Fig.6). In order to improve water quality from Class V+ to Class III, a calculated size of 16.3 ha of wetland is needed for water to flow through. The total amount of nitrogen removed is 76.3%, and the total transformed permeable surface along the river front is 21.2ha. To further complement the effectiveness of the water treatment wetland, the water is later channeled into a retrofitted NeWater Treatment plant (1.27ha) in order to treat water adequate for human consumption. The full capacity of the plant is estimated to be 94635m3/ day, producing enough potable water (~29,000 people) for the full population of proposed university town (25,000 people) a day. Lastly, the wetland is estimated to have an increased rainwater retention volume of 193820m3, which could meet 100% of water catchment requirement in the event of a 100 year rainfall event. Since the edges of river is softened, design also considered the river holding capacity, which increased by 5% from 595000m3 to 610000m3. From the second strategy of resource management (Fig.7), soil excavated from the creation of wetland is being recycled to conduct soil capping of the most polluted soils on the design site. 75.1% of the soils will be recycled to create new aggregations for both habitats and human spaces. Subsequently, existing vegetation patches are retained and enhanced to accommodate new habitat typologies. New habitats are also created into new landscape hills made from recycled soils. The number of habitat type has been improved from 5 to 11 types, which an increase of 26 species (Fig.8). The total green area will increase by 9.09ha, which translates to 19.4% on the neighborhood scale.

1 Water Industry Treatment Plant

2 Hillock Forest and Shrubland

3 Emergent Wetland

5 Outdoor Library

4 Submergent Wetland

STRATEGY 1 | CONDUCTING WATER REMEDIATION MULTI-FUNCTIONAL WATER TREATMENT WETLAND

The last strategy calls for implementing new facilities to retrofit into both existing territorial landscape as well as created landscapes (Fig. 9). The proposed facilities could be categorized into 3 classes, the first being added sports facilities (3.06ha) into new created hills, second being added park facilities along new waterfront edge (0.48ha), and the last being added research facilities retrofitted into usable industrial warehouses. (1.47ha). Lastly, some existing structures are retained and transformed in a bid for future users to understand the site’s industrial past, as well as to enhance their experience across the site (Fig. 10). The total area of retrofitted structures is 2.48ha.

12 Velodrome embedded neatly onto recreated hillscape

13 Sports Facilities as lookout points across the landscape

14 Multifunctional Stadium as detention pond during periods of heavy rainfall; Edges of Stadium is connected to wetland to increase visual connectivity to landscape as people exercises

Incorporating Rock Climbing arena with 11 topography of hill Existing Forest Patch 16

Seed Bank Institute and Nursery Terraced Plots from recycled soils for outdoor gardens

Water in this section was treated by the NeWater Treatment Plant and clean enough for human activites

Industrial Relics Retained

An attempt to reconcile industrial past with ecology literally

Allowing hill and vegetationto amalgamate with industrial relics Outdoor Cafe 6

STRATEGY 2 | MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

7 Outdoor Gym

Floodable Terraces | Piazza could be flooded in times of heavy rainfall, or be an activity space during dry season

TACTIC 2 | Diversify habitat typologies using native species Habitat Enhancement

8 Wetland Edges | Offset steps to enhance sedimentation for biodiversity

Wetland Edges | Edges are softened with recycled soil from excavation to allow users to be physically closer to water 9

Riverfront Edges |Wetland plants to filter river 10 water along rivers edge Extended Boardwalks into the River

STRATEGY 3| STRENGTHENING PEOPLE’S CONNECTION TO THE LANDSCAPE

Number of Habitats added = 6 Total Area of Habitats added = 9.09ha Number of potential biodiverisity species increased = 26 Percentage of increased greenery in neighbourhood = 19.4%

For estimated of 25,000 users from university town, Added Sports Facilities 8 Tennis Courts 5 Basketball Courts 4 Volleyball Courts 5 Squash Courts 10 Badminton Courts 1 Stadium 1 Velodrome Total = 3.16 ha

TACTIC 1| Reuse Excavated Soil from Wetland and Allocated Soil Amounts needed for Habitats

Added Park Facilities Outdoor Gym Area Amphitheatre 2 Cafes 1 Outdoor Library Total = 0.48ha

Soil Excavated Volume : Wetland = 182175m3 Riverfront = 97618m3 Total = 279793m3

Soil Returned: 10m Sports Hill = 168193m3 5m Habitat Hill = 14208m3 Seed Bank Terraces = 1802m3 Wetland Wedges = 2456m3 Building Construction = 23443m3 Total = 210102 m3 Recycled Soil Percentage = 75.1%

A | Reuse of old coal facility to be a outdoor gallery corridor as a visual aid to enforce sense of directionality through the space

Preserved Warehouse as new Art Institute 8.52ha

Preserved Warehouse as Water Storage Facility 0.37ha

Preserved Warehouse as Water Treatment Plant 1.27ha

Preserved Facilities as Reformed Greenhouses Next to Forest Patch

Added Research Facilities Water Industry Laboratory Seed Bank Institute Total = 1.47ha Retrofitted Industrial Relics = 2.48ha

B| Stripping down walls of another and allow spontaneous vegetation to cover structure Symbolic amalgamation 43 between industrial past and ecological future

3.4. CONNECTED LANDSCAPE OF THE BAOSHAN CBD

S t r a t e g y 1 : Wa t e r

Permeability map after design

This project look at strategies to create a flood free city in the event of a 5-year heavy rainfall, as well as to demolish barriers of movement for animal and humans alike. By recognizing the distinct characteristic of flood issues and barriers of movement within the neighborhood, design strategies aims to demonstrate multi-functional design spaces throughout the urban context. Three design strategies will be employed to enhance the ecological resilience of the CBD. The first strategy is to improve the efficiency of water movement throughout the city, while reducing flooding risk. Specifically three green spaces and Youyi Park are proposed to act as seasonal detention pond to accommodate flooding during the rainy season. Existing green spaces are modified accordingly to topography. Together with the new proposed green roofs, these greens could help to clean, collect surface run-off. Collected water is reused, to irrigate urban agriculture patches. Structure cells and other design tools are also employed to increase ground water recharge ability of unutilized streets and spaces.

Runoff Co-efficient

High

Low

The second strategy is targeted at reducing barriers intervening animal movement in urban context. This is done by proposing seamless green corridors with habitats. The green corridors are designed as pedestrian pathways with urban forest belts and green tramway. They will connect important land use programs and habitats, benefiting for both people and animals. Planting species are carefully chosen to provide sense of connectivity. The third strategy is to improve accessibility for human movement. Shortcuts and bike lanes are designed to link public spaces such as shopping malls and parks. A tramway system is introduced to reduce private car use and parking lot. At the planning level, the overall impervious surface ratio for on-site 9 water catchments is decreased from 86.5% to 28.5%. The total water volume saved and used by urban green irrigation is equivalent to the water usage of 6000 people yearly. 17 new habitats are created, which includes riparian habitat, wetland with reeds field and urban forest. New habitats would aim to contribute economic values to the society. For example, the reeds field would provide 15% return on capital in their production of pulp, and a 20 % return on capital in their production of ethanol as shown. Shortcuts, pedestrian friendly streets, bike lanes and tram ways are designed to provide for faster and more convenient movement throughout the site. The estimated time saved from the proposed strategy could be up to 50% .

Strategy 2 : Reduce barriers for animal movement Ta r g e t s p e c i e s

At the design scale, the peak runoff is reduced by 47%. Design devices, such as sunken plazas, seasonal detention ponds, urban forest belts, green roofs and sunken sports fields are designed, to accommodate 100% runoff in the event of a 5-year heavy rainfall event. Habitat size are carefully designed for different targeting animal species groups including rare bird species, urban common bird species and insects. For example, 10m wide urban forest belt is designed along the main short-cuts and act as foraging place for the common bird typology. A buffer of 3m of green spaces are created along the sidewalks to act as resting place. Trees planted in 1m planting box is part of the structural cells system which act as stepping stones within the narrow confines of urban streets. Green corridors are designed with a myriad of greeneries, providing continuous overlapping habitats for targeting animal species. New human movement is achieved by proposing new building programs, open space and road systems. New office buildings will occupy 60% of land use area, which is more in line with the CBD’s land use proportion, as compared to the pre-existing situation. Road systems are delicately designed based on the needs of surrounding habitats - the pathway in rare bird conservation area is only 1.5m wide to minimize human disturbance, while providing people with opportunities to be closer to nature.

Strategy 3 : Improve human mobility

Building program

Plan 1. Urban forest

Before

After

Plan 2. Connected landscape

3.5. EVERYDAY ECOLOGY: DESIGNING EDGE OF MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN

Existing

Proposed

This project is looking at strategies to implement the concept of ecological resilience in the urban context. The project site is located at Luodian neighbourhood where the southern part of the town is designated as future ecological corridor. Recognizing the characteristic of the neighbourhood as having large quantity of greeneries and water but of low ecological value, the design strategies will demonstrate the quality improvement of the existing habitat types while adding new potential habitats previously missing from the site. Three design strategies will be employed in order to improve the ecological resilience of the site. The first strategy is to increase the buffering capacity and redundancy of the ecological system in order to anticipate future disturbance. Using this concept, the design will aim to increase the heterogeneity of the habitats within the 250 m wide ecological corridor and achieving as many habitat types as possible.

Unmanaged green

Managed green

Spontaneous( Unmanaged)

Wetland ( Unmanaged)

Managed green

Fig 33 Image shows the improvement of habitats on site before and after proposal.

Existing

Proposed

The second strategy is to develop the site across various phases in order to lessen development impacts, to let the site to rest and encouraging nature to grow. Monitoring on the early succession stages of nature will also be emphasized to aid intended habitat creation. The last strategy is to nurture new living style for the surrounding neighbourhood in order to impart nature on their everyday life. Various programmes and facilities are designed to encourage active outdoor living while using the vicinity of nature. Forest garden at the backyards is not only useful as the forest core buffer, but also providing new typology of productive landscape for the community. At the planning level, the habitat type has been improved from 6 to 17 types (Fig 33). Seven of the habitat types belong under umanaged or spontaneous type of higher ecological value, which are listed as forest interior or forest core, forest edge or woodland, shrubland, grassland, wooded riparian, open marshland, intermittent flooded grassland, wetland shallow water, wetland deep water, and natural stream. Forest garden can be considered as combination between spontaneous and managed vegetation hence still contributing towards higher ecological value. Overall, total green area increases by around 60% whereby unmanaged vegetation area increases by around 340%. The total area of public green increases to 44% of total planning area, which is 1% away from the intended 45% of the total planning area (Fig 34). Public green area has also been increased from 101.6 ha to 251.1 ha, which more than twice of total area improvement. Similarly, public blue area has been increased from 40.9 ha to 75.3 ha, showing about two times total area improvement. At the design level, patch calculation shows the improvement of green patch size of size class 6 (>10 ha) from 11.6 ha to 67.7 ha (Fig 35). The proportion of size class 6 patches within the total landscape area increases from 24.4% to 71.9%, showing great improvement on the capacity of the design site to contain biodiversity. It is also important to note that the design has managed to connect the previously isolated water bodies into one single interconnected water system with consolidated area of 11.3 ha (size class 6 patch). 137 potential target species have been identified based on their suitability with each habitat type, with 59 species alone identified to live within the wetland ecosystem and a total of 113 out of 139 species potentially live in spontaneous patches (Figure 35). This shows overall potential of the design site to be achieve biodiverse ecological corridor within urban context.

Fig 34 Image shows public versus private component of landscape elements both existing and improvement after proposal. Existing

Proposed

Total green : 47.5 %

Existing

Total green : 94.1%

Proposed

7 Habitats

17 Habitats

29 potential fauna species

137 potential fauna species

Fig 35 Image shows patch class size improvement (top) and habitat and target species improvement (bottom).

Strategy 1 : Development of ecological corridor

Strategy 2 : Development phase Year 0-5 | Management at early Succession stage of nature

Year 5-10 | Spontaneous succession of nature- active outdoor living

Strategy 3 : Imparting nature on everyday life

3.6. IN-BETWEEN LANDSCAPE: TOWARDS INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY OF MEILAN LAKE NEW TOWN

Historical Changes of Land Use in Meilan Lake New Town

As the result of the modernisation process and the large-scale development of the new town in recent years, the traditional landscape had been changed completely. A significant amount of agriculture land was transformed into residential use in the new town development, leaving the land use of industrial concentrated at the edge area. The local identity is lost somewhere during the massive development, hence there is potential to restore the sense of place into the current neighbourhood by learning from the elements and social aspects of the traditional landscape of Luodian old town. Landscape fragmentations such as the obstruction of water networks and the loss of habitats are apparent. Natural resources is overused due to the unsustainable development. Thus, there is potential to restore the ecological functions though incorporating the more extensive ecological network Inspired by the dynamic of old town, the main concept of design is to create adaptive landscapes that can provide various ecological functions, encourage more interactions between residents and nature, as well as generate high productivity of local food supply and economic benefits. In this project, overall landscape design includes community complex and exercise park which could promote health and well-being of the residents, local market and commercial complex to serve the neighbourhood, urban farming for local food supply, dynamic habitats for wildlife, improved neighbourhood water system which is well-integrated with the natural water system, and productive yards in the residential area. Design strategies of the proposal can be summarized as such: 1. To retrofit the waterways and to create water recycling system through the restoration and naturalisation of the canals. 2. To connect high ecological vegetation patches and to create dynamic habitats for wildlife by relinking water network and re-inhabiting forest patches. 3. To build the sense of place by learning from traditional neighbourhood landscape through the transformation of the existing neighbourhood and creating new programmes.

The Elements of Traditional Landscape of Luodian Old Town

Using the first design strategy, the retrofitted river is reconnected, run through the golf course, and end the large wetland system (Figure 8). Using this design, the retention volume for rainwater increases by 117400 m3, which meets the requirement for 100-year rain event (i=92.5mm/h, t=8h). Over 35.83% impermeable surface is created, which includes the former impermeable industrial area successfully transformed into permeable surface (composed of forest, wetland and forest park). The total peak runoff is reduced by 39.5%. The wetland system (4.73 ha) also provides purification function for stormwater. Over 53% of nitrogen pollutants will be removed through the wetland. The water system can also provide 100% water source for the irrigation use of the golf course (56.65 ha) and urban green (3.75 ha). Using the second design strategy, the linear ecological corridor is incorporated into a more extensive ecological network (Figure 9). Nine types of habitats are re-invented for twenty-five target species. Overall the 60-80m wide ecological corridor also provides buffer function against the traffic noise from the main road, resulting in the reduction of 6-10 dB noise for the residential area. Along the core wetland area, 30-40m wide buffer is created to protect the core habitat from human disturbance. Along the river, 10-20m wide buffer is created to preserve water quality. By implementing the third design strategy (Figure 10), the productive landscape in agriculture research centre could provide 372.32% of vegetable consumption for 60,000 people (planning population of new town), and the edible community garden could provide 115.58% of vegetable consumption for 2000 household. The amount of Solar PV proposed could provide 89.2% electricity for the agriculture research centre and 30.29% electricity for the shopping centre. The new design of exercise park contributes to 26.35% increased park ratio per person within the neighbourhood scale. The accessibility to natural landscape is also improved through providing riverfront shortcut. Overall, the new programmes of community centre and commercial complex provide economy benefits by creating over 200 jobs opportunities. 52

Design Strategies & Potential Improvement

Master plan

SECTION 4. NEW VISION FOR BAOSHAN The studio ‘Operational, and functional landscapes of Baoshan’ uses an iterative logic of giving and receiving to explore ideas of ecologically sustainable future development at a nested scale. Projects are accomplished by illustrating how effectively external influences, such as demands or the extraction of natural and human resources, can nurture the physical environment at the city scale, including the migratory and habitation patterns of its marine and terrestrial organisms (in the full district cross-section from the Yangtze to the inland). Proposed design ideas seek to significantly decrease habitat fragmentation, reduce impermeable surfaces, and protect endangered species and rare habitats. Design strategies in each project respond to a robust outreach process that increases liveability for current and future communities and provides recreational opportunities close to nature. By purposefully documenting various functions of design proposals, we hope to set into motion a series of design implementations that will, in some small way, transform our thinking about the disposition of urban development. Ultimately, projects encourage proposed landscapes that are delicate yet resilient systems able to evolve and flourish as replicable systems.

Future Plan for Green & Blue(Proposed by Government) Ecological Reserve Ecological Corridor Ecological in Urban Zone

Integrated Corridor with Proposed Designs Site 1-5 Planning Boundary Site 1-5 Design Boundary

Design Proposed Green & Blue

Existing Green & Blue Forest

Streets-ape

Wetland

Proposed Forest

Permaculture

Scrubland

Lawn (Sports Field)

Canal

Core Habitat Buffer

Proposed Wetland

Park

Agriculture

Water Networks

Waterfront Buffer

Nature Stream

Urban Green

Agriculture

Retention Ponds

Public Park & Sport Field

Retrofit Waterways Retrofit Water-bodies