2013 China Internship Presentation Portland State University Anna Wendt January 9, 2014
Outline ● Beijing ○ China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD)
● The internship ● Dalian Project ○ Purpose ○ Research
● Fun Stuff! ● Q&A
Beijing ● Home to over 20 million people (2013 estimate) ● Capital of China ● Political, historical and cultural center of country
CAUPD ● 4 branches: ○ ○ ○ ○
Beijing Shanghai Shenzhen Chongqing
● Government sponsored group, but also does private sector work
CAUPD ● Worked typical 9 - 5 schedule ○ This schedule was not typical of Chinese planners
● Activities during working hours were similar ○ However, a number of key differences ■ 2 hour lunch break ■ 4pm fruit time ■ Musical interludes throughout the day ●
Exercise time, lunch time, back to work, time to g
The Internship ● 8 week internship at CAUPD, Beijing ● Environment and Landscape Design Department ● Worked primarily on the Dalian development project ○ Bike infrastructure and underground/skyway system development to further international investment and tourism
Dalian
from: wikipedia.org
Dalian ● 6.2 million people (est. 2009, but probably much larger by now) ● A financial and shipping hub of NE China ○ Important port city
● A “second-tier” city in China ○ No real definition between tiers, but second tiers are generally have more than 3 million people, but smaller than the likes of Beijing, Shanghai, etc.
Dalian ● What’s going on in Dalian? ○ Special Economic Zone ■ South Korean, Russian, Japanese, European and American businesses have opened manufacturing plants since early 2000s ○ Tourism (both domestic and international) has also increased ■ Beaches are especially popular
Dalian
from: telegraph. co.uk
Dalian ● What’s especially important is… ○ Dalian’s air is considered to be some of the freshest in the country ○ Coupled with its proximity to smoggy cities like Beijing and Tianjin, it is a prime spot for vacation homes ■ And of course, it attracts tourism from neighboring countries, too
Dalian ● What was CAUPD doing in Dalian? ○ A 25 sq km site was recently chosen for development to accommodate huge population gains ■ A tabula rasa for the firm to create eco-friendly manufacturing parks, vacation homes and parks ●
Great deal of European architecture
■ Site currently home to melon farms and small villages
Dalian
Dalian
Dalian ● Trying to capitalize on the area’s natural offerings ○ Draw wealthy Beijingers to invest in real estate ○ As global firms become more “eco-aware,” trying to bring more international investment in green infrastructure
Dalian ● So, what did you do with the Dalian project? ○ I’m so glad you asked! ○ Bicycle infrastructure ■ Create a world-class cycling infrastructure ● ●
Active transportation Tourism--international bike racing
○ Underground/skyway systems ■ Economic development ●
How to attract businesses to a place with a cool winter climate
Dalian ● Bicycling infrastructure ○ What cities are doing it “right”? ■ Europe: Amsterdam, Copenhagen ■ North America: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland ■ Greater interest (in my experience) with North American cities vs. European ●
American cities are much newer than European, thus they have more in common
Dalian ● Bicycling infrastructure ○ How to encourage people to bike more ○ Explored many forms of cyclist infrastructure
● Very interested in what sets cities apart from one another ○ Desire for Dalian to be different than other Chinese mega-cities
Dalian
Dalian ● Attempt to create a world class parks system to encourage active forms of transportation ○ This may serve as a tourism draw ○ Drew inspiration from the Minneapolis parks system
Dalian
Dalian
Dalian
Dalian ● Challenges with this approach? ○ How do you convince people to use active transportation when there is a strong desire for car culture? ○ Cars currently dominate the roadways making active
from chinasmack.com
Dalian ● But an even bigger challenge was... ● How do you draw tourists in the wintertime? ○ Winter temps average 25 degrees Fahrenheit
Dalian ● ANSWER: ● Create skyways and underground cities!
Dalian ● Looked at cities with established under/above ground systems ○ ○ ○ ○
Montreal Minneapolis/St. Paul Atlanta Hong Kong
Dalian
Dalian � With the good, inevitably comes the bad‌
Dalian “I feel sorry for Minneapolis... [their] skyway system sucks the life out of the streets.� -Jan Gehl, noted Danish urban designer
Dalian ● Surprisingly, this was the first time my boss had heard anything negative about Minneapolis ○ What value is there from these exchanges?
○ A chance to see each other’s blunders and learn from them, or a chance to see each other’s excellence and duplicate it?
You can’t expect to be on business all the time...
Fun times!
Any questions for me?
Many thanks! Especially to ISS, Connie, Yiping and Derek for all their help!