3. NEW CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

NEW CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

1.Unexpected Shock - COVID19

Major global events such as plague, economic depression and war have affected people’s social changes and daily life. For example, after the September 11 incident, people aware that the response of physical space to terrorism heavily influenced people’s behavior.

The city lockdown caused by COVID-19 forced children and all those who could work from home to stay at home and not go out. It has had a significant negative impact on urban mobility, especially in commercial districts and pedestrian malls.

New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

Fig 3.1 The lonesome Changjiang Street. Changjiang street usually is busy street, but in pandemic, there is no tourists and vehicle.

Fig 3.2 The exercise person in Gammel Torv, 2020 (Public Space, Public Life & COVID 19, 2020) 37 According to some research in the Nordic cities, the total population of visitors who walk to the pedestrian streets in Horsens AC sharply dropped approximately 96%, with a marked reduction of the amount of pedestrians on every main road (60%) . It is surprising that compared with before the epidemic period, people prefer to do more outdoor activities. The public space in Svendborg, especially waterfront spaces, attracted many residents. The percentage of residents who exercise or play in the harbour from almost zero in 2008 to 17% in 2020. As a result, in the epidemic period, the number of outdoor activities and population keep stabilization, but the content of outdoor activities had dramatic changes compared with before epidemic. The original public space became more popular than before, especially on weekends. The data presented popular public spaces like Superkinen, Enghave Plads had more usage rates. (Public Space, Public Life & COVID 19, 2020)

On the other hand, in successful public places, keeping a safe distance is difficult. When people focus on one event, they could quickly forget the caution of safet distance, retaining to the ordinary condition before the epidemic. For example, when people shopping, neglecting social distance is unconscious behavior. Due to unendurable lockdown, inhabitants have never been more hungry for public activities, outdoor activities, and interaction with the environment. Although experiencing an epidemic, spaces that carry a great experience and excellent weather environment still are the most popular. So new purposes created for users, pedestrians became roller skating streets, municipal squares became concert halls, and the park became the cycling tracks

and training rooms.(Public Space, Public Life & COVID 19, 2020)

The city center witnessed a positive change in users. Compared with before the epidemic, more children and old inhabitants went to public space, enjoying the weekend. The uses of public spaces became multiple.(Public Space, Public Life & COVID 19, 2020)

On the other side of the world, scholars researched the service condition of public spaces in America. More than a third of interviewees expressed that they decided to stay at home because of the crowded sidewalk that results in an impossible social distance. Some issues were reported by interviewees who answered ‘Yes’ to a series of follow-up questions based on their experiences. (O’Connor, 2021)

The majority of interviewees use public spaces, especially neighborhood streets and pedestrian streets. Then essential errands like stores and garbage are the main spaces used by inhabitants. Community parks and yards also are significant public spaces. According to American research, the experience of crowding in neighborhood public spaces was extra high in denser, more urban geographies. Due to the limited travel and public transit that only is allowed to take people to large open areas, this indicates the significance of developing regional public space networks. (O’Connor, 2021)

Meanwhile, respondents, especially those most vulnerable to New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

Fig 3.3 The pie chart shows the proportion of people who used public space during the pandemic (made by O’Connor, 2021)

Fig 3.4 The bar chart shows the popular public space and users feeling about the spaces. (made by O’Connor, 2021)

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COVID-19, need to go outside for activities that benefit their physical and mental health. The most common reasons people use public spaces are exercise and relaxation - both key activities for maintaining physical and psychic health. The data illustrates the vital role of safely designed and managed public spaces, particularly for the most vulnerable who need to access them more than ever.

Fig 3.5 The people waiting for testing and staff with strict protection.

Fig 3.6 The community in a strict lockdown policy 39 In Wuhan, the eye of the storm, although life has returned to normal, the trauma of the outbreak will not be forgotten. In the severest period, all activities in the city halted, public transport was limited to doctors commuting. The infected persons were sent to hospitals by polices and volunteers who were experiencing critical risks. In China, maybe because the memory that SARS killed many people in 2003, still kept in citizens’ minds, they positively responded to the government policies - staying at home, obtaining daily necessities via volunteers.

For some particular visitors like returnees and close contacts, they must be isolated in hotels. As a kind of public space, the hotel and its service staff are adapted to new rules, protecting themselves. It is a hypothesis that installing distinctive pressure isolation rooms in hotels. These special inpatient wards usually are only built in infectious hospitals.

2.The Shock of Economy

For Luxury Stores

In 2020, a large number of luxury companies were impacted by the epidemic. Burberry, the British luxury company, has warned investors that first-quarter sales were expected to fall by as much as 50%. Ferragamo, the Italian luxury company, also recently reported a 30.6 percent year-on-year drop in consolidated sales for the first quarter. In January 2020, Bain & Company and Altagamma, the Italian luxury industry organization, pointed out that the glory days of the luxury industry was in the past, with the global luxury market, growing by 4% to 281 billion euros in 2019 only. (D'Arpizio and Levato, 2020)

Philip Kotler (2005) points out that delivering value is as important as the process of creating it. So, for saving themselves, luxury goods companies have embraced e-commerce channels they had previously scorned. French luxury brand Dior released a new video shot by its brand ambassador, Angelababy, directly using the newly coined term ‘cloud shopping’ on Twitter. Coincidentally, CHANEL and GUCCI also changed its attitude to living broadcasting, using the direct broadcasting room to launch its new productions.

For Brick-and-mortar Stores

Brick-and-mortar stores also were impacted by coronavirus-19, experiencing lockdown, closing bars and stores. The global economy is Fig 3.7 The direct broadcasting room of GUCCI

New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

going through a recession, and China is no exception. According to the data from a professional website named Qichacha, more than 3 million business licenses have been revoked, including about 1 million brick-and-mortar stores, which results in heavy pressure for the government. (Liu, F. 2021) The most significant reason that gave rise to the phenomenon is the capital chain rupture of companies. Another reason is the competition from an e-commerce platform, like Meituan and Jingdong Mall.

Looking like the challenge faced in the SARS period, coronavirus-19 is also a ‘dangerous’ opportunity for e-commerce. In 2003, Taobao and Jingdong Mall established the rudiments of their business giants. People, especially those who are living in closing cities, realized the convenience of online shopping. Nowadays, coronavirus-19 accelerates new business models. It took only two years for the freshman (Alibaba. s fresh delivery supermarket), and other same business methods are acceptable for the customers.

Although coronavirus-19 harmed e-commerce as much as it did the real economy, e-commerce has more resilience because the demand for the necessities will not disappear. If the city locks down, almost all agglomerated consumption will disappear. It is hard to be replaced by online alternatives, but the demand for food and necessities could be satisfied by online shopping. The goods could distribute by Cainiao Yizhan (community and campus-oriented logistics service platform), which means that this kind of commercial strategy may attract capital and accelerate the development of the new business model.

3.Constantly Changing High-tech: E-commerce and Internet

More than ten years ago, some scholars described that online shopping impacted the prosperity of high streets. (Millington, S. and Ntounis, N. 2017 and Mood, M. and Rowland, J. 2006) In this business report, approximately half of customers prefer online shopping because they believe they can enjoy a better service on the online brand’s site than on the high street.

But according to the literature, three-quarters of customers consider that seeing, touching and trying physical products is significant for them before shopping (Hubbard P. 2017). Ress (2006) believes that there is a synergy between bricks and mortar retailers and e-tailing. The balance in the future may be a mixture of both methods, keeping brand awareness in both the high street and on the net. He considers that high streets have to create unique characteristics, staying flexible and keeping vibrant to maintain the prosperity of high streets.

Then, the enterprise of the internet industries certified this conclusion. Before the epidemic, many leaders from different famous companies discussed how to meet the rapidly growing business needs of e-commerce enterprises in 2018. Binping Yu, the CTO of Meituan online, considers that the essence of e-retail is to upgrade consumers’ consumption by giving a better experience. He agrees with Ress’s view that online shopping and the high street will be a mixture to create a Fig 3.8 Consumers spent $146.47 billion online in the United States, up 14.5 percent from the same period last year

Fig 3.9 The research of online shopping in France

Fig 3.10 Products with skyrocketing sales of online shopping in America

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New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

new business model.

The only thing which could attract people away from their digital products is the excellent experience. (Mood, M. and Rowland, J. 2006) Could heritage sites support this unique experience? It really could.

Opportunities

Fig 3.11 The neight view of Taikoo Li

Taikoo Li (refer Appendix) - New-old buildings and Daci temple

Daci Temple building in the Wei-Jin Dynasties was located in the city of Chengdu. It has more than 1600 years of history. Daci temple reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty with magnificent complex and precious murals. Then it was destroyed at the end of the Ming Dynasty and then restored at Qing Dynasty. But the temple downsized and did not repair into walls. Although the restoration and expansion continued with the end of the Qing Dynasty, it failed to reproduce the scale of the Tang Dynasty.

From 2000, the old blocks and buildings were beginning to be demolished, including Monk street, Bitieshi Street, and Majia street. Because many cities were rebuilding fake heritages all around China in the same period, areas surrounding the Daci temple did not have enough competitiveness and were re-demolished. Modern buildings

with Chinese traditional building components were constructed. The city’s administrators are overconfident believing that the strategy of ‘demolishing the heritage sites and rebuilding fake heritages’ are beneficial for conserving heritages (Wang, D. 2019)

This temple was restored many times, hardly feeling the signs of time. The developer claimed that all buildings were rebuilt in the original sites, having the same traditional structure.(Wang, D. 2019) Nowadays, the precious heritage is enclosed by noisy Taikoo Li. Crowded tourists visit here because they admire its fame.

How many proportions of tourists having a big interest in Daci Temple instead of shopping on Taikoo Li? The majority of tourists decide their trip by the reputation of the destination. Heritage, an excellent element for the high street, could be opportunities to compete with the e-commerce method, like Daci temple (refer Appendix).

In Chengdu, another example shows the charm of heritages. Monk street and Chongde Li are run-down blocks. This area maintained 60 meters old streets and three courtyards. The architect Hi Wang produced the restoration project of the street. He objects to the traditional schema of destroying down all old buildings and constructing new buildings. He believes that the method of ‘demolishing the heritage sites and rebuilding fake heritages’ will destroy the character and inheritance of historic cities. (Wang, D. 2019)

The new district attracted many tourists. Then stores opened along the Fig 3.12Tthe gate of Daci temple, the picture shows an exhibition of Dunhuang frescoes. New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

Fig 3.13 Mao Zedong's Former Residence

Fig 3.14 Rong House conserving by Roberto Baciocchi ( sponsored by Prada) 45 streets. The stores serve not only tourists but also focus on residents, conserving local buildings and the environment. Although the buildings restored the timberwork with new timber, the repair traces were honestly shown to visitors, keeping the authenticity of heritage. Darlington (2020) states that ‘of course, repair and maintenance of heritage must be a part of the story.’

Many buildings for different purposes could be counted as heritage, but the heritage having high value only occupy a small part. The heritages could be distinguished into three different categories. There are residences, temples and palaces, and other heritages. To what extent can the heritage be used for commercial purposes? What kind of heritages have more attraction for tourists?

1)Residence can be distinguished to individual house and historical communities. Individual house are usually located in historical areas having high passenger flow volume, which only has limited effect for this area. There is a remote possibility of attracting tourists to visit these sites. But independent houses, especially these far away from the city center, cannot support the expectation of tourists. Almost no one wants to cost several hours on the road, then to visit a shabby house.

On the other hand, historical communities have more potency to be transformed into commercial districts. There are many successful and failed lessons, such as Italian Rivera, German Heidelberg and French Menton. One of the most important things is how to keep the authenticity of heritages. Many examples show that the heritage may

lose its authenticity and integrity if its owners or developers change it. (Darlington, J. 2020) It also is an issue for other kinds of heritages.

2)Temples and palaces always have great value by themselves, which also are great resources for tourism and commerce. The most precious heritages are conserved with many different strategies. Thanks to hightech, many destroyed heritages could be replicated by 3D technology. Some heritage located in the city center usually are surrounded by the commercial district. Many reasons result in this phenomenon. The core reason is that commercial enterprise is and still will capture the urban center. Adriaan Geuze noticed that: (2006)

These beautiful urban centres were captured by commercial enterprise, stripped of their public qualities ... where the street level no longer welcomed the free spirit but instead gave itself over to the consumer.

3)For others, heritage near the residences has more potential to be transformed than one far away. Time cost may have a strong influence on the choice of customers. That one having suitable size and space has more potential than that oversized or undersized. Architecture on a grand size usually has a particular use, which should be maintained to guarantee the authenticity of heritages. Having a tiny space cannot satisfy the functional diversity and customers’ curiosity, which may not attract enough customers, the one having sufficient funds and a high reputation having more potential than one that does not. Capital will be attracted by a positive reputation, offering sufficient funds to conserve and transform heritage. New Chanlleages - Conservation and Activate

Fig 3.15 The Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong where exhibit conventional community life.