Introduction
Site Context China and the Sichuan Province The first phase of the course focused on gathering information on the country of China, the city of Dujiangyan, and the assigned study site in the central part of the city. During the first three weeks of the semester, the students completed a variety of group studies on the city of Dujiangyan and its relationship to globalization and the regional dynamics of the Sichuan province. Each of the ten student groups explored a line of personal interest that related to their evolving research on Dujiangyan and the assigned design site. The group mappings included analysis of Dujiangyan’s urban structure, rich history, social characteristics, economic flows, environmental challenges, and landscape. The results were presented to the whole class, and the research served as a strong base for the studio’s study visit and workshop in China. Additionally, three seminars took place providing a common theoretical background of the key questions of globalization, the history of Chinese urbanism and contemporary precedents of sustainable urban design in China.
Dujiangyan within the Sichuan province The brief asked to map out the impacts of globalization and on-going processes that were influencing the urban development of China and the Sichuan province. Located in southwestern China, the region is home to around 81 million people and is one of China’s largest and most dynamic economic areas. Further focus was placed on the physical impacts that the close connection to the provincial capital city of Chengdu and the regional planning for the future development of Chengdu were having on the city of Dujiangyan. During the investigations, the students discovered both Dujiangyan’s economic importance for China as well as its unique culture and history. It was evident that Dujiangyan was one of the most promoted tourist destinations in China with a vibrant and growing tourism industry, and was also rapidly changing through investments in
Sustainable Urban Dynamics
infrastructure such as high speed rail.
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DIAGRAM: GROUP 3
