SHIFTING SITES: YANGON | Systems, Scales and Strategies in the Urban Landscape Arch7102 Spring 2014 | Ivan Valin | Melissa Cate Christ | Scott Jennings Melbourne
maps showing extent of urban growth from 1975 to 2010 derived from landsat maps, USGS
EXERCISE 1: YANGON DIMENSIONS: MAPPING THE CITY This exercise asks the students to research, document and analyze primary physical, cultural, and ecological dimensions of the city and region of Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). The intent of this exercise is to investigate methods of contextual research, analysis and representation as they are commonly practiced in the discipline of landscape architecture. Student working in small groups will collect, synthesize and communicate information related to their assigned research topics. Myanmar lacks many of the archival and cartographic resources that are common in more developed nations, thus students will be expected to rely on methods of interpretation and extrapolation where data or records do not exist. The final product of the exercise will serve as a field guide for the Yangon study trip and will form the foundation of subsequent design and research exercises in the term. METHODOLOGY Students will work in small groups of 3-4 students. Research topics must be described at the scale of the detail or device, the scale of the urban core, and the scale of the greater metropolitan region. Teams are expected to use a range of drawings types including timelines, maps, diagrams, sections, plans, and photographs. The research should address three basic concerns: Historical and Projective: Describe the evolution of your subject over time. What are the significant moments of change? Suggest possible future scenarios given current trends. Internalities: Describe the organization of your subject at the various scales of investigation. How does your subject work as a system? What are the rules and logic of this system? Identify internal constraints or failures in the subject/system. Is there a weakness in the components or gap in the system? Externalities: What are the primary inputs and outputs of your research subject? What other research subjects impact, or are impacted by, your system? Who are the agents that manipulate your system and who is most at risk from it? RESEARCH SUBJECTS 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)
Climate and Environment: eg. macro and microclimate, weather, vegetation Politics and Economy: eg. political history, industries Hydrology and Geomorphology: eg. source, watershed, rivers, topography Cultures and People: eg. demographics, religious and social artifacts Waste and Sewage: eg. storm-water infrastructure, treatment technologies Water Services : eg. water storage and distribution networks, traditional methods Food Networks: eg. agricultural distribution, markets, primary products Urban morphology: eg. urban structure and growth patterns, architectural forms, open space Circulation and Transport: eg. vehicular, rail, boat
ARCH 7102 Spring 2014
SHIFTING SITES: YANGON 1
SHIFTING SITES: YANGON | Systems, Scales and Strategies in the Urban Landscape Arch7102 Spring 2014 | Ivan Valin | Melissa Cate Christ | Scott Jennings Melbourne CONTENT & FORMAT Due: Final Review 2:00 pm, February 13, 2014. (Digital versions uploaded to Moodle by midnight of same) 4-8 A3 sheets, landscape format, black and white and ONE color only per research topic (except photographs). Each A3 sheet shall incorporate a 100-200 word summary of the content. Group members must to work together to establish common base information/scales etc., though a basic graphic template will be provided by the instructors. All content must be cited according to APA guidelines. SCHEDULE Week 1:
Jan 20 Jan 23
Exercise 1 Launch Group Pinups: Bulk information and data resources identified (“information dump”)
Week 2:
Jan 27 Jan 30
Group Pinups: Initial analysis and conclusions and follow-up findings. Chinese New Year - No class
Week 3:
Feb 03 Feb 06
Chinese New Year - No class Chinese New Year - No class
Week 4:
Feb 10 Feb 13
Group Pinups: Trial pinup with conclusions, analysis, and applied formatting. Final Review Exercise 1
REFERENCES & RESOURCES -
Charney, M. W. (2009). A history of modern Burma. Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press. Crawfurd, J., & Charney, M. W. (2005). Account of Rangoon in the Summer of 1826. SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, 3(2), 960-964. Furnivall, J. S. (1953). Burma, Past and Present. Far Eastern Survey, 22(3), 21-26. Holliday, I. (2011). Burma redux: global justice and the quest for political reform in Myanmar. Hong Kong, Bangkok: Hong Kong University Press; Silkworm Books. Leonard, J. B. (1985). Rangoon. Cities, 2(1), 2-13. Morley, I. (2013). Rangoon. Cities, 31, 601-614. Pearn, B. R., & Corporation of Rangoon (Burma). (1939). A history of Rangoon. Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press. Seekins, D. M. (2005). The State and the City: 1988 and the Transformation of Rangoon. Pacific Affairs, 78(2), 257-275. Spate, O. H. K., & Trueblood, L. W. (1942). Rangoon: a study in urban geography. Geographical Review, 32(1), 56-73. http://www.bl.uk/ http://www.burmalibrary.org/ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ http://www.openstreetmap.org/ http://www.myanmararchives.com/ http://www.themimu.info/ http://yangonheritagetrust.org/ http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/
ARCH 7102 Spring 2014
SHIFTING SITES: YANGON 2