Draft 20130325
In a world rapidly approaching a population of 9 billion people, 70 percent of who will live in urban areas by 2050 (figure 1.1), cities must be efficient, socially/economically sustainable, and better at protecting their most vulnerable populations. Throughout history, urban morphological variants promise to be the solution to problems. We can see that from the earliest examples that New-Towns were inseparable from economic reasons.
Over the past 20 years, China has developed and promoted “eco-cities.” Initially with ‘grand projet ‘ of building 400 new cities by 2020. Now under the auspices of Vice Minister for construction Qiu Bao-Xing, the middle-country plans to unveil 100 low-carbon eco-cities development concepts. More recently, it has begun to apply, making Chinese cities part of a global trend in which cities take a lead role in incorporating ecological low-carbon development and economic considerations into their urban planning and management models. This is, of course, particularly urgent in China because of its unprecedented scale of urbanization and corresponding buildup of environmental pressures. Perhaps how do these post-keynesian/ liberal cities fit into the theoretical framework?
0.SEEDING OF A CITY (History of Cities)
New-towns are not a new One of the earliest models of urbanizations can be traced to the Romans, compared to the ‘camp of a conquering army’ (Le Goff, 1984). This model was based on Militaristic reasons as administrative conduits in the network of the Roman Empire, which then fulfilled a role as economic trading nodes. This expansion typically expanded its foot-print from a conquerors’ camp until a suitable size that could be defended, as seen by the limes, Hadrian’s Wall, and other natural features. Thus Pirenne considers this as ‘first and foremost a creation of traders and merchants.’
Under the auspices through funding and protection of feudal lords, hawkers began settling at the vast trading routes covering the Alps, large tract of Mediterranean Sea, Northern Germany, to the extents of the Baltic and North Seas. Accelerated by different trade vehicle such as the camel, dromedary, elephant, domesticated horse lifted the trading fog-of-war leading to institutionalized developments. Wide-spread use of maritime transportation modes lead to the northern Italians setting up settlements and outpost along coast of Asia Minor, the Adriatic Sea, and the Ionic Islands. Greater distances allowed by discovery of the 15th century and early 16th century, colonial outpost began forming on the Rhine, Maas, and Scheldt. Urbanization connected cities in a network through trade.
After the industrial revolution, many things happened affecting expansion. Advances in transport technology caused cities to expand in Rhizomic manner, creating sub-centers, discerned by Boelens in Transport-based developments. Quasi-new towns developed along the lines of transport and developers. South-Holland was given as an example but many cities were planned and follow this model. Transport has always played a crucial role, even decisive role in the urban spatial layout. This widely executed in late 20th century publicly funded in Europe, examples include the 1947 development scheme of Copenhagen’s Finger plan or Egusplankontoret. Used to house 10, 000 inhabitants along rail infrastructure in the shape of 5 fingers surrounding the palm of the pre-war Copenhagen as regional, leaving areas between the fingers for recreation, nature, agrarian production. The private, or a mix of both, (not sure if this is needed ). Asia similarly follows in this trend through the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) of Hong Kong. Initially government owned for the first few decades, subsequent full privatization in 2000 prompted integrated real estate development due to economic development of the Hong-Kong/ River Pearl Delta region. Boelens pp. 200 – 210
Discerned by Boelens, the outpost would serve as regional outposts with the aim as a conduit of political control in all geographical extent. Examples throughout history reinforced army camps of the Romans, The shoens of the Japanese empire, the trading posts of the Arabic caliphates, outposts of the city-states of Venice and Genoa. The regime of sovereign not only extended outward to these outposts in political and institutional terms but also, with regards to spatial form and representation. Robert Homes? Show that the colonial settlements were thoroughly capitalist in their nature. Most exemplary by the Dutch East India or the English East India Company involved in the organization of trade abroad. The intent was a efficient model in resupplying ships with cargo at the right time, later for commerce. Colonialism in the beginning was a mixed venture, combining private enterprise with state or crown control. When sovereign powers deteriorate, due to bloody war revolution. Concepts of a colonial urban model became a successful mode of new town. Because of innovative pioneering mentality, un-peded by lock in of older mentalities.
Another implementation in new towns is the utopian model, built by sovereign powers in an effort as an administerial and political hub. Exemplary model include of Brasilia/ Canberra in symbolizing utopian ideals through master-plans. Although this forms of designs are usually criticized on un-human scale and cities that have a void in them. Bertaud (2000 pp. ), retired chief urban-planner for the world bank, criticizes them on the fact them affect the self-organization behavior of cities and provides data on quantifiable cost to its inhabitants.
From the history of new towns, there are arguably three methods of city formation which we will characterize as the slow growth model, Rhizomic, and New Town implementation. Similarly, these characterizations are discussed by Boelens in his discourse in the DNA of all metropolises, dividing city types into the capital, delta, or colonials.
The Asian urbanization model is a paradox of economic/social/cultural. Its political-administrative roles developed in the Tang and Sung Dynasties during the period of 7th to 13th century. Ruling under ‘divine mandate’. These urban seats, many with a several hundred thousand inhabitants were outpost of the empire and an expression of imperial power. Order and essential facilities/ amenities were guaranteed by the administrative seats – such as fire-fighting seats services, defense, and welfare amenities. It was common practice for the outposts to be physically based on a walled grid structure, erected around the military governor. Whereas in the imperial capital the divine mandate was emphasized, administrative outpost were complementary outposts in articulating political power. Trade and production was subordinate to this power and eventually creating the ‘dan-wei’ spatial working units around an inward looking collective space, separated by the Public Street.
2.DISPERSAL OF SEEDS (Theoretical Aspects of Cities)
Despite the various different morphological variants shown above, Lehnerer proposes looking at cities as ‘a momentary state of a process of constant transformation and development’, where change can be described as a set of abstract rules. Where he gives the example of prominent theorist and urban critic Jane Jacobs gives 4 rules to revert deteriorating American cities of A street or district must server several primary functions; secondly Blocks must be short; Buildings must vary in age, condition and use; Buildings varying in age, condition, and use; lastly of population being dense. It is described as an idealized New York Greenwich Village. 4 relevant questions that he poses which is relevant to the rule are of what realms are not covered by the respective rule, in order for leeway? Secondly, Thirdly, how strict are the boundaries between the areas defined? Fourth, how do we do with externalities not governed by implicit objectives?
• New advances spatial analysis through satellite imagery proposed to calculate urban extents
Despite all the various urban theories being flaunted, do the¬se theories stand? Satellite night-time imagery paint a different picture, instead of being able to engineer development a¬s proposed by the Chinese government (which five year plan). Using the developing instead we have a Jackson Pollock painting of extent of urban development. According to research by ETH Zurich, using open-sourced data based on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) through 160 countries, they found a universal patterns of human settlements through an agglomeration based expansion and similar regression in countries suffering economic decline and reduction in urban population. The Gridded Population of the World uses nighttime lights as one of its many inputs. Between 1992 and 2009, worldwide lit surface grew by 16%. Similar finding has been theorized by Small in the nucleation of urban developments, where he proposes the nucleation of interstitial blooming between settlements rather than individual small lights. This effort to detect more of the dim lighting was spurred on by users who reported findings such as ‘‘lighting was present for less than half the population of China’’. ¬¬
Similar forms of growth has been shown in generative logic (diffusion-limited aggregation DLA, cellular automata, with similar forms as (see cities and complexity), where generative design with seeds implanted at particular locations can show strikingly similar results to real-life situation (Stolk, E, & Brömmelstroet, M 2009 pp. 65). Although Batty states that this is simply a graphic way of impressing the notion of uncoordinated changes leads to highly ordered structures. In the sense, what is focus is not the graphical or prophetic connotation of generative logic but what it can bring through the idealization of a 'shifting vision'.
2.SEEDS in context (The Chinese Context)
• *From Iron rice bowl to the Steel Cafeteria Tray.
The Chinese Cities is once a again a form of geo-political for the CCCP, China has had a history of using cities as since the Ming-Tang dynasty (Parallels shown in how China historically, during the Ming/ Tang dynasty (Boelens, 2009 pp.230-235.
The ‘iron rice bowl’ (Tie Fan Wan) is synonymous for the lifelong employment of the state-run entreprises and welfare of Maoist-era socialism. With the rational in that benefits channeled and managed through state-controlled dan-wei ensuring political loyalty. Thus the vernacular of the
The iron rice bowl became brittle during Deng's economic reform (1978-1990s), it is argued by Chen (in Al, S pp. 45-50), industrial towns as replacement of the traditional 'dan-wei'. Cities can be argued to be built as form of eco-political control.
With continued urban-led economic growth, much is at stake related to China’s urban ecological footprint—not just for China, but for the world.
Since the early 1990s, China’s central government, in particular the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD), has attempted to guide cities toward greater sustainability, including by developing various eco-city standards and policies. In addition, many local and provincial governments have begun to develop eco-cities on their own or together with international partners. However, both the national-level policy guidance and the local-level eco-city initiatives have adopted a rather broad definition of ecological sustainability and, more important, have not yet articulated a clear vision of what successful low-carbon city development actually entails and would require. The objective of this chapter is to review some of the lessons learned from China’s eco-city experiences, compare them with global practices on sustainable urban development, and highlight what China’s and international
eco-city experiences imply going forward. Although some Chinese eco-cities have mixed track records and the existing eco-city indicators and national policy regulations do not provide clear guidance on low-carbon development, the fact that China actively develops eco-city initiatives could provide an entry point for future low-carbon city development. However, clearer policy guidance is required and global best practices must be applied.
