Regeneration of a Village in the City in the Pearl River Delta Region

Abstract

The process of urbanization plays a vital role in the development of social and economic structures. Over the past thirty years, China's process of urbanization followed its own distinctive patterns, resulting in an unprecedented speed of growth on one hand, and various types of informal developments on the other hand. With the decentralized economic power and markets' growing appetite for more land, land development has become uncontrolled both within and beyond urban areas. (Zhang, 2008) Meanwhile, the current "demolish-and-rebuild" strategy implemented by Chinese government has caused permanent damages to the locales and many culturally rich heritage settlements, especially in fast growing metropolises such as Guangzhou. The city of Guangzhou is one of the most dynamic cities in mainland China with full of potentials and advantages. In recent years, Guangzhou is gradually shifting its focus from industrial production to information and knowledge production in order to ensure its competitiveness among other global cities. Additionally, with the increasing social - environmental awareness, it has been realized that it is important to reduce the intensity and speed of Guangzhou's development in order to achieve a more balanced, sustainable and quality-oriented urbanization process. The creative industries play an important role in this process because it promotes innovation and creativity which suit contemporary needs, while exploring and refining the existing characters of the city. Up until now there are several attempts to preserve and renovate existing urban bodies such as old factories and villages through the integration with creative industries. These successful projects have avoided the blind and careless demolition scheme, while opening a new path for the development of old built-areas. The study tour to the Pearl River Delta in April 2011 provided an opportunity to conduct research and investigation of the current social, cultural and economic status of Guangzhou. It was also a chance to select a proper site to experiment with the regeneration program in conjunction with the creative industries in a realistic urban situation. Through research, it was discovered that the very existence of the so-called "villages in the city" has been a well-known example of the outcomes of rapid urbanization in China. In the last few years, a lot of these villages have been mandatorily demolished and substituted by generic high-rise buildings, causing growing tensions between different social groups and destroying the basic sense of community. The thesis reviews China's urbanization process, examines informal developments in villages in the city and places emphasis on urban preservation and revitalization. The specific site of Sanyuanli village in Guangzhou was chosen due to its unique historical and cultural heritages and its existing social urban deteriorating conditions which are in need for urban renewal. This thesis will explore the potential of regenerating the village into a creative district in terms of architectural, spatial rearrangement and landscape design integration, while addressing the main social and environmental issues in the village. With the good starting point of Guangzhou's creative industries, the establishment of the new role for the village will be able to inject greater incentive, value and life into the city.