Symposium Details - Institute of East Asian Studies Website

DATES
Friday, February 6, 2009, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

SPONSORS
Center for Chinese Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, Berkeley China Initiative, The City of Jiaxing, China, The Berkeley/Tongji Research Center for Sustainable Transit Oriented Development, Global Metro Studies, China Project, PLACES Journal, Eva Li Chair in Design Ethics

PARTICIPANTS
Harrison Fraker
Ming Zhang
Yung Ho Chang
Xing Ruan
Thomas J. Campanella
Alexander D'Hooghe
Dan Abramson
Renee Chow
Margaret Crawford
Galen Cranz
Li Zhang
Robert Mangurian
Mary-Ann Ray
Qingyun Ma
Jianfei Zhu
John Kriken
Kongjian Yu, Dean, School of Landscape Architecture, Peking University
Peter Bosselman
Elizabeth Deakin
Jennifer Day, Architecture, Univ. of Melbourne
William Fain
John Ellis
Elizabeth MacDonald
Marco Cenzatti

By almost any measure, for the last quarter century China has undertaken the largest, most rapid, urban development transformation in human history. How has China been able to build the physical equivalent of one United States in less than a generation? What is the process and what are the physical planning and design models which have enabled this extraordinary construction feat? What have been the economic incentives and drivers?

Not only is China’s development the largest construction project in history, it is arguably the largest social/cultural experiment. What are the social and cultural values served and what are those which have been neglected? What do we know about the impact on peoples’ lives, their everyday urban experiences; and what has been the impact on the environment?

China’s urban development has occurred so rapidly, there has hardly been time for careful assessment. The workshop seeks to examine the phenomena and to open a critical appraisal of its impact. The goal is to create an outline of what is known about China’s urban transformation, what research needs to be done and what innovative planning and design models are being considered to address specific concerns.