title: Urban Street Design of Mid-size Chinese Cities: The Case of Lishui
Creators: name: Chen, Longwei
Publisher: name: Oxford Brookes University
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/04v2twj65
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Since industrialisation and economic growth in the 1990s, China has increasingly aspired to become more like developed nations; the traditional human dimensions and function of streets has changed, being replaced by modern, engineered roads and large poorly defined open spaces. This is causing many problems such as loss of street vitality, safety, negative climatic conditions and the lack of designated spaces for walking, cycling and socialising. Recently, there has been a growing interest in researching street design in China, but most researchers study engineering and landscape design principles; focusing on large Chinese cities. However, there is a lack of research on medium or small size cities. The problem with small and medium size Chinese cities is that they are implementing the same road and street patterns that are more suited to large cities. As a result, this research questions the validity of such approaches and whether there are some useful lessons to be learnt from historically formed urban areas of medium size cities such as Lishui. A multi-dimensional approach was needed to understand the dynamic changes, evolution and transformation of street design in medium and small size cities in China. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to develop a new theoretical conceptual framework, methodology and urban design principles for urban street design in medium size Chinese Cities- the case of Lishui. The conceptual framework involved a comprehensive literature review from a global perspective on generic urban design characteristics at different morphological resolution levels such as the overall urban form, streets, blocks, plots and buildings; urban street qualities; and the local context, for instance, philosophical application of traditional urbanism in Chinese cities, such as the ideas of Guanzi, Fengshui and Confucianism that were influential in shaping traditional Chinese urban spaces. The conceptual framework also includes key actors’ and the roles they play in the shaping, management and the use of streets in Lishui. This research has developed a new holistic research methodology to aid understanding of the evolution of cultural and urban transformation in relation to the streets relevant to medium size cities in China. The new methodology combines investigations of urban morphology, street typology, field observation and semi-structured interview methods to analyse and investigate various street design qualities. This research has brought these four parts together in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of urban street design in medium size Chinese cities and also provide a valuable method for examining the impact of the built environment. The research generated rich information regarding the formation and transformation of urban form from the past to present, and it identified the key characteristics of streets in Lishui. Research analysis from the city level to the sub-case study level, embraced the physical form analysis, socio-cultural, economic, and political aspects that define the key issues and problems in relation to the qualities of streets. The generic urban design principles were brought together to respond to the key problems of both traditional and contemporary urban transformation in relation to the quality of streets. The general principles were then translated into eleven urban design propositions for the city centre and thirteen urban design propositions for Tianning Community for testing. The results were tested with contributions from key players (residents, planners, and government officials) who gave their opinions regarding the qualities of streets. With these results, the propositions were revised and refined to reach a level of acceptance to achieve better street design, relevant to medium size Chinese cities. The real-life setting was brought to life in the research by inviting local residents to participate. In Lishui, the traditional elements have a strong support by local people and planning and urban design experts: for example, incorporating fengshui principles into design ensures a harmonious balance between humans and their natural surroundings. Moreover, the old finely meshed irregular street network with small urban blocks and urban layout, the historical architecture and mixed-use are a very dominant cultural aspect for Chinese cities, recognised as important by the participants in this research. Traditional streets and urban form elements in the old city centre could be adopted into the modern street design in Lishui. The research also established that local culturally informed theories about places can add value in terms modifying civil engineering street design principles, and adding human dimension and urban design qualities such as legibility, permeability, imageability, connectivity, accessibility, familiarity, distinctness, walkability, and comfort. The contribution to knowledge of this research is in the following areas: first, the new theoretical contribution in the wider context in urban space and street design in medium-sized Chinese cities is achieved through the new conceptual framework that is culturally rooted in traditional urban design and is also evolving to accommodate present and future needs of the city. The conceptual framework is robust enough to be applied in other Chinese cities and has a potential to be adapted to other countries particularly those with similar challenges. Second, the practical contribution of the research in the context of the city of Lishui is by emphasising the human dimension of streets. Third, the methodological contribution that is new to China is in the combination of the urban morphology, street typology, field observation and semi-structured interviews for investigating the qualities of streets which could be used to conduct similar studies in other places both in China and internationally in cities addressing similar issues in similar urban forms.