Cultivation of the Urban Village

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The cultivation of urban villages

Integration of informal development in the formal planning proces of Shenzhen, China

MSc thesis

Matthijs van Oostrum

[email protected]

1516981

Keywords:

Urban villages, informal development, spatial integration, socialinclusion, floating population, informal networks, path dependency,Shenzhen, Guangming district

This is the final thesis for the 2-year master track Urbanism at the Technical University of Delft. This thesis would not have been possible without the help of the Complex city studio, the International New Town Institute, my mentors Verena Balz and Henco Bekkering and themy guide in the fieldwork I have done, Angelo Zhang. I would like tothank them for the information and help they gave me. Finally the site

visits would not have been possible without the fantastic K597 regionalbus.

Mentor team

ir. V. Balz - Chair of Spatial planning and strategy ,department of Urbanism

Prof. ir. H.C. Bekkering - Chair of Urban Design, department of Urbanism

dr. M. Pimlott - external committee member

Supported by

International Newtown Institute

This project is part of a broader research project on the contemporary newtowns. The research uses a series of studycases to investigatenewtowns, Shenzhen being their first one. The International NewtownInstitute approached the Complex cities graduation studio for closer cooperation. The INTI was of great help in this project, because throughthem I was able to speak to many stakeholders on site and obtain agreat deal of information in terms of maps, presentations and statistics.

Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology

MSc Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

MSc track Urbanism

Complex cities and regions in transformation

This thesis is downloadable for free from the TU Delft library website:

http://www.library.tudelft.nl/collecties/tu-delft-repository/

Delft, July 2013

THe cultivation of urban villagesmatthijs van oostrum

9,5Awarded with a

and Nominated for archiprix



06 07

part 3 village development

part 2 theoretical framework

Part 1 introduction

part 4 development proposal

part 5 conclusion



16 17



Part 1 introduction


part 5 conclusion



30 31



Part 1 introduction


part 5 conclusion



1. Villlage in expansion phases

2. Water



38 39

An over view of Guangming

Te current condition o Guangming can be described in terms o threelayers; the landscape, the village and the actories. About 60% o the land is stillun built, either orest or cultivated land. Te actories, o which the majority isvillage owned take up about 30% o all land use. Te residential areas o theseurban villages represent only 8% o the build-up area o the Guangming area,which means that the density inside the villages is on average 14 thousandpeople per square kilometre. Although the density o Guangming would suggestan already urban area, the area is considered to be peri-urban, that still can beurther urbanised. In the ollowing series o maps the Guangming area will bediscussed in a number o thematic layers. Te frst layer discusses the naturallandscape o Guangming. Te second layer deals with the built orm o the villagein Guangming. Te third layer takes a look at the commercial structure o theGuangming district. Te ourth layer will elaborate on the industrial system inGuangming.

s p a t i a l a n a l y s i s of G u a n g m i n g

3. Lychee trees

4. Horticulture

5. Hills

6. Village owned industry

7. Private industry

8. Main roads

9. Highway connection

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

1km 2km 4km

continues on next page



The information in the overview

is obtained through comparing

the 1955 US army map, with1km 2km 4km



44 45

sattelite images of 2000 en

2010.

1. Old core

2. First expansion

3. Second expansion

4. Third expansion

5. Restructured village

6. Communist village

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

s p a t i a l a n a l y s i s of G u a n g m i n g

Example of typical village

expansion layout. The main

streets are between 6 and 10

meters wide. The alleyways are

usally 2 meters wide.

Typical scene from a village

surrounded by horticultural

lands.

Typical scene from a village at

the point of a major road.

Te di erent phases o expansion can be ound by reading the ormo the village on satellite images and comparing satellite images taken at di erenttimes. In total, 52 villages have been ound in Guangming. Each village showsdi erent degrees o expansion. Most villages are between 0,25km² and 1,0km² insize. Te old cores o some villages have used together to become on large village.Te northwest area o the Guangming district shows the densest concentrationo villages. Te eastern area o the Guangming district is relatively less densely populated.




1. Peripheral village

2. Production village

3. Market village

4. Administrative village

5. Agglomerated village

1km 2km 4km



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end of chapter

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

t y p ol og i c a l i n v e n t or y

of v i l l a g e s

In the next part a number of

design studies will explore the

different development stages

of Guangming

1. Design study focussing on

peripheral villages in a very

rural part of Guangming (seepage 64-65)


agglomerated villages in the

Gongming centre (see page

72-73)


production villages in central

Guangming (see page 66-67)


administrative villages in the

Guangming centre (see page

70-71)


market villages in the southern

Guangming (see page 68-69)

Conclusion

Te 52 villages o Guangming show di erent degrees o development.Literature divides the villages in 3 stages - sub-urban, peri-urban and urban –that are related to their position towards the ormal city. Te research in this

section suggests a slightly di erent division, based on the intrinsic structureo the villages, rather than the position towards the ormal city. Te villageso Guangming can be divided into fve di erent stages o development– theperipheral, the production, the market, the administrative and agglomeratedvillage –, each with its own characteristics and challenges. Tis research enables toconfrm some o the relations that were introduced in the theoretical ramework.Te research also establishes a clear relation between spatial orm o the villageand the socio-economic profle o the village. Tis relation will enable me topropose a uture development proposal. Because each stage is di erent, thedevelopment stages each require a di erent approach or a success ul integrationinto the ormal planning. Te next part o this thesis is concerned with a uturedevelopment proposal or the Guangming district, in which the structure o regional abric and the development stages o the villages orm the basis. Te fvedevelopment stages will be urther explored in fve small design studycases.



60 61



Part 1 introduction


part 5 conclusion



This map represents a zoom-in

of the Guangming district map.

1. Village interior space

2. Facade around urban blocks

3. New interior space

4. New facades

5. Shops

200m 400m 600m 1000m



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Administrative villages

Te administrative village is the ourth type to be distinguishedin Guangming. Te most important eature here is not the market, but theadministrative centre o the government. Whereas the market attracts large ows

o people every day, the administrative centre is rather a display o power. Tevillage is massively restructured to ft the image that the government would liketo project. Te urban orm is very reminiscent o western European urban orm. Although the buildings in the administrative village look very much like the ones inother villages, the urban layout is completely di erent, rather resembling westernstyle urban planning. Te location o the administrative villages is limited to theseat o the local streeto ce (the subdistrict o Gongming and Guangming). In thecase o the Gongming village, the village is closely connected to other villages inthe area. In the case o Guangming, the administrative centre is surrounded by anumber o peripheral villages.

In the design study o the administrative centre o the Guangmingsubdistrict a number o issues become clear. Te f th local design takes a lookat the administrative centre o Guangming and the peripheral villages that aredirectly connected to it. Te location o these villages correlates with the locationo the new industrial developments. For the actories to prosper, they need thein ormal quality o the villages. Te development o the actories should beconnected to the development o the peripheral villages.

c a p t u r i n g t h e

q u a l i t y of i n f or m a l i t y

6. Water

7. Lychee trees

13. Lychee trees

14. Horticulture

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Administartive centre of

Guangmng subdistrict.

The village is restructured

according to very different

organizzation principles than

the normal gird structures.

Small peripheral villages

around administartive villagecould be allowed to grow,

together with new industrial

developments in the area.

Stronger connections between

administartive cntre and

surrounding village might boost

informal activity.




76 77

Te edge surrounds the collective space and ulflls many di erent unctions.Te edge has a sheltering unction or the collective space. Te edge providesprotection rom rain and sun, both to the people and the goods that are onsale. Public lighting in the collective space provides a social shelter and a sa eenvironment. Te edge also plays a big role in the accessibility o the village.Because the collective space is only space in the village with enough space, it ishere that busses have their stops, where motorcycles drop o the passengers andwhere trucks can load and unload their goods. Te edge also has an in ormativeunction. Because the collective space is the access point to the surroundingvillage abric, the edge must in orm by passers o the unctions in the surroundingarea. Te edge is a exible space that can be used or residential, commercial orindustrial unctions. Te architecture around the collective space is very adaptiveto the demands o the inhabitants. Te edge is a space that is easily encroachableby the surrounding buildings and the people that use them. Te collective spaceo ers a place where activities can take place that cannot be accommodated inthe buildings themselves. Te edge extends the exibility o the use inside thebuildings, by enabling the encroachment.



Lighting Natural shadow Shelter from building Gateway

Pedestrianbridge

Busstop Motorcycle parking Load-unload space

Advertisements Smell of food Echaust fumes Landmarks

Shops Residences Workshop

Street market Storage space Eating house

Sports Localperformance

Local gatherings

Laundry Construction site Electric wiring

Movement space

Shelter function of edge

Accesability functionof edge

Informative functionof edge

Flexible function of theedge

Encroachment functionof the edge - Economicencroachment

Encroachmentfunction of the edge -Social encroachment

Encroachmentfunction of the edge -

Vertical encroachment


1. Interior village space

2. Facades and functions

3. Shops

4. Informal roadsystem

1.

1km 2km 4km



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Conclusion

Te network in Guangming has largely been the product o in ormaldevelopment. In this in ormal development, the natural landscape, the Chinesebuilt environment, the commercial structure and the industrial structure haverein orced each other in their development and thus created a strongly layeredand embedded network. Unintended, the growth o the village has created acollective space between the di erent neighbourhoods that has a very high quality in terms o in ormal use. ogether, the network and village interior constitute thespace that allows or socio-economic upgrading o the migrant population. Tissystem o spaces is extra benefciary to the migrants, because it connects villagesin di erent stages o development, thus allowing migrants to move between themand seek opportunity to enter the socio-economic upgrading process. Te nextchapter will combine the spatial characteristics o the in ormally developed systemwith the development stage o the villages, to come to a regional developmentproposal.

end of chapter

2.

3.

4.





1. Motorway

2. Regional road

3. Highground road

4. Ridge road

5. Perpendicular road

1km 2km 4km



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When the proposed systemization is executed or the wholeGuangming district, the ollowing network appears. Most o the lines in thisnetwork are existing lines, s o it should be clear that this proposal is not imposinga new juxtapositioned network, but the slight adaptation o an existing network.In addition, some crucial links are made between di erent parts o the network.Each o the lines in the network adheres to a di erent kind o development. In thenext series o maps, each layer in the network is discussed separately and linkedto existing unctions and uture developments. It is important to realize thateach line in the network is not be seen as ulflling a singular unction, but ratheras having a ocus on a particular unction. Te frst map will discuss the purplelines, most strongly related to the horticultural unction o the area. Te secondmap is related to the blue lines and ocus on the industrial development o theGuangming district. Te third map Te third map will address the green lines, inwhich the ocus is on public acilities and leisure activities. Te ourth map

Direction of Dalang district

Direction of Dalang district

Direction of Guanlang district

Direction of Dongguang city

Direction of downtown Shenzhen


r e g i on a l d e s i g n

1. Lake

2. Flood area

3. Horticultural land

4. Potential for maintenance

5. River

6. Crest road

1.

1km 2km 4km



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Maintenance of horticulture

Te horticultural areas had a double role in area o Guangming. Telocal government emphasises on the economic output o these areas, which isvery low. But the horticulture in the area has another, more important unction.New migrants that arrive in Guangming can continue their current pro essionas armer. When migrants are new to the city their skill sets do not allow themto start a business or open a workshop. Tese skillsets have to do both withknowledge about the pro ession, as it has to do with knowledge about the area,local regulations and ways to fnance a business.

Te new developments regard the agricultural areas as retarded areas thathave no real economic output. Tis reasoning leads them to the decision to plannew development on the current horticultural land. In the current masterplano the area the horticultural lands are to be either park areas or new industrialdevelopments.

My proposal is to maintain the existing horticultural lands or the localproduction o vegetables and ruit by new migrants. Te existing horticulturalareas ollow a distinct pattern. Because the in ormal development o the villagesoperates rom the old core outwards, the existing horticultural lands all lie atthe periphery o the urban area. Like the market villages that are located in anarc alongside the two main river arteries, the horticultural areas also lie in anarc, approximately one kilometre away rom the two main river arteries. Teproduction o local ood, could support the sustainable image the local Guangminggovernment wants to project.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.



1. Cultural site

2. Ancestrall hall

3. School

4. Market hall

5. Park area

6. Potential residential development

7. Ridge roads

1.

2

1km 2km 4km



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Transformation of historicalareas

Te historical areas that have survived the recent development o theGuangming area are the old cores o the villages and the hilly areas that aredi cult or construction. Te hilly areas have retained their old unction as areaso lychee tree cultivation. Te historical areas have lost much o their originalrole, but are still the only historical areas o the city. In a city that is just 40 yearsold, the history o the villages plays a central role in the identity o the city. Tetraditional and communist architecture o the villages is o invaluable importanceto uture generations.

It is only a matter o time be ore the landprices o the old cores and hills arehigh enough to make the development o these areas proftable or the landlordsand developers. Already, some old cores are slowly being trans ormed to newbuildings. Te pressure is especially high in the agg lomerated villages, where spaceis very limited. Te condition o the old cores varies strongly per village. In somevillages the old core is still a vibrant part o the community. In most villages theold core has lost its role in the village. Te maintenance o the buildings in theold core is o ten not good, which makes the old core look more like a ruin than aneighbourhood. Because o the bad conditions, the old core is the cheapest placein the village to rent a room and this attracts the poorest people o the village. Allthis adds up to a very problematic area in the centre o the village.

My proposal is to regenerate the historical areas into places which have anew meaning or the area. Te hills with lychee trees can be trans ormed intoparcs. Te historical cores can be trans ormed into touristic sites, high quality residential areas or creative industries. Because o the in ormal growth processrom the old core outwards, the historical core and the hills have a very centralposition in the village. Te areas can be easily connected to the regional structure.Other amenities should be located in coherence with the structure. Each parkshould be regarded as a separate design assignment, to be worked out in closerdetail.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Transformation of historical areas





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Part 1 introduction


part 5 conclusion

Cultivation of the Urban Village

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