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Urban River Transformation and the Landscape Garden City Movement in China

Author

Listed:
  • Shuhan Shi

    (College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • G. Mathias Kondolf

    (Collegium—Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Lyon, 69007 Lyon, France
    College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Dihua Li

    (College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Abstract

The practice of enhancing existing rivers and creating entirely new waterscapes has exploded in China over the past two decades. In our study of 104 randomly selected cities across China, we identified 14 types of river projects based on grey literature reports and their appearance on sequential aerial imagery, falling into three categories: ‘engineering’, ‘waterfront spaces’ and ‘ecological’ projects. ‘Waterfront spaces’ is the most common (60.5%), followed by ‘engineering’ (28.7%) and ‘ecological’ (10.8%). Using multiple stepwise regression, we found that the types of projects undertaken were strongly influenced by factors such as climate, social-economic setting, and ‘Landscape Garden City’ designation. Designation as a ‘Landscape Garden City’ was correlated with ‘waterfront spaces’, but not ‘engineering’ and ‘ecological’ projects. We found that cities in drier climates (as measured by ‘precipitation minus evaporation’) constructed more projects and they included many projects that impounded seasonal rivers to create year-round water bodies. Based on our results, we conclude that Chinese cities are still in the process of ‘decorating’ rivers, and that the ‘Landscape Garden City’ designation promoted such ‘decorating’ projects, especially ‘linear greening’ projects and ‘public spaces along rivers’. The results also demonstrate that the new river projects in China are often at odds with the local climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuhan Shi & G. Mathias Kondolf & Dihua Li, 2018. "Urban River Transformation and the Landscape Garden City Movement in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4103-:d:181519
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aude Zingraff-Hamed & Markus Noack & Sabine Greulich & Kordula Schwarzwälder & Karl Matthias Wantzen & Stephan Pauleit, 2018. "Model-Based Evaluation of Urban River Restoration: Conflicts between Sensitive Fish Species and Recreational Users," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-27, May.
    2. Federico Caprotti & Robert Cowley & Ayona Datta & Vanesa Castán Broto & Eleanor Gao & Lucien Georgeson & Clare Herrick & Nancy Odendaal & Simon Joss, 2017. "The New Urban Agenda: key opportunities and challenges for policy and practice," Urban Research & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 367-378, July.
    3. Keith Bassett & Ron Griffiths & Ian Smith, 2002. "Testing Governance: Partnerships, Planning and Conflict in Waterfront Regeneration," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(10), pages 1757-1775, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pedro Molina Holgado & Lara Jendrzyczkowski Rieth & Ana-Belén Berrocal Menárguez & Fernando Allende Álvarez, 2020. "The Analysis of Urban Fluvial Landscapes in the Centre of Spain, Their Characterization, Values and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-30, June.
    3. Xiao-Jun Wang & Xiao Wei & Xin Chen, 2022. "Morphological Suitability Analysis of Urban Greenspaces with Rivers: A Case Study of the Lixiahe Riverine Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Ling-Qing Zhang & Wei Deng & Jing Yan & Xiao-Hong Tang, 2019. "The Influence of Multi-Dimensional Cognition on the Formation of the Sense of Place in an Urban Riverfront Space," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Yirong Luo & Zhisen Lin, 2023. "Spatial Accessibility Analysis and Optimization Simulation of Urban Riverfront Space Based on Space Syntax and POIs: A Case Study of Songxi County, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Lihua Chen & Yuan Ma, 2023. "How Do Ecological and Recreational Features of Waterfront Space Affect Its Vitality? Developing Coupling Coordination and Enhancing Waterfront Vitality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Han Zou & Chen Chen & Wei Xiao & Lifu Shi, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Evolution Relationship between Water Systems and Historical Settlement Sites Based on Quantitative Analysis: A Case Study of Hankou in Wuhan, China (1635–1949)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Lulu Chen & Yi Liu & Hong Leng & Suning Xu & Yichen Wang, 2022. "Current and Expected Value Assessment of the Waterfront Urban Design: A Case Study of the Comprehensive Urban Design of Beijing’s Waterfront," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, December.
    9. Pedro Janela Pinto & G. Mathias Kondolf, 2020. "The Fit of Urban Waterfront Interventions: Matters of Size, Money and Function," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Jing Wu & Xirui Chen & Shulin Chen, 2019. "Temporal Characteristics of Waterfronts in Wuhan City and People’s Behavioral Preferences Based on Social Media Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-37, November.

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