Urban Vitality in Waterfront Spaces in the Changmen Area in Suzhou

Urban Vitality in Waterfront Spaces in the Changmen Area in Suzhou: A Historical Analysis: Reflecting on Water, Street and Building

Song, Sijie (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft History & Complexity)

Sennema, Hilde (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

AR2A011

2023-04-20

Suzhou, with a unique urban fabric regarding the water-land relation, has been famous as a ‘water city’ in China for centuries. The intertwining of the canal and street systems creates waterfront spaces, which involve waterways, streets and buildings at the same time, forming the typical image of Suzhou. Additionally, throughout history, Suzhou was usually an economically prosperous city, particularly in the 18th century, when it became both the domestic and international trading center. Within the city, the Changmen Area in the northwest corner was once the most representative trading port, where thousands of ships and people were gathering for both commercial and recreational purposes. However, due to the expanding population and fast-paced lifestyle, from the beginning of the 21st century, most of the waterfront spaces in Suzhou as Changmen Area, were turned into pure residential functions, so the problems of waterfront spaces exacerbated, such as the illegal occupation for the sake of accommodating more people and a lifeless vibe in the neighborhood. These problems negatively affected urban vitality, resulting in a completely different scene compared to that in the 18th century.

Therefore, this thesis focuses on the urban vitality of waterfront spaces in Suzhou in general and especially in Changmen Area in the 18th and the 21st centuries. The evaluation is based on three indicators: diversity, accessibility, and social interaction, and each indicator is further reflected on the condition of water and land respectively. Different approaches are used for examining the past and present, with ancient paintings and observations in fieldwork as the main source respectively. Finally, the most influential changes in urban vitality throughout the past three centuries can be concluded, served as a reference for solving existing problems and looking to the future in waterfront spaces in Suzhou.

AR2A011
Urban Vitality
waterfront spaces
Suzhou

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© 2023 Sijie Song