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Designing the Historic Canal System of Guangzhou as Urban Landscape Infrastructure

Master thesis (2021)

Authors

Y. Zheng Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

S. Nijhuis Landscape Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
G. Bracken Spatial Planning and Strategy - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
H.M.H. van der Heijden Housing Systems - Architecture and the Built Environment (coach)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2021 Yu Zheng
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Published Date

28-06-2021

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

Guangzhou is one of the biggest cities in China, and it is located in Pearl River Delta, which has a vulnerable natural environment. In history, the development of Guangzhou city was inseparable from its canal system, which was developed from the natural dense river network. On the one hand, this system had played its role in water management very well. It could quickly discharge rainwater into the Pearl River during the rainy season to prevent floods, and it could also function in water storage during the dry season. On the other hand, the canals were also an important part of people's daily life. It carried most of the people's main activities, such as sailing, trade, and socializing. The historic canal system was the lifeline of Guangzhou. However, in the rapid development of the city in the past 100 years, due to the rise of the automobile road system and the improper planning of the drainage system, the historic canals in Guangzhou have gradually left only a single drainage function. Different kinds of industrial wastewater and domestic wastewater are discharged into the canals, causing the canals and the surrounding environment to become bad; at the same time, the river is narrowed and the drainage function has deteriorated. In the rainy season, the surrounding area of the river is often flooded. The historic canals have gradually become the backside of the city, the disease of the city.
In recent years, the government has begun a series of restoration projects for historic canals. However, these projects just aimed to copy-paste the historic scenes to attract tourism and did not pay attention to the historic canal itself and the surrounding communities. As a landscape designer, how the historic canals worked with the city in history has greatly fascinated me, and I have concluded design principles from it, seeking their possibilities in the current situation. This project is not about restoring the canals, is about learning from the history, and designing the historic canal system of Guangzhou as urban landscape infrastructure.