特色小镇的“特色”从何而来 Tè Sè Xiǎo Zhèn: a counterbalance of the metropolis, or a tool to bring the metropolis to the fields?



[Source image: Wang Guanzhang, Phoenix Qingdao]

特色小镇是目前城市规划和房地产开发领域里的流行词。2016年,政府下发通知,要在全国范围内开展特色小镇培育工作,重点促进农村地区经济发展,缩小城乡差距,提高当地人民生活水平。
2016年7月,住房城乡建设部发布的这个政策备受关注。它要求各省自行推荐小镇并提交发展方案,同时有关部门也会为它们提供专项基金,旨在帮助现有或新建小镇进行产业升级,对当地文化遗产和自然资源进行商业开发。
过去几十年,大批农村人口进城务工安家,导致城乡发展越发不平衡。原则上,建设特色小镇是为了鼓励产业创新,增加现有或新建小镇的吸引力,使它们有能力和繁荣的大都市进行竞争。
此政策计划到2020年,培育1000个左右的特色小镇。其中有一些已建成。
特色小镇的定位是“一镇一业”,也就是一个小镇主攻一项特色产业。希望通过此政策增加经济活力,为小镇居民创造新工作。这也是当前中国经济结构调整升级下的“新常态”。 国家发改委城市和小城镇改革发展中心总规划师、规划院院长沈迟在接受澎湃新闻采访时表示,培育特色小镇的主要是为了给小镇创造条件来参与到市场化竞争中。
到底什么叫“特色”?网上提到各种关键词,比如美丽、迷人、独特、多样化、有活力、和谐、宜居。特色小镇要产业升级,创建创新平台来发展新型经济,变得有竞争力。除了强调新兴产业,教育、科技产业也是重点发展目标。同时此政策也是为了促进传统文化和旅游业的发展。
根据政策要求,发展特色小镇要“尊重当地地貌”,“保护自然生态环境”,但现实往往不是这样。比如绍兴的越城黄酒小镇,台州的路桥沃尔沃小镇,平阳的宠物小镇,湖州的美妆小镇,庆元的香菇小镇。在浙江,甚至还有以无人机和巧克力生产为特色的小镇。总之产业类型十分丰富。尽管大多数小镇坐落于城郊或农村地区,当然也有城中村。以上这些特色小镇的主要目的,都是通过创建鲜明的品牌形象来吸引投资者。
其实城镇专注发展某项产业在中国并不是新概念。“一镇一业”的特色小镇发展战略至少有和单位系统一样长久的历史。从事同行业的一群人聚居到一个社区,彼此关联其实就是一种形式的单位。过去几十年来,浙江和江苏一大特色就是拥有数不清的专注于某一产业的村庄和乡镇。
那特色小镇到底应该是什么样的呢?根据官方媒体的报道,理想的特色小镇应该是小型的,有相匹配的适宜步行的街道,没有高楼大厦,不刻意建成旅游景点,与当地地貌和生态环境相协调。这听起来挺像上世纪80年代在美国开展的反郊区蔓延的“新城市主义运动”。许多杰出建筑师都参与了这场运动,包括安杜勒斯·杜安尼(Andres Duany),伊丽莎白·普拉特赞伯克(Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk)和彼得.卡尔索普(Peter Calthorpe)。然而,这两者间的主要区别是,特色小镇运动主要关心经济功能,而不是建筑表达或城市生活品质。尽管第一阶段的“特色小镇”成果创造了某种完美生活的典范,但主要满足的是观光客和少部分幸运者,而不是大多数的本地居民。
我目前看到的一些案例都建起了仿古建筑,可是与当地自身地貌和建筑风貌没什么关系。这只是为了吸引尽可能多的游客,却忽略了当地的空间布局,及现有的社会文化和经济价值。这也印证了特色小镇的“特色”取决于经济功能,而不是空间形态。当然,这些都是我对特色小镇目前留下的印象。甚至一位同事拿特色小镇和购物综合体、奥特莱斯购物中心相比,它们都像天外来物一样,与脚下的土地没有什么历史和空间的联系。
像其他流行词,比如生态城市、智慧城市一样,特色小镇听起来很令人激动,但人们可以用各种各样的方式来诠释它。通过对多个进行中的项目的观察,我发现这个词似乎主要用来给新开发立名目,吸引投资。这样的目的当然无可厚非,但对于缩小城乡差距没什么帮助,也无法给当地的景观和生态环境增值。当然农村地区的新开发能创造新的工作机会、刺激当地经济,但是也需要尊重当地的自身地貌、生态环境、社会文化和经济现状,并在此基础上,想办法为它们增值。
目前看来特色小镇吸引的主要目标人群是一小部分高收入群体。这些人才能负担得起生活在绿化优美的环境中(尽管是人造的)。这些地方周围有便利的生活设施,但离核心都市区仍然驱车可达。还有一个问题,这些新型小镇的开发是否能真正释放拥挤都市的压力,因为在大城市控制生活成本和维持生活质量变得越来越不容易。目前为止,特色小镇似乎更像是推进农村城市化的工具,而不能使当地资源增值、提高当地人民生活质量。
那么,怎样才能让特色小镇更可持续地发展呢?也许需要从当地深入的调研为起点,尊重当地文化和生态系统,并把本地价值自然地融入特色小镇未来的新开发中。相比引进外来的主题或生造奇怪的品牌,每个小镇根据当地具体情况量身定做自己的发展方案,才能更好地促进多样性,增强竞争力。

Today, the new buzzword in Chinese urban planning and real estate development is “feature town,” or tese xiaozhen. Since early last year, the central government has been rolling out a new policy that aims to stimulate localized economic development by drawing up a list of such towns. Located mainly in rural areas, the plans promise to narrow the wealth gap between the cities and the countryside while also improving local living standards.

n practical terms, the initiative calls on provinces to submit development plans for selected towns in return for state funding. The money is then spent on upgrading infrastructure, developing specialized industries, and commercializing local natural resources and cultural heritage.

In the last four decades or so, millions of Chinese have migrated from rural areas to cities, drawing wealth into urban areas while leaving the countryside dramatically worse-off. This is where feature towns come in: They signal the government’s attempts to promote industrial innovation and increase the attractiveness of small towns, so that they can compete with China’s booming metropolises. The plan aims to establish around 1,000 feature towns before 2020.

Feature towns are based around a “one town, one industry” model, according to which each area specializes in one core business. Designed to increase economic vitality, the policy aims to create new jobs and encourage rural residents to stay in small, newly thriving towns. In broader terms, the plans fit with the rhetoric espoused by the central government that China must come to terms with an economic “new normal” characterized by more moderate and stable growth. According to Shen Chi of the National Development and Reform Commission, creating the conditions for small towns to compete economically is key to continued development.

What are the actual features of feature towns? Most sources mention a range of keywords, claiming that feature towns should aim to be beautiful, charming, distinctive, diverse, dynamic, harmonious, livable, vibrant — and similarly positive descriptors. They should become competitive via industrial upgrading and creating new platforms of innovation to develop the economy. Away from industry, further specialization in education, science, and technology have been mooted. At the same time, this measure will purportedly boost traditional culture, as well as the leisure and tourism business.

The policy requires feature towns to “respect local topography” and “protect the natural ecological environment.” In reality, however, creating a strong brand image and attracting investment takes precedence over green concerns. Eastern China’s Zhejiang province is home to some particularly remarkable examples. Yue City, situated near Shaoxing, specializes in local rice wine. Luqiao, in the coastal city of Taizhou, churns out Volvos. Qingyuan County produces nothing but mushrooms. There are towns specializing in the production of makeup, chocolate, even drones. While most are located in suburban or rural areas, others are self-contained quarters of established cities.

In fact, this form of local specialization is nothing new. The state-sponsored “one town, one industry” concept has been around for at least as long as the danwei system, which under Communist rule divided citizens into work units based on the connections between individual communities with one field of expertise. Indeed, the countryside of eastern China’s Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces has been dotted with countless single-industry towns for decades.

Official media characterize the ideal feature town as small in size with a pedestrian-friendly environment. High-rise buildings are to be avoided, and the whole town should exist in harmony with the local landscape and ecology. To me, this has parallels with the new urbanism movement of the 1980s — a movement that saw prominent architects like Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Peter Calthorpe turn away from established forms of urbanism. The difference with China’s feature towns, however, is that they put aside concerns about architectural expression or quality of life in pursuit of economic functionality. The picturesque, idealized images churned out by local propaganda efforts are, by and large, only a reality for tourists and the privileged few; the general populace rarely resides in such an idyllic environment.

Feature towns display a preference for historicizing the local area through the construction of new buildings in ancient-looking styles. These buildings may have little to do with local architectural history or the surrounding landscape, but they demonstrate the official desire to bring in as many tourists as possible. In my opinion, the building of such pastiches proves that feature towns’ economic considerations have won the day over spatial or architectural considerations. A colleague of mine noted how, like shopping malls, feature towns seem dropped unceremoniously onto the landscape, alien entities lost in time and space.

Like other fashionable terms in architecture at the moment — “eco-cities” and “smart cities” also spring to mind here — feature towns can be interpreted in various ways. In China, their key feature has been to attract new investment. This is, of course, a fair goal, but in many cases the additional income it generates for local people comes at an ecological cost.

So far, it seems that feature towns mainly cater to residents who are financially well-off, who can afford to live in a lush and green — if ultimately artificial — environment, and who can surround themselves with the conveniences of modern life while living within striking distance of nearby urban centers. While the economic theory behind feature towns is sound, questions remain as to whether their development will relieve pressure on China’s congested big cities. Instead of truly utilizing local culture and resources, some feature towns merely expand existing urbanization out toward rural areas. Without studying the needs of individual locations and ecosystems, feature towns will remain forever isolated as commercial gimmicks, churning out chocolate, mushrooms, and makeup for hordes of tourists.


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The Paper / SixthTone
April 2017
Copyright: Urban Language

Research & Design


 

Academic research on waterfront redevelopment in Shanghai

2017-2023
Academic research into the changing use of Shanghai's waterfronts, both inner-city and peri-urban
 

Ecological Restoration Shanghai

2019-2020
In collaboration with Tongji University, we contributed to a research and design study for ecological restoration for the city of Shanghai
 

Urban Village regeneration

Changsha, 2018 -
Urban Language Studio joined in a regeneration strategy for an urban village in Changsha. Conceptual Design proposals have been approved.
The project is under construction...
 

Research and design on coastal communities in Vietnam

Vietnam, 2018-2019
Sustainable development perspectives for a vulnerable coastal area around the Tam Giang Lagoon.
 

Research & Concept Development at Vanke

2017-2018
During 2017 and 2018 Harry den Hartog worked for Vanke on research and concept development regarding revitalizing new towns in China.
 

Research on residential high-rise

2015-2017
Research with Tongji University on carbon emissions and sustainable development of residential high-rise complexes in the Yangtze Delta.
 

Living on Water

2015
Urban Language Studio performed preliminary research on possibilities for floating neighborhoods in China, in cooperation with DeltaSync
 

Salon and excursion on urban villages

November 2014
Organizing a salon and visits to Shanghai-based non-profit groups for the World Banks main economic expert and specialist on climate change, with as central theme the role of urban villages, the position of migrants and gentrification.
 

Resilient Port Development

November 2014
Capacity building by workshop in Singapore on resilient port development in the context of urbanizing deltas, organised by the Future Cities Laboratory at ETH and Delft University of Technology.
 

New Town development in Zhejiang

Ningbo, 2014
Consulting for World Bank on a New Town development in Zhejiang Province
 

Urban Sustainability in China

Shanghai, 2013
Research on urban sustainability and liveability in Chinese new towns commissioned by the European Commission.
 

Urban Design Workshop in India

Atal Nagar-Nava Raipur, 2012
Urban Language Studio was invited to participate in an intensive 10-day cross-disciplinairy urban design workshop on the development of a new town in central India.
 

Dutch New Worlds

Scenarios in Physical Planning and Design in the Netherlands, 1970-2000
Shanghai - Zurich - Rotterdam, June 2012
"Our decisions shape our future, but we know little about how. To find out, planners and designers construct vivid images of what could be."
 

Edge of Public

Exhibition + book + forum in Hong Kong's Kowloon Park, curated by Liu Yuyang, Li Xiangning, and Harry den Hartog
Hong Kong, 16 February - 23 April, 2012
In the countless new town developments in China, we witnessed an increasingly privatized domain both spatially and socially. What is the real shape of the public domain and how can architects respond to this phenomenon?
 

Critical advice on developing a new town (2)

Liaoning, 2011
Urban Language Studio was asked to give an independent critical reflection on existing plans for a new town near Shenyang supplemented by suggestions for further development.
 

Critical advice on developing a new town (1)

Beijing, 2011
Urban Language Studio was asked to give an independent critical reflection on existing plans for a new town near Beijing supplemented by suggestions for further development.
 

Advice on various international projects

Shanghai, 2011
In the autumn of 2011, Urban Language Studio worked on several studies and consultations commissioned by professionals related with Tongji University.
 

Urban China magazine

Shanghai, 2011 - 2012
Urban Language Studio consults regularly with the urban research center of Urban China magazine. Harry den Hartog was member of the editorial board of #51 and #52, and ongoing expert board member.
 

Area development in rural Henan

Zhengzhou, 2011
Urban Language has been consulted by a local developer for independent critical advice in an area development in rural Henan.

 

Chinese Triptych

Exhibition and debate in architecture center Casla
Almere, 8 April - 18 June 2011
Works by Urban Language Studio exhibited in Casla architecture center
 

Shanghai New Towns

Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis
Shanghai, 2010
Research on the rapid urbanization and decentralization in the direct controlled municipality Shanghai, resulting in the book Shanghai New Towns - Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis, published by 010 Publishers.
 

From Almere to Qingpu

Shanghai, 13-19 May 2010
Urban Language Studio coordinated an excursion for the International New Town Institute (INTI) with as central theme the new towns and new cities around Shanghai.
 

Urban Flux

Beijing, Summer 2009
The Chinese magazine Urban Flux invited Harry den Hartog as a guest-editor to make this special issue on Dutch Architects and China. The magazine also discusses the state of architecture in the Netherlands.
 

BNSP workshop discussion

Amsterdam, 22 October 2009
Urban Language Studio organized a workshop discussion on the urbanization of the Dutch countryside during a BNSP Congress.
 

Shanghai Dialogues

Shanghai, 17 October 2009
Urban Language Studio mediated the Chinese contacts during a Sino-Dutch conference, as part of the Shanghai International Creative Industry Week.
 

Shanghai Globalism

Shanghai, 2009
Organisation of a study tour to the 'One City - Nine Towns' development around Shanghai commissioned by New York University.
 

Urban Galleries

Nanjing - Rotterdam, 2009
Organization of a study trip through Germany and the Netherlands for a group of young Chinese designers and critics with a special interest in museums
 

Are cities more important than countries?

Rotterdam, 2008-2009
Publication commissioned by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) on the occasion of its 50th anniversary
 

Urban Meetings

Rotterdam, October 2008
Urban Language Studio made a series of reports and an essay, commissioned by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), meant to explore the outlines of an 'Urban Agenda' for the 21st century.
 

ArchiNed

2008
Editor E-zine
 

Vreewijk

Rotterdam, 2008
Design study on urban renewal and restructuring of a monumental neighbourhood
 

The power of small scale

Rotterdam - Almere, 2007
Design study for urban renewal in the Dutch newtown Almere.
 

Huig

Executive-editor of Huig#8 and Huig#9
Rotterdam, 2007
Harry den Hartog was executive-editor of Huig#8 and Huig#9, the biannual magazine of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design.
 

NL2040 - Hints for later

The Hague - Rotterdam, 2007
Harry den Hartog wrote a number of columns, reports and an extensive essay as input for a series of meetings and debates with the aim to give an 'alternative' vision on future spatial tasks for The Netherlands.
 

Living farmyards

Overijssel, 2006
The Dutch Province of Overijssel counts thousands of farmyards. Yearly several hundreds of them loose their agricultural function. The province asked us to do a research on the possibilities for transformation of abandoned and old farmyards.
 

Private Territory

Study on the rise of private controlled outdoor spaces in the Netherlands
Rotterdam, 2005-2006
Following his graduation project at the Academy of Architecture and Urban Design in Rotterdam Harry den Hartog researched the rise of private controlled territories in The Netherlands.
 

EXURBIA

Living outside the city
Rotterdam, 2005-2006
The book Exurbia - living outside the city, made by Harry den Hartog, criticizes the fast changing Dutch countryside. The new spatial policy in the Netherlands seems to be a threat for the countryside and the edges between urban and rural. This book gives some critical comment on the new policy, supplemented with appropriate suggestions.

Publications (selection)


 

Engineering an ecological civilization along Shanghai’s main waterfront and coastline

Published in: Frontiers in Environmental Science
Shanghai, 2021
Journal paper for Frontiers in Environmental Science. (eBook)
 

Shanghai: Excellent en duurzaam, maar inclusief?

Published in: Geografie
Utrecht, October 2021
Magazine for Economic and Social Geography published by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society
 

China Urban Lab: Nut en noodzaak van experimenten

Published in: Rooilijn
Amsterdam, November 2016
Article for Rooilijn, a journal by the University of Amsterdam on science and policy in spatial planning
 

Attempts to Control Urbanization

Published in: Volume #39
Amsterdam, April 2014
Article on China’s Hukou System: Attempts to Control Urbanization by Strictly Separating Urban and Rural
 

Correspondent for Mark magazine

Published in: Mark magazine
Since 2009
Harry den Hartog regularly contributes articles to Mark magazine, a platform for the practice and perception of architecture at the dawn of the third millennium.
 

Urban Tensions in the Yangtze River Delta

Published in: IOSPress
Delft, April 2014
Essay contribution in the book 'New Urban Configurations'.
 

Eastern Promises

Published in: Hantje Catz Verlag
Vienna, June 2013
We were invited by MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art) to contribute a series of critical articles on pioneering architectural projects for an exhibit and accompanying catalog 'Contemporary Architecture and Spatial Practices in East Asia'.
 

Shopping for History

Published in: Mark #43
Zhujiajiao, April/May 2013
Article on an urban renewal project in an ancient Chinese water town west of Shanghai.
 

Correspondent for ArchiNed

Published in: ArchiNed
Since 2004
Harry den Hartog regularly contributes articles to ArchiNed and made temporarily part of the editorial team.
 

Made in China

Published in: MARK #45
Dalian, Aug/Sept 2013
Article written at the request of MARK about the Dalian Conference Center, designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au: a prime example of thoroughness and precision work.
 

重细节与长远规划

Published in: Society and Public Welfare
March 2013
中国应复制与改进欧洲城市规划与设计的途径
Harry den Hartog contributed an article at the request of a renowned Chinese magazine
 

Quality towers over quantity in building cities

Published in: China Daily
Shanghai, 22 June 2012
Opinion piece for the newspaper China Daily, by Harry den Hartog. The inducement for writing this article was the Joint Declaration on the EU-China Partnership on Urbanization, signed by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and China's Vice-Premier Li Keqiang on 3 May 2012.
 

From central control towards laissez faire

Published in: S+RO
Shanghai, June 2012
Article about the similarities and differences between the Netherlands and China in the field of urban and regional planning.
 

Everyday Theme Parks 日常主题公园

Published in: Urban China magazine #52
Shanghai, May 2012
Essay about the role of malls in contemporary China, with references to worldwide experiences, the decay of existing cities, an urban renaissance, and of course Michael Sorkin's 'Variations on a theme park: the new American city and the end of public space'.
 

From Qingpu to Jiading

Published in: T+A magazine
Shanghai, January 2012
Paper on the urbanization of the countryside around Shanghai and the role of architects in creating new cities.
 

Nanjing Perspectives

Published in: MARK magazine #32
Nanjing, June/July 2011
Conversation with Steven Holl on the design and building process of the Art & Architecture Museum in Nanjing.
 

Haphazard growth in a land of plenty

Published in: DAMn°28
Shanghai, April 2011
Essay on extremely fast and uncoordinated urban developments in Shanghai.
 

Creación de comunidad e identidad en los pueblos nuevos de Shanghai

Published in: Materia Arquitectura #2
Shanghai, November 2010
Essay on the creation of new communities and new identities in Shanghai for a Chilean magazine.
 

World Expo Shanghai

Published in: de Architect
Shanghai, May 2010
Report on the World Expo in Shanghai for the Dutch magazine 'the Architect'.
 

Bubbles in Shanghai: decentralization, speculation and the housing shortage

Published in: SR+O
Shanghai, April 2010
Essay on the effects of spatial and administrative decentralization, increasing speculation and huge housing shortage.
 

Letter from Sichuan

Published in: MARK magazine #23
Chengdu, December 2009 - January 2010
Report about reconstruction activities in the earthquake devastated area.
 

Green Fields, Orange Clouds

Rotterdam, September 2009
Essay on urban - rural relations in American cities, notably Chicago
 

Greener City, Better Life

Published in: Urban China #37
Shanghai, August 2009
Essay for the magazine Urban China on the meaning of parks as public spaces, in east and west
 

City in a city: Linked Hybrid

Published in: de Architect
Beijing, May 2009
That it is possible to combine climatic, economic and social sustainability in an overall concept has been demonstrated by Steven Holl Architects with Linked Hybrid.
 

Dutch architects building global architecture in China?

Published in: Urban Flux #7
Shanghai, May 2009
Essay on the works and experiences of Dutch architects in China.
Harry den Hartog was invited as a guest-editor for a special edition about 'Dutch architecure'. (circa 60 pages). The magazine also discusses recent projects and developments in the Netherlands.
 

Sidewalk versus Mall

Public spaces under threat
Published in: Urban Flux #6
Shanghai, April 2009
Essay on the similarities and differences between the Netherlands and China, regarding the use and meaning of public spaces.
 

Building your own house

Published in: id+c
Nanjing, April 2009
Column on private commissioned housing in the Netherlands for the Chinese-language magazine id+c
 

Architecture in the Netherlands

Published in: id+c
Nanjing, January 2009
Essay on recent developments in the field of architecture in the Netherlands. This essay is also an introduction for an extended special on Dutch Design.
 

Greenery & Community

Community gardens in New York
Published in: Club Donny #1
Rotterdam, Spring/Summer 2008
Essay for Club Donny, a new biennial magazine on the personal experience of nature in the urban environment.
 

Beijing 080808

The meaning of the Olympic Games for Beijing
Published in: de Architect
Beijing, August 2008
Host country China intends to use the Olympic Games that will take place this year in Beijing to show off what it has achieved. What is the impact of the Olympic Games on this city?
 

The Limits to Growth?

How Beijing is preparing for the future
Published in: de Architect
Beijing, August 2008
Beijing, like Shanghai, wants to present itself as a model city for the future. How will Beijing continue to develop itself after the Games?
 

Olympic Games, a motor for urban renewal

Conversation with Kees Christiaanse
Published in: NAi Publishers
Rotterdam, May 2008
Harry den Hartog interviewed Kees Christiaanse and others about the usefulness of Olympic Games in the Netherlands. These conversations are included in the book Olympic Fire, published by NAI Publishers and edited by Winy Maas.
 

How to build a good architecture school?

Interview with Herman Hertzberger
Published in: Huig magazine
Amsterdam, February 2008
As editor-in-chief of Huig Magazine, Harry den Hartog interviewed the well-known architect Herman Herzberger on the question "How to build a good architecture school?"
 

Tamed 'wild living'

Municipal management versus freedom of building
Published in: de Architect
Almere, June 2007
Over the coming years the municipality of Almere will make 30,000 sites available to private individuals so that they can build homes as they want to. A new balance has to be found between municipal management and this new freedom.
 

City and Countryside

Physical planning and design in contemporary China
Published in: de Architect
Shanghai/Beijing, May 2006
The relation between the rural and urban economy have been changing ever since China became a World Trade Organization member in 2001. To overcome the dichotomy between city and countryside, farmers must find a way to join the world economy.
 

Collective Housing in Suburbia

Published in: SR&O
Rotterdam, October 2005
Article (in Dutch) on new forms of collective housing in suburbs and new towns in the Netherlands.
 

China imports European flavoured suburb

Published in: de Blauwe Kamer
Beijing, April 2005
Article on a new community in Beijing (Dutch only).

 

Roadside tourism in China

Published in: de Blauwe Kamer
Zhejiang / Anhui, februari 2005
Article (in Dutch) on emerging rural tourism
 

Rice with gravy

Holland Village in Shanghai
Published in: ArchiNed
Shanghai, 31 January 2005
Article on a 'Dutch' new town in Shanghai.

News about us


 

The New Countryside in China: An Urban Vision?

12 December 2021
Public talk at China Crossroads
 

Ecological civilization as an alternative development model?

Published in: Free State of Amsterdam
September 2021
Blog by Prof. dr. Zef Hemel in response to my paper in Urban Planning.
 

Benefits of Urban Wetlands and Scaling Up the Sponge City Approach

18 June 2019
Public talk at Floriade Dialogues #3 "Climate resilient strategies for water sensitive cities" in Beijing
 

Interviewed by CCTV

19 October 2018
During a conference on new town developments Harry den Hartog was briefly interviewed on urbanization in China
 

ZAOjiu talk on 'Shared Urbanism

9 September 2017
ZAOjiu talk on 'Shared Urbanism"
 

Interviewed on metropolitan agriculture by Shenzhen TV

Shenzhen, July 2016
Interviewed on metropolitan agriculture by Shenzhen TV
 

TEDx

TEDx talk in Caohejing High-Tec Park, Shanghai
Shanghai, 28 October 2015
 

Urban Agenda

November 2013
Visiting Beijing as participant at EU China Urbanisation Partnership Forum.
 

OCT LOFT Talk

invited as panel-member by Urbanus
Shenzhen, 7 December 2013
 

Urban Interiors in contemporary China

Invited speaker at World Interiors Event
Amsterdam,7 September 2013
 

Lecturing in Italy

Invited by two universities in Italy for guest-lectures
Milano/Pavia, May 2013
 

Creating liveable cities in China

Debate at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Lausanne, 23 October 2012
 

Study session on high-rise in Asia

Shanghai, 19 September 2012
 

History and Design Studio Shanghai

Workshop and lecture at Politecnico di Torino
Turin, 2012
 

Debate in Rockbund Art Museum: Disappearing Rural Shanghai

Discussion on 'Disappearing Rural Shanghai'
Shanghai, 29 June 2012
 

Book presentation 'Edge of Public'

Hong Kong, 16 February 2012
Today our bilingual booklet Edge of Public was presented in Hong Kong's Kowloon Park, during the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism \ Architecture 2011-2012.
 

Shanghai New Towns to see on the UABB biennial in Shenzhen

Shenzhen, 8 December 2011 - 10 February 2012
 

Needed: Architecture with Chinese characteristics

Interviewed by Shanghai Daily
Shanghai, 25&26 October 2011
 

Sanghay ile Istanbul

Turkish-language review of Shanghai New Towns
September 11, 2011
 

Rural Kitchen

Lecture and jury member during the Rural Kitchen workshop
Chongming Island, Fall 2009
 

Beijing International Book Fair 2011

Beijing, 30 August - 5 September 2011
 

Blue eyes looking at China

Beijing, 4 September 2011
Urban Language Studio in debate during the Beijing International Book Fair 2011
 

Photos by Urban Language on display in the NAi

Rotterdam, 1 July 2011 - 15 January 2012
During the exhibition Daring Design in the NAi, some photos by Urban Language Studio were exhibited.
 

Shanghai New Towns rewarded by 'The Best Dutch Book Designs 2010'

Exhibited from 11 June to 17 July 2011 in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam, 11 June to 17 July 2011
 

Book review by Time + Architecture magazine

Chinese-language review of our book 'Shanghai New Towns'
Shanghai, May/June 2011
 

Interviewed by Urban China magazine

Shanghai, June 2011
...on sprawling cities and the edge between urban and rural.

 

Ontwerpen aan China

Rotterdam, May 2011
Interviewed by Arjen Oosterman
 

Public lecture and debate in the Shanghai Study Center of the Hong Kong University

Shanghai, 7 March 2011
Presentation of the main findings of our recently published book "Shanghai New Towns - Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis".
 

Exported to China

Shanghai, February 2011
'Shanghai New Towns. Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis' is also available now in Chinese bookstores.
 

Book Launch and debate in Trouw Amsterdam / De Verdieping

Amsterdam, 30 November 2010
Presentation of our book Shanghai New Towns - Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis followed by a debate.
 

Presentation in Tai Wu

Rotterdam, 20 September 2010
Presentation in Tai Wu for an association of architects on recent architectural developments in China.
 

Local wisdom and globalization

Shanghai, 20 July 2010
Urban Language was member of the jury during the CUMULUS Shanghai Conference 2010 at the College of Design & Innovation.
 

First copy Shanghai New Towns

Shanghai, 14 May 2010
Today a first (preliminary) copy of our book 'Shanghai New Towns - Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis' was handed over to Sun Jiwei, the District Governor of Shanghai's Jiading district, during a conference organized in cooperation with INTI, in the VIP lounge of the Dutch Pavilion 'Happy Street' during the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
 

Presentation on urban developments in Shanghai

Delft, 28 November 2009
Presentation on the turbulent urban developments in Shanghai during the international conference 'The New Urban Question - Urbanism beyond Neo-Liberalism' that took place from November 26th to 28th, 2009 at Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).
 

Interviewed by the Chinese-language newsmagazine Modern Weekly

Shanghai, 3 October 2009
This well-read newsmagazine, which has a wide circulation, interviewed Harry den Hartog on the changing urban-rural relations in China.
 

Interviewed by Urban China magazine

Shanghai, March 2009
We were interviewed by Chinese-language Urban China magazine on 'the ideal city'.
 

Looking for green

The Hague (Nl.), 29 September 2008
Lecture on community gardens during the debate 'Greenspotting Haaglanden' in Stroom The Hague
 

Book launch Exurbia - Living outside the city

Amsterdam, 5 January 2007
Today a first copy of our book was handed over to Government Advisor on Landscape Dirk Sijmons in Architectura & Natura.

Column / 哈利评城


 

Shanghai: Timid signs of recovery and lessons to learn

Published in: Spread stories not the virus
February 2020
 

我为什么着迷于上海里弄 Living in a lilong

Published in: The Paper / SixthTone
October 2016
 

如何重新连接城市与农村 City and Countryside

Published in: The Paper / SixthTone
September 2016
 

Better City, Better Life begins with a good street

Published in: ArchiNed
Shanghai, 31 May 2010
A visit to 'Happy Street' with John Körmeling.
 

Local Global

Published in: Architectuur Lokaal
2010
Serie of columns for the Dutch magazine Architectuur Lokaal on architecture and commissioning in China.
 

Report from China

Published in: ArchiNed
Hangzhou, 19 February 2009
The volume of reporting on the rampant growth of Chinese cities is causing a sense of China fatigue in The Netherlands. But China remains a very fascinating country nonetheless.