城市大型活动的“遗产”需要明智的策略 Reusing ‘Mega Events’ Venues Requires a Smart Strategy



[Header image: Aerial view of Bird's Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing, Oct. 11, 2017. Chen Xiaogen/VCG]

自1851年伦敦万国博览会后,如今参与“世博会”的国家,都在借这一盛大事件来展示其独特的文化品质与创新。对于一个城市而言,大型活动不仅是对城市品牌进行推广的良机,而且还可借此解决城市问题,比如城市基础设施不足或者住房破旧。
大型活动对城市规划师和城市政府来讲,是空前绝后的机会,然而其带来的巨大影响却是长期的。活动结束之后,特定场所和地点如何使用(这些区域通常被称为是重大活动的“遗产”),需要制订明智的策略。不幸的是,纵观各项盛会的历史,在大多数情况下,其遗产都堪称失败,让主办城市陷于沉重财政负担的重压和场地空置的境地之中。
1964年纽约博览会、1976年蒙特利尔奥运会以及2000年汉诺威世博会,都以财政困境告终。在2004年雅典奥运会之后,不再有任何投资,遗留下大量巨大体量却毫无用处的建筑物和体育场馆。
实际上,重大活动所产生的负面影响,有赖于活动场地的分布:世博会通常集中于接近城市边缘的大规模地块,试图在活动结束之后吸引来投资。而就奥运会而言,则通常为多个大型场地分散设置,因而相对容易转型和再利用。
1992年巴塞罗那奥运会经常被视为典范,把奥运会当作城市部分地区进行长期更新的契机。在2008北京奥运会的预备阶段,中国官员到访了巴塞罗那,他们认为西班牙的模式有待改进。对于北京的规划主管部门而言,北京这一繁荣的大都市并不需要用奥运会来证明自己。为了与其他大城市竞争,北京开展了大规模重建,为新兴的富裕中产阶层提供空间。
北京奥运会策划者们最初在奥运场馆的开发中引入了私人投资方,以确保闭幕后任何场馆都不会空置。国家体育场,俗称“鸟巢”,是由瑞士建筑事务所Herzog & de Meuron设计,采用公私合营方式开发,在奥运会之后投入了商业运营。北京国家游泳中心则是由旅居国外华人捐赠修建而成。奥运会结束后,被转型为商业水上公园,供家庭使用。
在上海,规划主管部门把2010年世博会场地放置于相对中心的城市区域,其用意在于进一步提升城市的密度,而非引导郊区蔓延。上海世博园的场地,曾经是港区,功能为船坞和重工业用地。而世博会的举办,则让上海官员有机会对滨水地块进行清理,并重新建立城市与水的联系。
就交通基础设施而言,上海世博会的遗产让这个城市受益良久。上海在新地铁线和桥梁建设方面投资甚巨,虹桥机场也得以扩建和整修,并营建出超过10公里长的公共滨水岸线。
对世博会场地开展再利用的规划是雄心勃勃的,然而时至今日,其场地再开发仍未完全实现。我屡屡探访世博会的场地,发现黄浦江南岸的中心园区被围墙包围,每天到访的游客屈指可数。世博村的建造,可供世博会期间容纳大约1万名官员和媒体记者,但世博会闭幕后,基本上无人居住,近期被转型为一个门禁社区,公众不可入内。
上海也有许多我们乐见的例外情况。上海当代艺术博物馆是当今中国最为前卫的艺术馆之一,中华艺术宫和上海梅赛德斯奔驰文化中心也会举办颇受欢迎的活动。然而,世博会大部分其他建筑都已经被拆除,在黄浦江的南岸,数十栋高层办公楼正在缓慢地修建过程中。
世博会闭幕已有7年之久,而“城市让生活更美好”的口号尚待实现。与此同时,在上海之外的 乡村,大型居住楼和商用楼 和商用 在肥沃的农田之上蔓延和扩展。为何不把曾经的世博会场地转变为生机勃勃的高密度住区,却把其转为城市中并不那么需要的高层办公楼和购物中心呢?
城市化通常与城市空间的正规化相伴而生。在为奥运会和世博会做准备期间,北京和上海都曾大量取缔城市中的非正规化空间。比如,为了展示“文明”和“现代”,鼓励市民把清洗的衣物悬挂在室内而非路边的架子上。一些市民会非常随意地穿着睡衣裤上街,他们也被劝告要注意得体着装。因此,游客可能很难体会到城市的另类生命力和本地生活特色。
对于城市官员来讲,重大活动是对城市振兴和重塑形象的良机。然而,主办城市借此取得的活力,却因为长期策略的缺失而无以为继。在奔向定义并不清晰的现代化目标的路途中,快速发展且呈现巨大体量的城市,急需更具弹性的规划原则及相关的支持。如若不然,大型活动所带来的短期兴奋与刺激,必将导致城市未来问题重重。

Ever since London’s Great Exhibition in 1851, countries that participate in what is now known as the World Expo have used the so-called mega events to showcase their unique cultural characteristics and innovations. Large-scale events are not only great promotion for a city, but can also be used to address issues like rundown urban infrastructure or dilapidated housing.

Mega events are unique opportunities for urban planners and municipal governments, but carry significant long-term impacts. Post-event usage of specially built venues and surrounding areas — often referred to as the event’s “legacy” — requires a smart strategy. Unfortunately, the history of mega events shows that in most cases the legacy is a failure, leaving the host city with heavy financial burdens and empty venues.

The New York Exposition of 1964, the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and Hanover’s Expo 2000 all ended in financial fiascos. After the 2004 Athens Olympics, investment dried up, leaving behind a slew of oversized, disused buildings and stadiums. Indeed, the impact of mega events can depend on the distribution of the venues: World Expos are usually located at an expansive area on the outskirts of a city, which struggles to attract investment following the exhibition. Olympic venues, meanwhile, are usually spread out over a number of large sites, making them relatively easier to transform and reuse for other events and purposes.

Barcelona ’92 is frequently invoked as a model for transforming the Olympics through the long-term regeneration of part of the city. In the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese officials visited Barcelona and found the Spanish model wanting. For Beijing’s planning authority, their booming metropolis didn’t need the Games to prove itself; to compete with other mega cities, the city was largely rebuilt to make room for a new, wealthier middle class.

Yet Beijing’s post-Olympic legacy has also been subject to some criticism. The city’s Olympic strategists initially engaged private investors in the development of the venues to ensure that no venue would lie empty after the closing ceremony. The National Stadium, commonly known as the “Bird’s Nest” and designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, was developed in a public-private partnership and commercially operated after the Olympics. The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, meanwhile, was funded by donations from Chinese living abroad. After the Games, it was transformed into a commercial water park for family use. However, both venues remain unused for most of the year, save for a few high-profile concerts, soccer matches, and water sports competitions.

In Shanghai, planning authorities located Expo 2010 in a relatively central urban area, deliberately aiming to further densify the city instead of contributing to the suburban sprawl. Previously, Shanghai Expo Park was a harbor area with shipyards and heavy industry. The Expo gave officials a chance to cleanup the waterfronts and to reconnect the city with the water.

In terms of transport infrastructure, the Shanghai Expo’s legacy has been well-maintained. The city invested heavily in new subway lines and bridges, while Hongqiao Airport was expanded and refurbished. More than 10 kilometers of public waterfront was created.

The plans to reuse the Expo site are ambitious, but the site has yet been fully redeveloped. During my frequent visits to the site, I observed that the central park on the river’s south bank was walled off and poorly maintained, attracting only a handful of daily visitors. The Expo Village, built to house some 10,000 officials and journalists during the event, has lain largely uninhabited since the closing ceremony and was recently transformed into a gated community, virtually inaccessible to the public.

Shanghai houses positive exceptions. The Power Station of Art is now home to one of China’s most avant-garde galleries, while the China Art Museum and the Mercedes Benz Arena still play host to popular events. However, most of the other buildings have been demolished; and on the south bank of the river, a dozen office towers have been under construction for more than a year without showing signs of real progress.

And so, more than seven years after the event, the Expo is yet to realize its oft-quoted slogan: “Better City, Better Life.” Meanwhile, in the countryside outside Shanghai, huge residential and commercial buildings sprawl across fertile agricultural land. Why not transform the former Expo areas into vibrant, high-density housing, instead of unneeded office towers and malls?

Urbanization is often accompanied by the formalization of our city spaces. During the preparations for the Olympics and the Expo, Beijing and Shanghai respectively clamped down on “informal” behavior. In the name of presenting a “civilized” and “modern” face to the world, for example, media campaigns encouraged urbanites to hang their washing indoors instead of on roadside racks. The Shanghainese, many of whom casually wear pajamas on the street in hot summer months, were told to spruce up a bit. Such campaigns only harm the liveliness and local identity of China’s cities.

For municipal officials, mega events are great opportunities for revitalizing the city. But too often, the vitality of the host city is undermined by a lack of long-term strategy and, in China at least, draconian demands that citizens change their behaviors to make their urban areas interesting to outsiders. In the race towards vaguely defined goals of modernization, Chinese cities, which develop rapidly and on huge scales, urgently need more resilient planning principles to sustain themselves. Otherwise, the short-term euphoria of a mega event will only give rise to future urban headaches.


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The Paper / SixthTone
December 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


 

www.ruralfootprints.blog

Check my new blog about 'Research by Walking in Zhejiang'
2024
A new blog about my work within the Abe Bonnema chair at TU Delft is online now: https://www.ruralfootprints.blog. Read here weekly new impressions of the research on rural revitalization strategies that I carry out on foot in the Chinese province of Zhejiang.
 

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.