published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / History / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform and liberalization policies in the 1980s, China has experienced accelerated economic development, and consequently, a high intensity of road planning and construction in many cities. Nevertheless, the protection of heritage site is not integrated as a component in road planning. As a result, many heritage buildings and structures have been demolished to make way for the roads, causing damage or destruction to those heritage sites. The lack of consideration for heritage buildings and structures in road planning, which leads to the destruction of these built heritages, is not unique to China in modern times. The examples cited in this dissertation illustrate that the development of road network has intensified after W.W.II, as such infrastructural development is critical to modern economic development. My home city, Anyang is experiencing the same “Road to Destruction”. As a prefecture-level city (地級市), Anyang is just starting to experience the intense economic and urban development that has already taken place in China’s first-tier cities (such as Beijing and Shanghai). The downside to this is that Anyang is repeating the “Road to Destruction” mistakes that have already been made (and sometimes corrected) by the first-tier cities. In this dissertation, I will elaborate on the case of Wenfeng Pagoda and Tianning Temple in my hometown to highlight such a mistake, which is on-going and, unfortunately, not likely to be corrected, with the aim of demonstrating the importance and urgent need for integrating heritage conservation with city planning. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

With rapid urbanization since the 1990s, many Chinese historic cities have faced the dual challenges of regenerating dilapidated historic inner urban areas and promoting local economic development. Rampant urban redevelopmentoriented planning and practices have been undertaken in many places. While bringing enormous economic returns, this trend also poses many threats to the character of the historic cities. Literature on urban regeneration shows that local communities should play an active role in regenerating a place in addition to other key actors such as the government and the private sectors. Local communities also play a critical role in conserving the indigenous lives of historic residential districts. Social capital enables local communities to act together to pursue shared objectives in the community-based regeneration processes. Based on this theoretical premise, the study seeks to examine the role of social capital in the regeneration of Chinese historic cities. This thesis aims to provide a historical and contextual understanding of the evolution of urban regeneration in Chinese historic cities. The thesis also explores the role of social capital in the current controversies surrounding urban regeneration in transitional China. In the current mode of urban regeneration governance in China, local governments often play a dominant role as both redevelopment advocates and project managers. Private developers are actively involved while local indigenous residents are often excluded from the regeneration processes. Urban regeneration practices in Chinese historic cities are often conducted through urban conservation-cum-redevelopment strategies to spur local economic growth and improve the physical environment. Since the focus is on the conservation of the physical environment, many local indigenous lives have to be excluded and relocated to give way to local redevelopment projects. The lack of community involvement in local regeneration processes severely undermines the goals of comprehensive urban regeneration and integrated urban conservation plans. Xi’an, a typical Chinese historic city, has been chosen as the study site. Two solid local case studies have produced the following major findings. In the Drum Tower Muslim District, traditional Muslim lives and businesses have sustained a vibrant local economy. Together with cohesive community relationships, this thesis argues that the historic Muslim district can actually sustain a self-regeneration process, given proper maintenance of the dilapidated urban infrastructures by local governments. The question is an institutionalized mechanism to facilitate this kind of regeneration. The implementation of the government-led regeneration projects within the Sanxuejie Historic District, where community relationships are weak with low level of social capital, was more “efficient”. However, it also means that regeneration efforts were less comprehensive and indigenous lives of the original neighborhoods were not conserved. To achieve the goals of comprehensive urban regeneration in historic cities, this thesis maintains the following: (1) the conservation of indigenous lives and local socio-cultural elements is important for local regeneration plans; (2) a strong social capital contributes to the conservation of local indigenous lives by facilitating community involvement in local urban regeneration processes; and (3) an institutionalized community participatory mode of urban governance is essential for a comprehensive regeneration plan at the local level. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Sustainable development has become a popular trend in today's world with many national governments recognizing the severe environmental damages caused by inappropriate economic development. Cooperating with international organizations, national governments are working together to deal with the global environmental issues. In addition, sustainability has also been identified in the local development. Development strategies at the local level cause a significant change in the improvement of environment conservation, enhancement of life quality and emphasis on the harmony of society. To achieve local sustainability, industries in local communities will be confronted with challenges. This dissertation aims to investigate the relationship between local industry and sustainable city, using a case study of traditional tea industry in Hangzhou city. The research is carried out by surveys and interviews to tea farmers, local government officers and tea researchers. The dissertation shows that the implementation of sustainability in the tea industry at local level is active, but faces challenges of environmental degradation and fake tea. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

At present, China is on a track of fast economic growth and urbanization development, this will definitely shape urban and rural areas at the same time. A new relationship between urban and rural areas is forming. How will urban-rural interaction in China develop in the future? What are the implications for planning legislation? This dissertation gives an overview of rural development and planning in China since 1949 and evaluates the implementation evaluation of planning legislation over the period of last decade. Through the study of planning legislation in China, an urban-rural integrated planning and management system is defined. This system consists of institutional subsystem, legal subsystem, operational subsystem, and technical subsystem. The assessment of this system at different administrative level will provide an idea that how policy and legislation could influence the development in rural areas. In respect, the findings on pilot project studies, questionnaire survey as well as field survey could serve as a feedback to the planning legislation. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning