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Proceedings of the ICE, Civil Engineering
Posted on: 7 October 2014
By: mackene
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This latest issue of Civil Engineering (Vol.167, Issue 5), part of the Proceedings published by the Institution of Civil Engineers, brings together a series of papers that illustrate how visualisations can now be used in civil engineering. They address connected issues of our time: urban and building design, transport and flood risk. One paper combines the dynamic simulations of pedestrians with road vehicles at the New Oxford Circus junction in London, UK. The three-dimensional animations of buildings with architectural rendering, coupled to dynamic pedestrian and vehicle movements and interactions make it hard to spot the difference between the visualisations of the final design and the actual project after construction. Another paper describes the use and benefits of building information modelling (BIM) and its associated visualisations during the design and construction of the Tottenham Court Road station redevelopment project in central London.
What is best value in public sector building construction?
Posted on: 7 October 2014
By: mackene
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Although the lowest bid procurement philosophy has formed the basis of procurement in public sector building construction, for a long time it has arguably resulted in low-quality construction work. In response, construction stakeholders have sought to explore alternative procurement philosophies. One such philosophy is ‘best value’. In this study undertaken in Korea, the authors explore what is best value in public sector building construction. The literature is used to extract best value criteria that are then ranked by a selection of managers involved in procurement of public buildings. Best value was found to be categorised against six main criteria whose relative weightings vary with building type and, by implication, building functionality.
Earthquake strategy for sustainable infrastructure in Turkey
Posted on: 7 October 2014
By: mackene
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The Izmit earthquake in north-west Turkey in 1999 resulted in 17,127 deaths, 43,959 injuries and extensive property and infrastructure damage. The event highlighted a national lack of seismic design and construction codes. After recovering from the initial effects of the Izmit earthquake, work started on a national earthquake strategy and action plan by public organisations, institutions, academics and practitioners. This paper provides an overview of the efforts to date to achieve safe, earthquake-resilient and sustainable urban infrastructure in Turkey.
Car-free concept in Changzhou high-speed rail station area development
Posted on: 7 October 2014
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Rapid urban development and increased car ownership and use in China bring many social and environmental problems. Many Chinese cities are promoting numerous large-scale transport infrastructures and development projects. How to shift the car-oriented development paradigm in the planning and construction of these projects is a challenge for planners and engineers. In the planning of the new town of Changzhou high-speed rail station, the car-free development concept was introduced to create a pedestrian-friendly urban space with easy transportation accessibility, safety and vitality. The planning team studied the car-free development concept and practices, and proposed an adaptive integrated solution for the HSR station project. It consists of four components: mixed-use development, maximum accessibility by public transportation, seamless transport transfer and continuous pedestrian network, which were integrated in the urban design by interfacing with land use, landscape and architecture. The result of the urban design is acknowledged and used as a guiding and control instrument by the city planning bureau for planning and management, serving as a basis for the regulatory planning and further spatial design.
Proceedings of the ICE, Urban Design and Planning
Posted on: 7 October 2014
By: mackene
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The latest issue of the ICE Proceedings on Urban Design and Planning, Vol.167 Issue 5, 2014 contains the following articles on China:
Changing spatial planning in China’s five-year planning system
The five-year planning (FYP) system is very important in regulating economic and spatial development in China. By analysing the texts of five-year plans and corresponding spatial policies, as well as the primary governance issues since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, this paper argues that market-oriented reform and decentralised economic administration have changed China’s political economy and necessitated transformation of the FYP mechanism. However, the emerging spatial governance mechanism is encountering many challenges and may not operate smoothly in the near future.
China’s urban planning and administrative urbanisation: case of Ordos
China’s urbanisation is characterised by strong state intervention, which includes various forms of urban planning made by local governments. Not much academic attention has been paid, however, to the relations between urban planning and urbanisation. This paper tries to narrow this gap by developing a theoretical framework based on the concept of ‘administrative urbanisation’ developed by Liu and co-workers. It is argued that urban planning in China not only provides the local states with a number of tools to manipulate various resources to shape their urban spatial structure and accelerate the pace of urban sprawl, but also legitimates the irrational decisions made by local government. The rationales and strategies facilitated by urban planning in the process of defining goals for the city, struggling for enough land conversion quota and attracting capitals and population to the planned areas, reflect the fundamental characteristics of ‘administrative urbanisation’. Ordos, a city newly formed over the last 15 years, is examined as a case under this framework. The importance of relations between urban planning and administrative urbanisation is also discussed.
A review of large-scale urban design in China
Since the 1980s, China has accumulated nearly 30 years of experience in modern urban design, during which time, large-scale urban design (LSUD), triggered by government-led rapid urbanisation in the late 1990s, arose as a main mission of physical planning. To analyse and interpret this special planning phenomenon in China, the paper traces the evolution of Chinese LSUD and examines it under specific phases of China’s socio-economic development, so as to first reveal the driving forces, various types, design methods and implementation approaches of China’s LSUD projects. By contextualising urban design within China’s unique statutory urban planning and design system, the paper then summarises the main gains and losses of physical planning development in China and puts forward some suggestions for transforming China’s physical planning and design in the future.
China’s urban planning in transition
Significant political and economic shifts since 1949 have affected urban planning practice in China. This paper examines the transition of urban planning systems in China, using Beijing as a case study. China’s master planning practice is divided into four stages – socialist master planning and anti-planning (1949–1978), reforming master planning (1979–late 1980s), urban development planning (early 1990s–2000) and comprehensive planning (2001–present). China’s urban planning is closely related to its political, economic and social development. Plan making, implementation and the construction of large infrastructure and public facilities have played significant roles in China’s rapid economic development. However, planning has also caused problems such as social injustice, environmental pollution and the uncoordinated development of municipal infrastructure, open spaces and human settlements.
Urban factorisation report
Posted on: 7 October 2014
By: mackene
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Urban factorisation enables a city, and its decision makers, to keep building upon its uniqueness and remain the place people want to visit or live. It empowers them to build the future without destroying the essence of the place with misguided plans. Urban factorization engages in a holistic, multidisciplinary and collaborative user centred approach that can enhance the chances of the city and minimize erroneous changes which emerge from ‘best practice’ attempts of imitating another city, aspiring to be what it is not, or trying to force what it can be. This report came out of an event which took place on 27 July 2014. It contains the original manifesto, the event description, as well as the findings and the recommendations that came out of the afternoon walk/ workshop. This methodology is not restricted to urban settings but can be applied in workplaces and environments, healthcare, education spaces and all kinds of collaborative spaces.
Community benefits and engagement guidance for onshore wind
Posted on: 7 October 2014
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These documents provide guidance on community benefits and engagement for onshore wind farm developers, communities living in the locality of a wind farm and local authorities.
Promoting healthy cities: Why planning is crucial to a healthy urban future
Posted on: 7 October 2014
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This paper describes the scale and pace of urbanisation around the world, the health and well-being issues experienced by urban populations, and the environmental factors that shape these issues. While there are no simple solutions for the complex health problems facing cities, some countries such as Scotland have recognised the scope and scale of the urban health challenge and have invested in the need to create positive physical environments which actively nurture better health and well-being. More countries need to do the same, and there are some important steps that nations, regions, cities and towns can take.
Natural solutions to tackling health inequalities
Posted on: 7 October 2014
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This report from Natural England highlights the evidence of the benefits of green spaces to health and wellbeing outcomes, and the inequalities in use of, and access to, natural environments across England. The report also proposes ways to improve access and use of green space, in order to improve health equity.
National Sustainable Development Strategies in eight CEE countries: Experiences, challenges and opportunities 10 years after EU accession
Posted on: 7 October 2014
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In 2014, the Central and Eastern European (CEE) EU Member States celebrate their 10th anniversary of EU Membership. This was reason enough for the ESDN to look into the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) processes of 8 CEE Member States (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and what experiences they’ve made since EU accession. The main purpose of this Quarterly Report from the European Sustainable Development Network is thus to explore the impact of the EU accession on the NSDS processes in the CEE countries. In so doing, a comparative stocktaking of NSDS processes in CEEs is provided, based on up-to date information of the ESDN Country Profiles and telephone interviews with policy-makers from national government ministries of the eight countries.
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