SUSTAINABLE URBANISM

AN INTERNATIONAL

PERSPECTIVEENVE6099 | PLAN6099 | SAID 6099 2015

Edited by: Ming Tang, Lydia Yen,

Chris Auffrey, Xinhao

Wang, Mingming Lu

University of CincinnatiBeijing Jiaotong

UniversityQingdao Technology

University

Study Abroad in China 2015

Supported byUC Forward, UC International

University of CincinnatiBeijing Jiaotong University

Qingdao Technology University

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATIMAY 1 - 14, 2015

SUSTAINABLE URBANISM AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

PROFESSORSProf. Christopher Auffrey School of Planning

Prof. Mingming Lu School of Energy, Environmental,

Biological, and Medical Engineering

Prof. Ming Tang School of Architecture & Interior Design

Prof. Xinhao Wang School of Planning

STUDENTS Enrolled degree program

DESIGN, ART, ARCHITECTURE, & PLANNINGConnor Borchardt B.S. ArchitectureMark Carper M. Community Planning Ellen Crawford M. ArchitecturePaul Greve B. Urban PlanningJared Ellis B. Urban PlanningLaura Kennedy B.S. ArchitectureTiancheng Liang B. Urban PlanningAmy Morgan M. Community PlanningLauren Noel B. Urban PlanningDavid Schaengold M. ArchitectureTyler Steinway B. Urban PlanningYinan Wu B. Urban PlanningLydia Yen M. Community PlanningKyle Zook B.S. ArchitectureXing Zheng B.Hongyu Zhang B. Urban PlanningWen Zhang B. Urban Planning

Joseph Gordon B.S. Electrical EngineeringNeah Gray B.S. Environmental EngineeringKelsey Reichenbach B.S. Mechanical EngineeringJarred Wilhite M.S. Aerospace Engineering

ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE

BUSINESS

ARTS & SCIENCES

Ariel Schmid B.B.A. International Business &

Peter Stiver B.A. Political ScienceB.A. International Affairs

Industrial Management

SYMPOSIUM

PROJECT

TRAVEL

CONCLUSION

FOREWORD

Faculty IntroductionAbout the CourseBackground & Research

AgendaLecture Abstract

Field TripsReflections

Site ContextTeam 1Team 2Team 3Team 4

INTRODUCTION

We give many thanks to the institutions of higher learning, organizations, and individuals who helped facilitate, organize, and lead the trip. The staff of UC International helped us organize, fund, and prepare for our travel. The faculty, lecturers, and students of Beijing Jiatong University and Beijing University of Technology were the first to show us around China, dispensing knowledge on the vital components of a resilient city. The faculty, staff, and students of Qingdao Technological University very enthusiastically guided us through Qingdao and made us feel par t of Chinese culture. Our professors brought this course and trip to fruition and established the vaulable par tnerships with those mentioned prior. For all of these reasons and cer tainly more, we are appreciative and thankful.

We also would like to thank our Chinese classmates and the local Chinese students for humbly leading and translating for us throughout the trip. Our questions were quick to be answered, we did not (entirely) get lost, and food was always to be found. For this, we will remember with fond memories, and are grateful.

Thank you.

A semester spent on a project located outside the home country of many of those tasked with completing the project yields many results. In some cases, the project brings new knowledge and proves vaulable to the local community. In others, the project faces criticism for loss of social context and cultural sensitivity. In the case of a group of students, research, conjecture, and assumptions informed decisions, yet ambiguity still prevails. Until, of course, the possibility of visiting the non-native country became reality and the reality became the sites, sounds, tastes, and smells of China.

The following book is a presentation of text and imagery telling the story of a group of students who were for tunate enough to travel to China for two weeks in May 2015, as the culmination to a semester of research and design work. This book recaps the work done by the students throughout the semester and presented at the Resilient City Symposium held at Beijing Jiaotong University in Bejing, China. It also outlines some of the most well-known historical landmarks and destinations of China to which the students were able to travel. At the close of the book, our reflections on the course and trip are given; we encourage you to read them.

FOREWORD

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Sustainable Urbanism: An International Perspective was a course described as “a seminar and study abroad course that focuses on the concept of urban sustainability from a global perspective, emphasizing how to provide simultaneously for the immediate social and economic needs of urban communities while preserving the long-term services of the natural environment.” What the students who took this course were able to take away from the semester of in-class meetings and two weeks of the physical journey to China and subsequent workshops and presentations was much more than what the course description alluded to. What we the students were able to take away from this course was experience and the wonder and amazement that comes with seeing up close and personal the area of study that the classroom work hopes to affect. The course was laid out to include fourteen weeks of in-class preparation and two weeks of hands-on experience applying what was learned in class to the actual reality of study in China.

The classroom preparation was broken down by lecture topics, which included the elements that contribute to a healthy city, the application of the transit-oriented development in planning for cities, air quality impacts that inevitably are a result of urban growth, and urban sustainability and the qualities that make a city sustainable. From these four discussion topics evolved four group projects: healthy city indicators, environmental impacts of urban growth, and two groups that focused on design process using different software programs to achieve design results. The course-work then evolved into group work sessions, with the first two groups contributing data that would aid the design teams in formulating a cohesive plan. Near the end of the semester, each group presented their project findings to the rest of the class for discussion and suggestions.

COURSE SUMMARY

As the semester finished, it was time to visit the study area with an overseas journey to China. Once there, the students initially partnered with our respective counterparts at Beijing Jiaotong University to present a symposium on development of an undeveloped section of Yizhuang, the “Silicon Valley of Beijing”. After a week that included visiting the site and surrounding areas, group workshops, the symposium and some tourist sightseeing, the second part of the study abroad consisted of a visit to Qingdao, the coastal capital of Shandong Province. Once there, more group work and a collaborative workshop with the Qingdao Technological University students and faculty was focused on observing the elements of what constitutes a resilient city; a city that can sustain itself through components that will allow the city to flourish and grow in a way that is sustainable.

A day of group presentations on our findings wrapped up the week. To actually participate in a class that created suggested types of city growth and sustainability; to actually be there, in a country that is growing at such an exponential rate, that is so alive in every respect of the word, is what this course was truly about. In sum, this course can be described in one word: experience.

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The subject of study for the course was an undeveloped area of Yizhuang, a new city suburb of Beijing, China. Dubbed “the Silicon Valley of Beijing” for its development of technological and pharmaceutical industries, Yizhuang is a fast growing suburb that seeks white-collar professionals to work and live within its boundaries. Before actuality of seeing the area, the in-class discussions delved into how to make Yizhuang a sustainable community: one with measured growth, incentives for residential occupancy, and the presence of an educated workforce to attract major employers, both domestic and international. The course discussions were focused on elements that that would create a design that would create framework for use by the Yizhuang civic government. Four groups were created to address the creation of this framework, and they included healthy city indicators, environmental impact assessments, and two design groups that would use data from the first two groups. The design groups used two different software programs, with one group using Scenario 360 and the other group using the Rhino and Grasshopper. Design elements and indicators were forwarded to the design groups, who then created models that incorporated the data. Multiple models were created by the design groups that allowed for varying design components such as number of people per square meter for residential dwellings, park space, commercial space, office space and other elements that would be necessary in a new urban growth environment.

Research was conducted using internet data sources; much of the data forwarded to the design teams were indicators from various countries, including the United States, Europe, and China itself. Group presentations were conducted in class allowing other groups to share in the data and review design scenarios, and allow each group to understand what the other groups were doing to create a cohesive plan. The final elements were incorporated into the plan once the actual site was visited in China, and the plans that had been developed over the course of the semester were completed and presented.

BACKGROUND & RESEARCH

RESILIENT CITY SYMPOSIUM

Student Presentations

BJTU1) Resilient City and its Implications in China2) Urban Transpor tation and Job-Housing Spatial Relationship3) Big Date, New Method and Its Application in Urban Studies

UC1) Happy, Healthy, Resilient Cities2) Environmental Action Team3) Responsive Site Design Through Parameter and Spatial Definition4) Yizhuang – Sustainable Community Development Project

Afternoon

Moderator Prof. Xia HaishanDean, School of Architecture and Design

Beijing Jiaotong University

Welcome SpeechProf. Zhang HaixinBeijing Science and Technology Consulting Center

Part 1: Beijing

Academic Repor t Prof. Wang XinhaoCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and Planning

University of CincinnatiTitle: SUSTAIN: A scenario-based Urban Development Decision Suppor t System

Academic Repor tProf. Christopher AuffreyCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of CincinnatiTitle: The Resilient City: International Experience and Its Implications for China

Academic Repor tProf. Tang MingCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of Cincinnati

Title: Path Optimization with Multi-agent System

Academic Repor tMark HewlettAssociate DirectorAtkins Asia PacificTitle: Accessibility and Urban Vitality: Spatial Syntax Analysis of Beijing

Academic Repor tDr. Zhang ChunSchool of Architecture and DesignBeijing Jiaotong UniversityTitle: Job-Housing Relationship and Job Accessibility of the Urban Poor in Beijing

Academic Repor tDr. Wang JingyuanSchool of Computer Science and EngineeringBeihang UniversityTitle: Beijing Urban Data Review

Round Table Discussion

Closing RemarksProf. Gao WeiDepar tment Head, Depar tment of Urban PlanningSchool of Architecture and DesignBeijing Jiaotong University

Prof. Hu BinAssociate Dean, College of Architecture and Urban PlanningBeijing University of Technology

Academic Repor tDr. Long YingBeijing Institue of City PlanningTitle: Early Birds, Night Owls and Tireless/recurring Itinerants: An Exploratory Analysis of Extreme Transit Behaviors in Beijing China

Academic Repor tDr. Liu Daizong, Senior Program SpecialistChina Sustainable Transpor tation CenterTitle: Comprehensive Solution for Transit Oriented Urban Redevelopments

Academic Repor tDr. Huang Qian CTOStatistics Dept, SuperMapTitle: Resilient City and Spatio-Temporal Big Data Technology

Academic Repor tDr. Wu Haishan Data ScientistBaidu Research, Big Data LabTitle: Spatial temporal of Big Data Mining and Application in Baidu

Prof. Auffrey explained that the nature of cities and ur-ban planning is changing. In a world that is constant-ly experiencing new and confounding problems, there is the need for innovative new solutions to problems cities face, in order to be sustainable. He asserts that disturbances such as natural disasters segregation and crime need to be accounted for, not ignored when city planning takes place, introducing to us the idea that re-silience planning is accepting that problems will arise, instead of simply ignoring them until they happen.

Prof. Wang spoke to the advantages of scenario biased planning as a tool for urban planners to anticipate the future needs of cities. He also illustrated how AIR-SUS-TAIN, a GIS decision biased support system, has aided in the study of air quality in Cincinnati. The program estimates the growth of cities, air quality, population, etc., and plugs them into a model based on flexible as-sumptions, providing planners with a flexible and holis-tic model of the study area.

Prof. Tang utilized Grasshopper to display the relationships between places in space using Agent Biased Models. Agents within Agent Biased Models follow a particular set of rules which help us to see patterns in their behavior; Using this model planners and designers could optimize where the most efficient location for highways could be, optimize the most efficient path around buildings in a dense urban network or study patterns in traffic that would otherwise be difficult to analyze. He explained that using Agent Biased Models that designers can study how agents interact with the built environment in ways that were previously impossible.

UC Student Group 1 presents in Grasshopper process in determing the

final design

UC Student Group 3 presents on waste management

STUDENT PRESENTATION

FIELD TRIP

DAY 1: Afternoon

DAY 2

DAY 1:Morning

Part 2: Qingdao

Workshop Opening Ceremony

Yizhuang Unbounded: The Happy, Healthy, Green, Resilient, Efficient and Just City

Compare the resiliency of the old city district and the new city districtGreen, Resilient, Efficient and Just City

PRESENTATION

DAY 3

Moderator Prof. Xu CongbaoVice Dean, School of Architecture

Dean, School of Architecture

Vice President, Qingdao Technological University

Qingdao Technological University

Welcome SpeechProf. Zhang Weixing

Prof. Hao Chibiao

AICP, Professor, School of PlanningUniversity of Cincinnati

Dr. Wang Xinhao

Academic Repor t Prof. Wang XinhaoCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of Cincinnati

College of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of Cincinnati

School of ArchitectureQingdao Technological University

Title: Developing an Integrated Scenario-based Resiliency Planning Support System

Academic Repor tProf. Christopher AuffreyCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of CincinnatiTitle: Creating Healthy Cities: Beyond Access

Academic Repor tProf. Tang MingCollege of Design, Architecture, Ar t, and PlanningUniversity of CincinnatiTitle: Parametric urbanism and data-driven design

Academic Repor tProf. Mingming Lu

Title: Air Quality Issues with marine transportation

Academic Repor tProf. Zhengliang Jiang

Title: The History of Planning and Construction of Qingdao City

During our visit to QTech, a collaborative workshop with students and faculty from Qingdao Technology University was held. The Associate Dean of QTech College of Architecture, Professor XIU Congbao hosted the workshop opening ceremony. QTech Vice President, Dr. ZHANG Weixing announced the start of the workshop. Professor HAO Chibiao, the Dean of QTech College of Architecture welcome the participants. Several university administrators attended the ceremony, a demonstration of full support of the international collaboration.The workshop started with keynote lectures by the four UC professors and a QTech professor.·UC Professor Chris Auffrey gave a review of the concept of healthy cities and introduced a healthy urban planning tool – health impact assessment.·UC Professor Ming Tang demonstrated a digital design process using interactive tools to generate initial urban design with a set of user specified parameters. ·After giving an overview of urban system, UC Professor Wang explained his understanding of resilient city and introduced the design of a planning support system based on ecological wisdom.·UC Professor Mingming Lu described air quality issues related to marine transportation, which is unique to coastal cities such as Qingdao, and yet less noticed by the public.

·QTech Professor JIANG Zhengliang gave a lecture on the urban history of Qingdao, which set up the foundation for a study by the students of the two universities – Compare the Resiliency of the Old Town Center and the New City District.

UC Student group 2 presents on Protectionof the Nature

UC Student group 1 presents on Healthy,Happy and Resilient City

The urban form of Qingdao

STUDENT TEAM RESEARCH

The driving parameter in the design and calculations was the total residential population of the site. The goal was for the site to be able to hold all of the amenities and necessities for its residential population to cut down on commuting and vehicular congestion issues. Percentages of people from the total residential population in different cohor ts (types of work disciplines, schooling age, with cars, etc) were used to calculate the amount of space needed for each program (office buildings, commercial and retail, school buildings, parking, etc). The Rhinoceros and Grasshopper programs worked together to calculate the square footage of space needed for corresponding programs based on an appropriate input of necessary square foot per person in that specific program. These calculations were then conver ted to areas and displayed in Rhinoceros as buildings with the appropriate number of floors based on the initial building footprints. This process was useful in the fact the total population could be altered and the buildings would readjust to the appropriate height.

There are many factors that need to be analyzed when designing for a sustainable urban community. High density areas can face many challenges in relation to the environment like air pollution, vehicular congestion, and waste management. These areas can also face challenges in the social realm as well, like gentrification, large income disparities, lack of open green spaces, and lower neighborly connections.

The Design Team focused on using a parametric modeling process for the site design of an area in Yizhaung, China, located in the sixth ring of Beijing. China is facing wide-spread, increased urbanization so the team’s goal was to address as many of the foreseen challenges as possible based on data and suggestions based on research from the other groups. The parametric process used the computer programs Rhino and Grasshopper, and allowed the design to shif t and change based on arising facts and suggestions from the other groups, and showed specifically allocated land in an easy to understand color-coded graphic.

TEAM: DESIGN

d pictured lef t top - area of Yizhaung site andexample of China’s rapid urbanization

n pictured lef t bottom - parametric script inmGrashopper created and utilized by design team

Pictured lef t top & bottom - Massing proposal for Yizhaung site. Red at bases indicates retail, green indicates ver tical farming and rooftop gardens, orange indicates commercial, yelow indicates residential, and blue indicates educational, and white indicates factorys.

One amenity researched heavily was that of food and its production. Through research, many farming options were identified and then narrowed down to the ones that would be feasible in an urban landscape with notoriously little horizontal green space, but would still produce a favorable yield.

Ver tical farming was selected as a possible solution because it has the potential to maximize the land footprint used to greatly surpass the yields of conventional farming. It also has the potential to reduce pesticide and herbicide applications because crops would be grown in a controlled environment. Before construction, the previous benefits would need to be weighed against the harms of initial pollution caused by the construction of the building along with the energy needed for ongoing maintenance and operations.

Another feasible option for food production in the urban area included roof top gardens. There have shown many benefits in the surrounding environment like dust reduction on the street level, increased insulation of the building below, and lowered CO2 in the area. Another benefit of roof top gardens is that little additional construction would need to be

It was also useful for broad-scope design, the team could zone different blocks, lay initial building footprints and just adjust the numbers to see which blocks or programs would need a smaller or larger footprint.

Another par t of the workflow included checking the floor to area ratio of the blocks within the site. This number is especially impor tant for this specific site because this value is mandated by the Chinese government. If the block was found to be too dense (with too high a Floor Area Ratio) buildings could be redistributed to blocks with lower Floor Area Ratio.

In our design, commercial space was allocated to the first few floors of mid and high-rise residential and office buildings. This distribution was chosen to allow for better walkability within the area as pedestrian friendly areas can lead to lower vehicle congestion and pollution. Parking was distributed between three to four floors under high-rise buildings. The overall concept of Transit Oriented Design was used as the basis for initial zoning patterns. The core of the community was planned to be near existing and expected public transpor tation stops.

completed, as these can be installed on existing buildings.

Community gardens are another option, where individuals could grow their own food in a shared space. This option could also help build the neighborly connections in the area, creating a better social climate. In the end, regardless of which ever option would be deemed more appropriate for the area, diverse plants (native if possible), attention to soil health, and limited chemical inputs are the main factors that would create a sustainable food source for the community.

The final details of the design for the Yizhaung site is easy to manipulate, takes into account Transit Oriented Development, and strives for socially, economically and environmentally sustainable attributes.

farming to be implemented in Yizhaung site development.

feeling of belonging among residents, many of whom moved to the area recently. The prevalence of corporate housing of employees in Yizhuang creates pockets of social connectedness but can inhibit greater community social connectedness. In addition, many people come to Yizhuang simply for the purpose of work with little incentive to cultivate relationships within the community. The lack of well-distributed community-oriented institutions such local restaurants or coffee/teahouses, parks, bars or community organizations do not provide space for community cultivation. The lack of walkability and necessity of

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS/ COMMUNITY

Social connection is one of the most important goals of creating a healthy community. Through the creation of physical infrastructure and services, planners can create opportunities for community members to make and sustain social connections that are essential to community health. At the root, people are inherently social beings. As a result,highly social and community-oriented neighborhoods are vibrant, lively, desirable, and healthy. During our time in Yizhuang, we were able to get a better idea of the social connections and sense of community in the Yizhuang area. In Yizhuang, sense of community and social connections continue to remain very low; there are several reasons for this. First, the relative“newness” of Yizhuang does not contribute to a

Group Two, or the Health Impact Assessment group, focused on HIA indicators that are important in creating and sustaining a healthy, vibrant and resilient city. These include topics such as creating a sense of community, access to services, transportation, green space, public open space, open-air markets, and urban agriculture. As we discussed and further investigated these indicators, we were able to provide relevant indicators to the design groups for the physical design of the Yizhuang development area. Throughout this entire process we focused on integrating sustainable elements, such as composting, recycling, and urban agriculture, into the city as a whole. After visiting the Yizhuang district we were able to get a better understanding of the relationship, or lack there of, of the ideal indicator levels and the actual conditions found in the development district.

TEAM: HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT INDICATORS

permits a community to be holistic andnon-dependent, allowing it to be resilient.

In terms of these services we looked atimplications such as how many hospitalworkers per 1000 people and how manysquare feet per student per classroom.After these indicators were determined, theywere given to the design groups to beincorporated into the physical design.

After visiting Yizhuang, it is clear that thereare improvements that could be madein terms of the accessibility of services.Although there are many amenitiesavailable in this area, many are difficultto access without a car. The Yizhuangdevelopment area was designed with thepersonal vehicle as the primary modeof transit. This aspect can inhibit lowerincome residents from having the samelevel of accessibility, as it is much moredifficult to walk or take public transit inYizhuang, compared to most Chinese cities. The government needs to focusmore on creating an environment forpeople of multiple income and social levelsrather than solely high income. This varietyof services for a mixed level of incomes willhelp lead to a more sustainable, resilientcity.

car transportation further exacerbates thelack of social connection development byisolating workers from other individualsduring commutes. Finally, the desire for theYizhuang government planners to attract“white-collar” residents in place of “bluecollar”residents questions the integrityof Yizhuang. If the government seeks toreplace lower income community membersfor higher income individuals then socialconnectedness can easily be severed byquickly changing demographics. All in all,Yizhuang lacks many important indicatorsof a community with healthy socialconnectedness. If Yizhuang is to continuegrowing into a healthy community, it willbe essential that the community works toencourage more social connectedness andsense of community among residents.

ACCESS TO SERVICES

Access to services is a key indicator toa vibrant, healthy, resilient community.This topic includes access to servicessuch as education, medical, healthy food,emergency services, transportation,recreation, and entertainment. Theseservices should be accessible in termsof both transportation and affordability.Having access to all of these services

GREENSPACE / PUBLIC &OPEN SPACE / OPEN-AIR MARKETS

To use an analogy, green and open spacesare the lungs of the urban environment.Open space, especially when it is greenand verdant, provides the city dweller withan opportunity to reconnect with naturein an area often dominated by built structures and forms, and a chance for abreath of fresh air. A public park that is wellmaintained and inviting will encourage usefor urban residents to enjoy and supportsocial communication between users orallow for moments of quiet contemplationfor those who wish to do so. Public space caninclude plazas as well as parks, which canbe used to for group gatherings, outdoorseating areas, and people watching, whichis conducive to social exchange. Along thelines of social interaction and public spaceis the open-air market, which are hubs ofactivity as vendors and buyers engage incommerce. Open-air markets are placeswhere fresh, locally grown food can bebought, as well as various other items thatmight be for sale. Combining these design

TRANSPORTATION

A key element for planning a community is that of transit and access to services. The first thing thatshould be planned when developing a new city should be the transportation infrastructure. Good transportation planning bringsup topics such as walkability, publictransit, and bike paths. Yizhuang’sbuilt environment is very car-centric. To better plan ahead peopleneed to incorporate bike lanes and goodwalking paths to keep everyone safe.One way this has been done effectivelyin Beijing is by separating the car trafficand bike/pedestrian traffic with a medianthat has either a gate or trees. Based onour observations in Yizhuang today, themain focus should be on creating human-scale street patterns that includeall modes of transit for people. This willhelp improve safety and allow for better accessibility for all. Finally, providing good public transportationand walkability are key elements in reducingair pollution, build a more cohesive community, and reducing the costs of commuting.

Yizhuang. Recycling and composting allowus to reduce the amount of raw materialsneeded because we can reuse items.Composting can help add nutrients to thecommunity gardens. Green Roofs allowfor food production and help filter the airwhile the plants also add insulation to thebuildings and help reduce the heat islandeffect. Neighborhood gardens bring asense of community to the area while alsohelping to provide healthy fresh produceand exercise to the residents. In addition,neighborhood gardens also teach childrenwhere their food comes from and how itis produced while also showing them howto live healthy active lifestyles. Finallyrenewable energy can help communitiesmove away from using fossil fuels andgreatly reduce their CO2 emissions.

From what we saw in Yizhuang there wereno community gardens and no green roofs.Most of the grocery shopping was done ata large super market instead of small localstores or gardens. They did have a nicepark system that was great for helping theresidents stay active. This would be fairlyeasy to convert into an urban agriculture system by planting produce. This wouldhelp decrease the amount of reliance onchain supermarkets. Yizhuang also didn’thave as much recycling as we would have

From initial observations in Yizhuang,the open spaces seem under utilized, andalthough the streets are well manicuredand maintained, the steetscape waslacking in street benches or any type ofoutdoor sidewalk seating. There also didnot appear to any obvious public gatheringspaces to engage in the kind of activitythat promotes social interaction. As for theopen-air market concept, this traditionalidea seems to have been abandoned infavor of more modern supermarkets, whereinteraction between people is limited tothe quick exchange at the checkout aisle.It was encouraging to see some streetvendors selling their wares onat least one street, but the lack of seatingand the proximity to the busy street didnot encourage the buyer to stay after thepurchase. For healthy, happy communitiesto flourish in Yizhuang, city planners more traditional design elements of planning the are importantin building healthy communities.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability implies preserving the natural environment whilst still providing for impor-tant economic and social needs. We chosesome of the most important indicators ofsustainability to be included in our plan for

been developed, however mixed use andmixed residency plans could be integratedinto developing sections. Anotherchallenge will be changing the mindsetof the initial plan of creating a wealthier,white-collar district, to one that cultivatesa sense of community, sustainability, greenand fresh produce and ease of non-autotransportation. This sustainable vision forYizhuang is attainable but would needthe support of the government and theplanners together. If successful, Yizhuangcould be a beautiful, and very desirableplace to live, work and belong to a resilient community and city.

to trash bins, but there could have beenmuch more. In general Yizhuang is lesssustainable and renewable than it couldbe, with less of a green and fresh producefocus due to its suburban, upper-class-centric design. This does not foster the resiliency that is important in growing communities.

CONCLUSIONS

We reached our conclusions about these indicators after research on HIA indicators other projects had used, and researching our specific site in Yizhuang. After preliminary drafts and research, presentations and discussions, we came to the final conclusions of the indicators explained above, deciding that these were the most important factors of a healthy, resilient city as a whole andfor our respective research site. Theseindicators bring together all aspects ofcommunity health, personal health, andwell being, providing a comprehensiveoverview of city and citizen health fromopen, green areas and transportation, tosocial connections and sustainability. Inreality, Yizhuang is a car-oriented, wealthy,sprawling district of Beijing. It is clean andwell kept, but does not encourage a closeknitcommunity. It may be challenging tointegrate these ideas into what has already

China also has a problem in dealing with electronic waste. Building recycling centers for electronic waste could also be good for businesses. By creating private recycling centers, a business could create a ver tically integrated system, which allows it to have a lead on the raw resource end of the electronic industry.

By building recycling centers, more space is also saved in the long run. The fact that China is such a highly populated country makes it so much more impor tant that the land be used

INTRODUCTION

When you think of China, waste most likely will not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, the waste in China does house some concern. In order to reduce the waste, some of the money being used to create buildings in cities like Yizhuang should be used to create recycling centers. Some of the centers should also focus on electronic and pharmaceutical waste management. Most of the waste that is recycled currently is done in the streets in an unsanitary manner.

TEAM: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION TEAM (EAT)

These industries are two of the largest in BDA and their waste disposal methods need to be improved. Their waste disposal methods were compared to those used by industries around the world. This group also determined the amount of waste produced and recycled in nations worldwide, with a special focus on China. This information was used to propose the amount of recycling facilities to implement into the Yizhuang design.

PHARMACEUTICAL WASTE & DISPOSAL METHODS

Pharmaceutical waste can be produced on municipal and industrial levels. For instance, when people flush their unused drugs down the toilet, or industries improperly dispose of chemicals, vaccines or other materials.

There are 13 major companies in the BDA pharmaceutical industry including Bayer, Tide Pharmaceutical and Pharmaron. Bayer has had recent environmental issues including the release of harmful emissions into water. In 2012, there was a 31.5% increase in nitrogen emissions and 13% increase in inorganic salts due to higher production volumes at the

residentially rather than using the land to store garbage. So if China wants to save land, while gaining a safe way to get raw materials and a competitive edge in supply of said material, then building recycling centers is the best option.

BACKGROUND

When a city has effective waste management, it leads to an overall better quality of life for its citizens, and increases its sustainability. The students in the Sustainable Urbanism in China course were tasked with designing the city of Yizhuang to be a resilient city. This group contributed to this collective effor t by investigating waste disposal methods that are currently being used in China in order to learn which methods are effective or ineffective. By ensuring that Yizhuang implements effective waste disposal methods, we are also ensuring that it develops into a resilient, sustainable city.

This group focused its effor ts on exploring and studying methods that are used in the Beijing E-Town Developmental Area (BDA), specifically the pharmaceutical and electronic industries.

Some countries have collection programs designed for people to bring unused drugs to drug stores or buildings where they can be properly disposed. One example is the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day in the U.S., which demonstrates a nationwide effor t to reduce pharmaceutical waste. There are also multiple projects in Washtenaw County, Michigan, which gives people the oppor tunity to properly dispose of unused drugs. These programs in Michigan have proved to be very effective, with an increase in drug take-back volumes from 2010 to 2014. The total volume of drugs collected over the past four years is 4,206,101 pounds. Other examples are Sigre, Spain and Cyclamedian, France, which have established collection programs for home-generated pharmaceuticals.

Caojing plant. Bayer Healthcare plants globally contributed to an increase of 82.4% in total phosphorous emissions1. All pharmaceutical industries can potentially have a negative impact on the environment if the waste disposal methods are ineffective.

The waste disposal methods used by these companies coincide with the methods used by other pharmaceutical industries in China. In 2008, the total waste disposed in China was 100 million tons. In the same year, 81% of China’s waste was put into landfills. Landfilling is the least favored option because it is harmful to the environment, and land cannot be reused once it is landfilled. Although recycling is the best method, less than 3.3 percent of China’s total waste was recycled in 2008.

The pharmaceutical waste disposal methods used in Japan follow a basic 5-step system. The first step is identification of the waste. Second is separating the bio-waste in terms of sharps, plastics and glass. The third step is sor ting waste into separate containers. The four th is using a biohazard mark when necessary on waste that is extremely hazardous. The final step is to appoint qualified medical waste supervisors to oversee final waste disposal.

Figure 1: Yearly amounts of unused drugs returned in Michigan

other BDA electronic companies do not have such programs.

In the past, China did not have any regulations for controlling E-waste, which resulted in many environmental issues. In 2010, the government enacted a regulation of recycling E-waste, which encouraged producers to collect E-waste. However, the regulations were rather unsuccessful since E-waste has many pathways into China, which makes it difficult to control.

Guiyu is a town in southeast China with a population of 150,000, and it receives more than 3 million tons of E-waste globally every year. It is the largest E-waste site on Ear th3. Many people work on dismantling old electronics to extract lead, gold, copper and other valuable metals. Developed countries, including the United States, ship their discarded electronics to developing countries like this poor area of China because it is much cheaper than properly and safely recycling electronics. The burning off of plastics in the town has resulted in 80% of its children having dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

The recycling rate in Germany has increased from 48% in 2001 to 62% in 2010. This is mainly due to the ban on landfilling, its separate collection of waste, and recycling bins for households. This year, they are planning to have a mandatory separate collection of bio-waste.

E-WASTE DISPOSAL METHODS

Electronic waste, or E-waste is a popular name for electronic products nearing the end of their “useful life.” Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, cellphones and fax machines are common electronic products that can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. E-waste can have a very negative impact on the environment if it is not properly managed. These negative effects include greenhouse gas emissions like CO2, NOx, and SO2. However, Nokia has developed a zero emission program, which will focus on using more renewable energy sources, thereby reducing the amount of CO2 emissions from manufacturing companies2. They also stress the impor tance of recycling old cellphones, which will help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. But many of the 48

As of 2008, 17 states in the U.S. have producer responsibility laws in some form, such as Arkansas Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act, the 2003 Electronic Waste Recycling Act in California, Maine Public Law 661 and E-Cycle Washington. Individuals are looking for environmentally friendly ways to dispose of electronics.

STATISTICS & RECYLCING FACILITIES

The total amount of waste produced in China in 2009 was 593,790 tons before recycling, with 0.95 kg of waste produced per person per day.

In 1970, Japan began treating E-waste differently from other materials. They hired specially trained workers to dismantle and recycle the electronic material. It has two laws: Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources (LPUR) and Law for the Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances (LRHA). These two laws impose many requirements on the recycling effor ts of both consumers and manufacturers of home appliances. In October 2003, taxes were imposed on any computer purchased. If a computer was purchased before that date, those wanting to recycle their computer would pay a nominal fee to keep up with recycling costs.

Waste management in Germany is mainly based on the Substance Cycle Act of 1994, and is enforced in the federal states. The Public Waste Management Authorities (PWMA) are generally responsible for the collection, transpor t, proper treatment and disposal of wastes. This act obliges private households to make their wastes available to the PWMA. Private consumers had to pay fees at the municipal collection point when handing in E-waste, at least for those types of equipment where the sales of the recycled materials could not cover the cost of treatment and disposal.

Figure 2: Total Waste Breakdown in China 2009

Pharmaceutical waste produced per person was calculated by using this waste breakdown char t. Materials that are disposed of in pharmaceutical waste are glass, plastics and other miscellaneous materials. Thus, the calculated pharmaceutical waste produced per person per day in China in 2009 was 0.157 kg. The amount of domestic E-Waste produced per person in China was 4.4 kg in the year 2009. The following table shows the pharmaceutical and E-waste produced in various countries in 2009.

Table 1: Global pharmaceutical waste produced in 2009

Table 2: Global Domestic E-Waste produced in 2014

The table below shows the recycling rates per year for various countries. As mentioned earlier, in 2008, China recycled less than 3.3% of its total waste. However, in 2012, its recycling rate for plastics was 30%, which shows that China is in fact improving in its recycling rate. Japan and Germany are the leading countries in recycling, so perhaps China can implement some of their methods in order to fur ther increase recycling.

and electronic waste. Also, reducing, reusing and recycling materials is by far the best method for waste disposal. From the amount of waste produced in various countries, including China, our group recommends eight recycling centers for the Yizhuang design in order to create a system that uses safe labor practices while still providing high amounts of raw materials, saving land and preserving the natural environment.

Based on this information, our group along with the design group decided to include eight recycling centers as par t of the Yizhuang design. The proposed size for these recycling centers was 20,000 square feet with a large outside storage area. The centers would also include 15-foot long conveyor belts, an area for metals to be melted and waste to be separated. The goal of the recycling centers is to help promote recycling within the city and focus on reducing pharmaceutical and E-waste.

CONCLUSIONS

Although China has one of the lowest production rates of pharmaceutical and E-waste, it also has lower recycling rates when compared to other developed nations. When considering the Yizhuang design, waste disposal methods from other countries must be used in order for Yizhuang to become a resilient city.

One method that Yizhuang could implement is the banning of landfills in order to prevent the deterioration of ear th and soil. Collection programs should also be used in order to help people properly dispose of pharmaceutical

Table 3: Recycling rates for different countries

REFERENCES

1. http://www.sustainability2012.bayer.com/en/use-of -water-and-emiss ions- in to-water.aspx2. h t t p : / / t e l e c o m b l o g s . i n /blog/2010/06/03/green-initiative-to-take-note-of-nokia-eco-profiles/3. http://www.environment-health.asia/user files/file/Municipal%20Waste%20Repor t.pdf4. h t t p : / / w w w. p o p s . i n t / d o c u m e n t s /meetings/toolkit/China%20open%20waste%20burning.pdf5. h t t p : / / w w w. e p a . g o v / e p a w a s t e /nonhaz/municipal/6. h t t p : / / s i t e r e s o u r c e s . w o r l d b a n k .o r g / I N T U R B A N D E V E L O P M E N T /Resources/336387-1334852610766/Chap3.pdf 7. “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2012”, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, Feb 2014.

colonization of East Asia. New Town was domestically planned and constructed in the last decade of the 20th century, during which the manufacturing of household appliances within an economically liberalized communist state was being outsourced to Asian Cubs (such as Thailand and Vietnam) and was being replaced with corporate headquar ters. As such, New Town’s buildings are tall and reflective of this high-order corporate functionality with limited number of affluent residents.

INTRODUCTION

The framework in which we compared components of resiliency embedded within the Old City and the New City Districts of Qingdao, China recognized that neither space operated in isolation and that each was designed in periods of great variations in design, functions, available technologies, and position within a larger economy. Old Town emerged as a German colonial outpost at the end of the 19th century, its building structures reflect that age and building style, and it served as an impor t/expor t node in a period of aggressive western

TEAM: RESILIENCE ACROSS TIME

availability of public and private spaces in which interactions may occur. We also include in the category of connectivity the notion of sense of or attachment to place, which lends toward investments of time, capital, and upkeep of a space. Lastly, health and environment refer to clean air, water, and land. Not only do these allow for the normal and efficient operation of the human body, they contribute to good emotional and cognitive function as well as to work-related productivity.

METHODOLOGY

Our approach to this comparative analysis was first to identify essential locations within each district to which we would pay a site visit. At each location, we were to make observations as to the visible, or conspicuous absence of, select components of community resiliency. We were to discuss, to make field notes, and, once all sites had been visited, interpret, analyze, and discuss our observations.

COMPONENTS OF RESILIENT SYSTEMS

Of the many components of resiliency, and healthy communities, we selected to focus specifically on equitability, connectivity, and health and environment. Equitability refers to the equivalency of access to all serviced and amenities for all community members. This includes proximity to open space for passive and active recreation, to affordable and effective health care, outlets for nutritious foods, and educational facilities. Connectivity alludes not only to the presence of good street networks but also to meaningful social intercourse, facilitated by formal and informal friendship and kinship networks as well as the

disparity of the expensive summer homes of the wealthy. The zoning map shown during the presentation provided evidence that suppor ted this assumption.

Labor: The majority of the population of Old City was a working class, blue collar labor force that was mostly employed as vendors or in unskilled professions in the New City.

Economy: The economy of the Old City follows the labor in that it is service based. There were

EQUITABILITY

Equitability is one of the key components for comparison of the Old City and the New City of Qingdao, a coastal city in the Shandong Province of nor theast China. When thinking in terms of equitability, access and the dispersion of fairness is analyzed to measure the concept. Using observational data and a list of indicators, a comparative analysis can be formed that illustrate perceptions of what is seen as equitable. The indicators chosen for comparative analysis include housing, labor, economy, and amenities. These component indicators are then used as a criteria to measure the concept of equitability in the Old City and the New City. It should be noted that the conclusions reached were mostly first-hand observational. Additional data was provided by the accommodating and knowledgeable students of Qingdao Technical University, who know their city and were eager to collaborate to make observational assumptions.

Equitability Indicators of the Old City Housing

Older, established low-end housing and the

many local street vendors, and much of the economy thrives from tourism of the Old City.

Amenities: Local, independent services provided for the residents. Parks and open space, which includes the rocky and sandy beaches, are open and accessible to all. Pedestrian malls and walkable streets provide the oppor tunity for social interaction.

Equitability Indicators of the New City

Housing: Newer and more expensive, high rise apar tments. Because of the expense, many of the people who work in the New City must by necessity live in the Old City.

Labor: White collar, professional labor with an educated workforce. Many large corporations both national and international. Service jobs in the form of higher-end retail.

Economy: Large corporate and office with high-end retail. The economy of the

New City seems mainly driven by the office complex. Local vendors are not nearly as numerous as in the Old City. The sale of expensive goods is another driving force of the New City economy.

Amenities: The observational tour included a trip to a recently opened mega-mall. Although perceived as open space, the mall is private open space and not open to all and subject to hours of operation. The street vendor is slowly being replaced by the supermarket, where there is little social interaction.

presence of squatters in the shared space, and the lack of public space to make up for that loss.

Transpor tation in the New City, with wide streets and long blocks catered to the car, was more reflective of those who live and work there. Although the pedestrian pathways in the New City were present, it was not as well developed or used as was the case in the Old City. The traffic, however, was much more manageable and moved more quickly. Many of the residents who worked there also lived nearby, and the streets were designed to accommodate heavier vehicular flow. The New City also lacked for a strong sense of place. Although the district had an abundance of public space, there was no shared space, generational housing, or an overwhelming sense of community. The residents of the new city were young professionals with limited roots in the area, and it showed.

CONNECTIVITY

Connectivity as it per tains to sustainability in the context of the old city was examined using the criteria transpor tation, social space and sense of place. We determined that transpor tation would be the combination of services provided (Metro and subway as well as road infrastructure) and the traffic pattern.

In the old city we observed a narrow street system with a high level of connectivity, which efficiently served pedestrians and was accommodating to cars. However, the automobile traffic was extremely dense. We came to realize that there was a housing/job mismatch in Qingdao. The old city had lower income housing than the new city; however, the people who worked in the old city were poorer still and commuted into the old city via bus and car, contributing to the traffic congestion. We did, however, determine that the old city had a high degree of sense of place and well-designed social space in the form of shared-space cour t yards; however, despite the sense of place, many residents had complaints about the low quality housing in the old city, the

HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

The health and environment in Old City and the New City vary dramatically. We chose three issues for consideration: sanitation, pollution, and walkability. Regarding sanitation, Old City, with substantial roadside waste, was more burdened than New City, which received greater attention from public workers as well as proper ty owners. The result of this disparity was a not only a loss of charm for Old City but an increase in the threat of infectious diseases. Regarding air quality, automobile traffic is the primary culprit, and, because of its larger volume of cars, trucks, and buses, the New City seemed more contaminated than did the Old City. For walkability, each district had adequate pedestrian walkways, but Old Town was designed during a time when cars did not dominate the urban landscape, and, subsequently, amenities and services are more readily available via foot than is the case in New Town. The exception to this is the seaside walkway, although there remained a dear th of basic amenities along its length.

SUMMARY

It must be kept in mind that both sites operate within a multi-scalar context, meaning that neither exists in isolation and that each engages with the other, operates within the regional context as well as, given the corporate presence, within the global context. Therefore, it is difficult to assess resiliency outside of those respective contexts. While our task has been to compare but a few of the components of resiliency as we saw expressed respectively, a fuller assessment would require a more robust examination of the aggregated households as they set relative to the physical and economic forces that surround them.

What we did discern from our observations is that the two districts vary, not unexpectedly, in regards to criteria selected: equitability, connectivity, and health and environment. Often times, illuminating a problem can more readily lead to its resolution, and our hope is that these anecdotal pieces of evidence can better inform administrative decision-making and policy implementation. This, of course, is not to say that leadership is unaware and

that attempts to develop resilience are not underway. On the contrary, they are. For example, the Mayor’s office has been working with the World Resource Institute, and a push to create a low carbon transpor tation sector, through the conversion to compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel source and the limiting of truck traffic during peak commute times, are underway.

The Imperial Palace.

are an important part of Chinese culture and were associated with the emperor’s imperial power and strength, and can be seen throughout in the Forbidden City. Each medallion on the rooftops have a small dragon on them. This may be seen on the edge of every single roof, including the roof of the wall surrounding the entire city. The inside of the gate and palace ceilings also have the same dragons painted in gold in green and blue medallions.

Detail is also apparent in the way the whole city is laid out. It has a symmetrical design, with each gate and palace having three entrances, the center entrance was only for the emperor. The walkway leading up to each entrance is also divided into three parts, the center path made of slightly convex marble for the emperors feet. The exit of the palaces and gateways also have a kind of walkway of dragons and phoenixes leading down to the courtyard from the palace door.

The gardens were burned and demolished several times by different invaders but some have been rebuilt and are opened to the public. The serenity and attention to detail is present in the beautiful gardens, filled with beautiful Zen trees, water features, sculptures and buildings.

The Forbidden City, located within the heart of Beijing, was built between 1406 and 1420 and was the location of the imperial palaces from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. It’s entrance now features a portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong and a fanciful fountain display. Upon entering the first gate, you find yourself in a huge and spacious courtyard and the magnificent Imperial Palace in front of you. It’s size, and traditional majesty is awe-inspiring. Despite the gloomy weather on the day we visited and swarms of people, its unique history as the seat of China’s imperial majesty was palpable.

The colors of the buildings were specifically chosen to represent certain aspects of the visible world. The red of the walls represents the earth, the green and blue of the building frame represents the green of nature and the sky, and the yellow roofs represent the emperor and the sun. The amount of gold inlay also has meaning of the importance of the building. Another aspect of building meaning lies in the rooftop corners. Each building has a number of small dragons on each corner, signifying the status one must be to enter the building. Nine dragons is the highest number, allowing only the Emperor to enter. If one entered a building with more dragons than one’s status would permit, one would be killed.

The architectural detailing is mesmerizing. Dragons

FORBIDDEN CITY

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

For most of the class, it was our first time visiting the Great Wall. Even though we have learned about it in our history classes and have seen pictures of it, we gained a true appreciation of how enormous the wall is and its incredible architecture.

We scaled the steep steps, walked along the inclines and declines of the straight stretches, and admired the sights from the watchtowers. The beautiful scenery made for great group pictures and unforgettable memories.

Our class had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit and climb a section of The Great Wall of China during our first week in China. We left the BJTU campus early that morning to take a bus and train to the entrance of the Badaling Great Wall, located in Yanqing County, north of Beijing. The Badaling section of The Great Wall was promoted to a key national cultural relic in 1961, under the approval of the State Council. It was listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World on July 7, 2007.

The Great Wall of China is the largest fortification ever built, and was originally built to protect the Chinese empire from its northern nomadic enemies. The beginning of The Great Wall’s construction dates all the way to the 7th century BC. Only part of the Badaling Great Wall (2.3 miles) has been maintained for tourists to be able to walk along it. It is the most preserved and maintained section of the Great Wall. Today, The Great Wall is regarded as the place with the greatest cultural and historical significance in China.

The Great Wall attracts tourists from around the world because of its breathtaking sights and scenery and its fascinating history. When walking on The Great Wall, one can see trees and mountains for miles. You can also see many other tourists walking along other parts of the wall in varying directions.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Great Wall wrapping along the mountain ridges.

A group picture while hiking the Great Wall.Selfies and Peace Signs.

Qingdao is a major city in the Shandong Province in northeastern China with a population of 8,715,100 people. Qingdao is a major seaport, naval base, and industrial center in the Shandong province while also being well known for its beer as the home of the Tsingtao Brewery. Qingdao began as a colony of Imperial Germany in 1898 when Germany occupied the area of modern Qingdao for strategic and commercial purposes.

While in Qingdao, students from the University of Cincinnati worked with students from Qingdao Technical University to examine and compare the old and the new city. We examined different structures and areas developed in the old town.

The spatial patterns of development in Qingdao’s old town are in strong contrast to Qingdao’s new town. Whereas Qingdao’s new town developed to a very planned and organized pattern, Qingdao’s old town remains more organic. In the old town, streets are chaotic and narrow--a product of the organic population-based development of Qingdao’s old town.

QINGDAO

Qingdao’s new town was a huge contrast from old town. The new town has huge skyscrapers and wide streets, where as the old town had low rise buildings and narrow streets. The new town had a very contemporary city feel whereas the old town had an older European feel. The difference in styles from the new and old town is extremely noticeable and they are even separated by a mountain.

St. Michael’s Cathedral in Qingdao

QINGDAO REPORTConnor Borchardt, Joseph Gordon, Tiancheng Liang, Ariel Schmid

During our travels in China for our Sustainable Urbanism class, we visited the coastal town of Qingdao to partake in a collaborative workshop between the University of Cincinnati and Qingdao Technical University. After a warm welcome and festivities, we were divided into groups and sent off to decide where and how we would like to explore the resiliency of Qingdao. The area is split into two sections of the city, the old town, built in German style, and the new town, built in a modern western style, after the government decided the old town was no longer economically sustainable. We were Group C, and with the help of our QTech team mates, chose to explore two blocks in the old town and new town, both on the same road, and compare the resiliency of the buildings, neighborhoods and community feeling.

Qingdao historyThe area was originally called Jiao’ao and was ruled by the Qing dynasty during the 1890s. The area became Qingdao after the German occupation which lasted from 1898 to 1914. The City has always been valuable because of its Oceanside position. When Germany took imperial China, Qingdao played a crucial role as the administrative center of the German’s Bay territory in China. Qingdao was not technically a colony but Germany still invested over a hundred million dollars into it. That money contributed to creating an impressive infrastructure, large European styled churches, several landmarks and the world famous Tsingtao brewery. Qingdao served as the base for the German Naval Far East Squadron Base. After the German occupation ended in 1919, Japan moved in to seize Qingdao. This sparked the May Fourth Movement which is well known as a protest which began to strengthen China and its sense of self pride. The city was taken by Japan in 1938 before being freed by Mao Zedong, the man who unified the country and founded the Peoples Republic of China. Today Qingdao has grown into an Oceanside metropolis with a population 8.7 million and a quickly growing GDP. The city’s downtown brims with skyscrapers that overlook the ocean and beautiful beaches.

Site analysisTo measure which part of the city is more resilient than the other, we chose two residential areas from new and old city. Each area contains about two residential blocks, which have same distance along the road – 140 meters in the old city and 150 meters in the new city. Apart from

this, the street that goes through the new blocks and old blocks is the same road. Since both blocks are located on Jiaozhou Road, it was easier for us to analyze the resilience of these two areas. When we arrived at each site, we took many pictures of both the new and old blocks. As we can see in the photos, the environment in the old blocks is bad. It was a big mess in each yard and there was some trash left on the road. On the other hand, the situation in the new city was better. The residential buildings are higher and nicer than in the old city. Less garbage was left on the road and more green trees were planted on the both sides of the road. What is more, we also found that many people walk and talk on the road in old city, while there is less vitality in new city area. More connection with neighbors means more vitality and more resilience of the area. This result can also be proven by our survey and statistics.

Site Survey AnalysisWhilst approaching the abstract concept of resilient cities as resilient communities, Group C felt it was imperative to construct a series of quantifiable variables in which they could engage the subject matter. In order to do this we looked to psychological researchers and implemented surveys using Likert scales. Due to limited time and low incentive for the participants, we decided that only five questions were necessary per survey and that only fifteen surveys would be collected per street. The questions focused on the resident’s relationship with their neighborhood (i.e. relationship with neighbors, recreational activity distance) and the resident’s opinion of the street conditions (i.e. opinion of street

Juxtaposition between old and newIn the small alley ways of old Qingdao

size, building height and density). A Likert scale uses these answers’ numerical value in order to create representative averages of the community. For example, one question asked: “How strongly do you feel you know your neighbors?” with five potential answers being: not at all (1), slightly (2), moderately or first name basis (3), very familiar (4), or friends or family (5). In this manner if an average of 3.82 was found in the results then the community’s relationship amongst one another would be very familiar. Subsequently, these averages could be compared to other averages (such as street size) and the team could then use Pearson’s Relation R formula to calculate the correlation between both sets of questions. While the data was relatively inconclusive due to the limited time period, the results that showed the strongest correlations were between street size and area satisfaction.Sight and FeelingsExploring each section was quite interesting. We walked to the new blocks first and entered a neighborhood of buildings, each about seven stories high, with parking lots, some gardens, trees, and a slightly narrow street for the residents to access their respective apartments. There was a small little corner store at the end of the street and a few people walking to and from their various daily activities, but it was mostly quiet and empty. The atmosphere was nice, but the buildings looked older than their age, and not quite as high-end as they might once have been.The old section of town was bustling and full of people. The street our blocks were located on was quieter, but there were people sitting and talking outside of

their storefronts, enjoying the day and each other’s company. The area was much more dilapidated; the two story buildings and storefronts spoke of bygone days and inside the interior courtyards the poverty was tangible. Rickety balconies, weeds, old trees and crumbling cement showed us the living conditions of this area of town. And even though tenants shooed us away, wondering why we would want to see this part of town, the community was much more alive. Laundry hanging across the courtyards, traditional music wafting up the street, laughter of neighbors – it all seemed much more close knit, and because of that, much more resilient in community than the new city blocks. In conclusion, we enjoyed our visit, exploration and analysis of Qingdao immensely. The students gave their all to us for the few days that we were there, and showed us as much of their beautiful city as they could in one day. We tried our best to analyze the area, going as far as taking surveys, and although the results are not very scientific, or perhaps useful due to low quantities and other variables, the experience of speaking with the locals, and digging more into each area than simply snapping pictures, was rewarding. The German history and architecture is beautiful and striking in its unusualness, and the beachfront refreshing. It was also very interesting to find that the old city had a closer community despite the worse conditions than the new city, showing that close-knit communities are an important factor to bear in mind while working to create a resilient city. We learned much, and will remember our time with the QTech students as a highlight of our adventure in China.

Jared Ellis

05/27/2015

My individual reflection regarding the two weeks I spent studying abroad in China is best summarized by the answers to the most commonly asked questions I have been asked by friends, classmates, and family since returning home. The exchange happens something like this:-“How was China?”- “Amazing. Like nothing I could have ever imagined.”- “Would you do it again?”-“In a hear tbeat, yes I would.”

This exchange thoroughly sums up my feeling af ter returning and remains with me to this very moment. Not only was this my first trip to China, it was my very first time to leave American soil. During the two week trip, I saw wonders that captivated, images that were wholly unexpected, and memories that will last a lifetime. All of these feelings, all of these impressions, can be attributed to one observed fact: China is alive. This is not a an Old World country that consists only of tourist destinations and dusty history, this is a land that is vibrant with new growth, rich in a cultural heritage, and steeped in history that is still being made, the legacy of a civilization that is still evolving, much of it right in front of my very own eyes. Prior to my trip abroad, I had considered myself to be fairly well-versed in the growth of cities,

REFLECTIONS & CONCLUSIONS

having lived for substantial periods of time in Phoenix, Arizona, and Denver, Colorado. I thought I was aware of what new city growth consisted of. Beijing, Qingdao, and the cities and towns we saw in between those cities blasted away all of my previous conceptions of what growth really looked like. Explosive, exponential growth took the shape of the construction crane. Nothing that we saw happening in China regarding the growth of new cities and the impressive additions being done to the present ones was constructed on a small scale. It was done big. The closest thing comparable to it that I have witnessed in the United States is my frequent trips to Las Vegas, Nevada, that I have been taking for over twenty years. Every time I visit Las Vegas, there are more hotels, larger and bigger than before, more miles of unchecked sprawl into the deser t, more streets, more people, more, more, more. My initial impression of China was that it was Las Vegas on a healthy dose of urban growth steroids. But as I quickly acclimated to the noise, the people, the unfamiliarity of it all, I began to hear the pulse of the city. The city wasn’t some enter tainment venue built in the middle of an unforgiving deser t for no good reason, this city was alive with the pulse of a million hear tbeats of a country that is rapidly developing from an ancient culture and former underdeveloped country into a true 21st century national capital, complete with all the good and the bad that

come with that development. Once I star ted listening to the pulse of the city, seeing the human interaction that takes place, I also began to look with the eyes of a second-year planning student. I framed a question in my mind: Is this growth sustainable? From my observations, humble as they are, I began to notice signs that the growth that I saw in Beijing and Qingdao was becoming (if not already) problematic in many ways. First and foremost is the issue of the dense concentration of the population. There were people everywhere, at all hours of the day and night. Dense throngs of people, people who are all competing for the same resources. Never was this more apparent than upon arriving at our hotel in Beijing that we were informed that the water in the hotel would be unavailable for use during the late hours of the day into the morning. Water, one of the most valuable commodities on the face of the planet and something many of us take for granted in the Eastern United States was being rationed. Having lived in Phoenix for

five years and during a few drought summers in Denver, I took this notice in stride, although it was totally unexpected. Phoenix is a city that is known to be a top contender of unsustainable cities, was Beijing also in the same predicament? Then there was the traffic. Traffic congestion was extreme and at a standstill during many of our outings in and around Beijing, a situation comparable with another city I know to have a reputation of unsustainability, Los Angeles, California. The traffic congestion that produces vehicular emissions which contribute to unhealthy made me grateful that our trip was mainly blessed with clear skies and a light breeze. As I was warned about this condition by a former environmental professor, I was expecting this. But what then must the city be like in the peak of summer, when cars are abundant and sitting in traffic snarls, stalled and emitting high volumes of carbon monoxide? How is this unhealthy air quality contributing to an unsustainable environment? The problem of traffic can’t be blamed on a lack of public transit usage, for nearly every mode of transpor tation that we used, be it bus, rail, or subway, was packed with humanity. An observational comment made by one of our Chinese-native classmates was that years ago, there were many more people using bikes than driving cars, a situation that in his opinion was better in there was more wealth being distributed but a lamentation in the fact that the new money was being used to purchase automobiles that replaced the bicycle. With the accessibility of the automobile comes the inevitable urban sprawl that is facilitated once the driver is no longer constrained by walkable distances or public transit. The area of our focus

study is one such new city that has been developed around the automobile. My first impression of Yizhuang was that it closely resembled Phoenix in that almost everything was new, with wide multi-lane streets to accommodate the automobile and a lot of greenery to make it look pretty but greenery that also consumes a great deal of water. Where were all these people getting their resources from, where was the food coming from, and was Beijing the parasitic city that Herber t Girardet discusses in The Gaia Atlas of Cities? Is China indeed wholly unsustainable, with no hope of measured sustainable growth? The answer to these questions may in par t have been answered on our journey to Qingdao. The hope for a brighter future for the sustainability of the cities of China became readily observant from the moment we stepped into the high-speed

rail station. Here is a country that unlike the United States has embraced the high-speed rail as an efficient alternative to automobile highways and travel by jet plane. An efficient comfor table form of mass transit that allowed me to see par ts of China (albeit at 305 km/hr at its fastest) that I was not expecting to see. Farms! Farming villages! Small, contained towns and cities that slowed the frenetic urban pace and gave me hope that there is a green China outside the populated capital and between the densely populated Qingdao. Here were the farms that could sustain a population, towns that while overshadowed by the mighty construction crane, seemed upon my impression, to be contained, planned with measured growth as ascer tained in the fact that we would see a dense urban core

and then farmland again. How I lament that time constraints restricted us from exploring these satellite cities and towns in between the metropolises of Beijing and Qingdao! My impression was that although the residential towers were being built at a breakneck pace, the ideal was to contain the residents to a smaller area where goods and services might be more concentrated, and to replace the old style farm houses that occasionally dotted the landscape. Was this a sign that China was developing in the right direction, toward urban sustainability? Is the fact that mass transit is fully embraced and utilized to its fullest whether by bus, rail, or train, is this a sign that the new distribution of wealth that purchased the automobile would also use mass transit without compunction or the stigma that is of ten attached to attitudes about public transit in the United States? Is there hope for measured, planned, sustainable growth? In conclusion, I cannot fully answer the very questions I have posed. I am unable to see the future, and more impor tantly, do not have enough observational data to reach definitive conclusions. In a country that is so very much alive, there is a cer tain degree of dynamic that makes it almost impossible to predict potential patterns of evolution, especially to an outside observer who was only able to spend two whirlwind weeks attempting to absorb it all. I am however, lef t with hope for a bright future

for Chinese cities based on what I did see and experience as well as I what I was able to learn from the Chinese students who were so gracious, welcoming, and willing to give the visitor some insight on their home. Both the Chinese students and fellow classmates have said that the explosive growth in China mirrors the growth in the United States following the end of World War II. There is a massive influx of employment oppor tunity, an increase in the middle class, and a previously unknown prosperity that is sweeping the nation. It is my sincerest hope that China will see the mistakes that were made in the United States in the post-war years and apply proper methods of planning that we in the U.S. have just now began to affect in earnest. It can be hoped that they avoid the mistakes we made, learn from our shor tcomings, and improve upon planning theory that other nations of the world have integrated into their sustainable cites. I for one choose to be optimistic in that the living, breathing cities of China will continue to evolve, perhaps into a previously unknown urban synthesis, one that allows for planned growth and retains the sense of chaotic life that so impressed me. Overall, it was a journey that opened my eyes to a fascinating culture, invigorated me with new ideas, and inspired me to want to become a better planner.

Ariel Schmid

One lovely Fall day I walked through the Study Abroad Fair on Main Street on campus, and picked this class because of the generous grant from UC International and because China was a country I had not visited yet. I did not know what to expect, especially af ter the first meeting when I found myself one of only a handful of students not in Urban Planning or Architecture. I found the classes a bit too loosely structured during the semester, but that may have been because indicators can be broad topics, and I was not in the Design Group. But lo and behold, it all worked out, our presentations came together and we met all the people we needed to, in a trip I’ll remember forever.

It took me several days to wrap my head around China and it’s people, and stop thinking it was all weird. It was unlike anywhere else I’d been, from Costa Rica to India. But slowly I got more and more comfor table with everything. Not being blonde, I wasn’t stared at quite as much as the others, which was nice, especially af ter India, and different little things made it enjoyable – like roses as the city landscape plant of choice, and the enthusiasm of the

university students we collaborated with.

I was drawn much more to the old traditional culture and building style than to the modern development, especially af ter seeing how quickly the new buildings deteriorate and look old and used, despite less than a decade of use. I had also never seen such a close contact of rich and poor before. There were Hutongs that ended practically at the base of a high-rise, as I saw looking down from Zaha Habib’s Galaxy SoHo. I have seen the separate neighborhoods before, or how a street slowly turns from one area to another, but not such a close contact and stark contrast. The rapid urbanization is not sustainable and does not promote happy people. It also was quite saddening to see how western pop culture has completely saturated some areas, like the shopping strip by the sea in Qingdao. Walking through the plaza I heard American pop music, and saw only name-brand stores and restaurants, found in every US city. The pride in the traditional culture must be searched for nowadays it seems.

Seeing the famous traditional places of China was absolutely unforgettable. Walking miles on the Great Wall; climbing

its very steep steps, and looking out on the breathtaking variations of greens on the hillside, seeing the Wall snake on for what seems like forever. That was one of my favorite days and adventures.The colors and size of the Temple of Heaven was incredible – the traditional architecture is so beautiful. The atmosphere is creates is also so interesting and so different from the US – much more bare, open and slightly cold compared to the cozy, but of ten fluffy, and overly full furnishings over here. However upon returning home, I began to get rid of a bunch of stuff, minimizing everything. I needed that breathing space I found in the rooms in China.

The symmetry of both the Temple of Heaven complex and that of the Forbidden City struck me. But even more than that, the gravity of the tradition and ceremony that is still tangible within their walls. The walkways created just for the Emperor, and the doorways just for him, and the dragons on the rooftop corners, marking the status of those allowed entrance. It’s something so serious and so strict, but yet so majestic, that simply cannot be found in our culture or even in European culture to that extent, and it made a lasting impression on me. We don’t respect anything that much; for some people they don’t even respect their God or religion that much.

Working with and getting to know the students at the two universities was also a great experience. The presentation par t of working with the Beijing Jiaotong students was a bit of a struggle since we had vague instructions on how to pull it all together, but it ended up working out. The students in Qingdao were the most hospitable and always so excited to see us and spend time with us. They did all they could to make our stay interesting, fun, and full of new sights, foods, and experiences. I really do appreciate all they and the faculty did for us. I hope they know they gave us all a wonder ful time. Qingdao is such a cool city. I wish we had had more than one day to see all its sights, but even in that day we were able to see and feel the uniqueness of the city. I loved the old German side. Even though many par ts were poor and rundown, the community and character was strong. The traditional food market was fun, seeing all the crazy things people put on skewers! From cockroaches and grasshoppers, to centipedes and a flying dragon looking beast. It was so relaxing to walk along the beach for a moment and get my toes in the sand. But I was blown away by the amount of wedding pictures being taken on every inch of the beaches and surrounding parks - I must have seen at least 200 couples and their photographers.

Exploring all of these new places, Yizhuang, central Beijing and Qingdao was just incredible, and also all the more interesting in the midst of architects and urban planners. Getting to see things through their eyes brought a whole new perspective on everything. The class and travel component showed me a glimpse of just how much goes into building and sustaining a city and opened my eyes to many new things. It was such a great introduction to China, and I know I will be

back to see more. Thank you each for your time, patience and encouragement for all of us on this unforgettable experience!

University of Cincinnati

Beijing Jiaotong University

Qingdao Technology UniversityStudy Abroad in China

2015

Supported by

UC Forward,

UC International