EASTD 121 Chapter Notes - Chapter Campanella (Cont.): Expo 2010, Minhang District, Hutong
18 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
City%of%Chai
In%Nanjing,%only%a%handful%of%the%city's%once%numerous%Ming,%Qing,%or%
Republican-era%neighborhoods%have%survived%the%redevelopment%
onslaught%(146)
○
A%teeming%urban%neighborhood%the%year%before,%it%was%soon%reduced%to%
rubble,%picked%over%for%recyclables%by%migrant%workers.%In%its%place%now%
stands%a%towering%luxury%condominium%(146)
○
Extensive%demolition%of%China's%vernacular%urban%residential% fabric%has%been%a%
hallmark%of%the%post-Mao%era.%Few%cities%have%been%spared,%especially%those%in%
the%booming%coastal%provinces%(145)
•
Between&1988-1998&more&than&30&million&square&feet&of&old&housing&
stock&in&Shanghai&was&demolished.&The&next&four&years&saw&an&
additional&162&million&square&feet&of&old&neighborhoods&cleared&to&make&
way&for&new&development&-- 20&percent&of&the&city's&total&residential&
area
○
The&human&impact&of&such&extensive&redevelopment&is&equally&
staggering:&in&just&two&years,&from&1992&to&1994,&some&200,000&families&
(approx.&640,000&people)&were&tossed&out&of&Shanghai's&inner-city&
districts
○
More&recently,&an&additional&50,000&residents&were&relocated&from&
Minhang&District&to&make&way&for&the&2010&World&Expo
○
The&vernacular&urbanism&of&Beijing&is&significantly&older&than&that&of&
Shanghai,&and&more&thoroughly&Chinese,&some&of&it&dating&back&to&the&
Ming&Dynasty.&The&rapid&elimination&of&this&national&heritage&-- by&
Chinese&hands,&no&less&-- prompts&unsettling&comparisons&to&earlier&
episodes&of&self-inflicted&cultural&injury&such&as&the&Cultural&Revolution
○
Nanjing's%losses%pale%in%comparison%to%Shanghai%or%Beijing
•
From%1420%until%the%end%of%the%Qing%Dynasty%in%1911,%Beijing's%hutong
fabric%reached%its%greatest%development,%filling%nearly%all%the%space%within%
the%inner%and%outer%city%walls%not%occupied%by%the%imperial%palace%and%
official%buildings
○
It%might%make%for%good%urbanism,%but%most%housing%in%these%old%
neighborhoods%was%terribly%overcrowded,%unsanitary,%and%unsafe
§
To%help%solve%the%sudden%housing%crisis,%government%officials%
encourage%infilling%the%siheyuan,(the%once-spacious%courtyards%were%
thus%transformed%into%a%maze%of%shacks%later%called%dazayuan,("big%
cluttered%courtyards")
§
In&all,&Beijing's&hutong were&a&superlative&example&of&humanistic&
urbanism,&the&very&antithesis&of&the&sprawling&high-rise&housing&that&has&
blanketed&vast&areas&of&urban&China&in&recent&years
○
Hutong:%narrow%lanes%and%alleys%in%the%Chinese%capital
•
The%price%of%land%in%central%Beijing%skyrocketed
§
The%very%real% need%to%upgrade%housing%combined%with%the%emergence%of%a%
real%estate%market%and%the%ensuing%development%binge%spelled%its%doom%
(149)
○
As%property%values%soared,%the%lure%of%profit%overruled%such%niceties
○
By&the&mid&1990's&most&Old&City&residents&were&no&longer&being&
rehoused&on&site,&but&were&packed&off&to&cheap&new&quarters&far&
from&the&city¢er
§
Any&housing&that&was&built&on&such&land&was&almost&always&
beyond&the&means&of&former&residents;&poor&and&working-class&
residents&were&thu&replaced&by&affluent&elites
§
The&municipal&government&soon&abrogated&its&responsibility&to&provide&
affordable&new&housing&for&residents&in&the&Old&City,&and&chose&instead&
to&fatten&its&coffers&with&lucrative&land-lease&fees&and&taxes&on&parcels&
released&to&developers.&In&the&process,&Beijing&ridded&itself&of&both&"old&
and&dilapidated&housing"&and&the&poor&people&inconveniently&living&in&it
○
Save&for&war&and&earthquakes,&the&speed&and&totality&of&this&urban&
holocaust&has&no&equal&in&history
§
Central-city&redevelopment&in&Beijing&has&thoroughly&and&permanently&
altered&the&character&of&the&Chinese&capital.&A&conservative&estimate&is&
that&40%&of&the&Old&City&was&pulverized&between&1990-2002&,&eliminating&
in&a&decade&an&urban&landscape&that&had&endured&600&years&of&war,&
peace,&and&revolution
○
While%there%were%conservation%acts%put%into%place,%these%were%not%very%
substantial%and%had%the%unintended%effects%of%concentrating%-- and%
speeding%up%-- redevelopment%activity%in%those%areas%not%tagged%for%
conservation
○
The%act%of%privileging%site%over%building%as%the%prime%locus%of%value%
deviates%from%the%prevailing%Western%concept%of%historic%preservation,%in%
which%the%burden%of%significance%is%more%evenly%distributed%between%the%
site%and%the%original%structure
○
First,%Nanchizi's%siheyuan were%typically%overcrowded,%making%it%
impossible%to%rehouse%all%residents%on%the%same%site%without%dramatically%
increasing%the%height%of%the%buildings
○
Nanchizi%as%the%last%straw%in%a%decade%of%wreckage%and%renewal%in%the%
capital
○
Housing%Developments•
A%Chinese%Character%meaning%to%tear%down,%demolish,%or%tear%apart
○
Title&I&was&originally&intended&to&upgrade&and&replace&substandard&
residential&housing&in&decaying¢er-city&districts,&a&purpose¬&unlike&
that&of&Beijing's&Old&and&Dilapidated&Housing&Renewal&Program.&But&the&
provisions&were&vague&enough&to&sustain&a&variety&of&interpretations,&
some&of&which&excluded&affordable&housing&altogether&(163)
○
The%real% hope%underlying%urban%renewal%was%to%make%cities%appealing%
again%to%affluent%white%who%followed%the%suburban%dream%out%of%town%in%
the%1950's%and%1960's
○
Chai•
There%are%clear%and%obvious%parallels,%in%the%1950%and%1960's,%vast%tracts%
of%downtown%urban%land%in%American%cities%were%cleared%to%make%way%for%
new%development,%a%movement%driven%by%a%coalition%of%local%government%
and%private-sector%interests%whose%chief%aim%was%real%estate%development%
(163)
○
In%the%end,%urban%renewal%failed%in%almost%all%its%objectives.%The%historic%
cores%of%many%American%cities% were%left%gutted%and%empty,%tends%of%
thousands%of%families%were%displaced,%and%few%suburbanites%returned%to%
the%city%anyway
○
Parallels%to%the%US•
In&China,&the&drivers&of&urban&renewal&could¬&be&more&different.&Cities&
in&China&are&in&no&danger&of&economic&irrelevance&or&oblivion;&instead,&
they&have&been&the&engines&of&China's&explosive&economic&growth&over&
the&last&two&decades&(164)
○
Equates&to&roughly&one&million&people&displaced&in&the&1990's
§
This&is&human&upheaval&on&a&scale&seen&previously&only&in&time&of&
war&or&extreme&natural&catastrophe
§
Indeed,&it&may&be&that&the&real&measure&of&urban&resilience&is¬&a&
city's&capacity&to&reconstruct&bridges&and&highways,&but&how&well&
the&people&rebound&and&heal&their&communal&networks&and&social&
fabric
§
In&other&words,&in&a&mere&twelve&months&Beijing&displaced&a&number&of&
persons&equal&to&the&combined&displaced&population&of&some&of&the&
largest,&most&infamous&American&urban&renewal&projects&of&the&postwar&
era
○
"Everyday&domicide":&the%unprecedented%scale%of%upheaval%in%the%
Chinese%capital%-- and%indeed%most%major%cities% throughout%the%rapidly%
urbanizing%People's%Republic
○
China•
Other%Reading%Notes
The%performance%aspect%of%urbanisation,%however,%may%be%an%ineradicable%
component%of%urban%growth.%According%to%Tsing,%the%global%economy%of%financial%
speculation%and%investment%requires%an%“economy%of%appearances”%in%which%
profit%is%first imagined before%it%is produced.%In%order%to%attract%investment%
capital,%companies%must%“dramatise%their%dreams”%of%future%economic%success.%
Economic%desirability%depends%on%aesthetic%performance.%So%long%as%the%
conjuring%works,%the%dramatic%staging%is%hardly%perceptible.%When%economic%
success%does%not%materialise,%however,%the%aesthetic%devices%of%its%production%
are%laid%bare.
•
Political%success%is%dramatised%through%the%expansion%of%urban%space%as%a%
conduit%to%modernity,%which%promises%economic%abundance.%The%phantom%
urbanisation%process%is%precariously%held%together%by%the%assumption%that%the%
construction%of%urban%landscapes%will%eventually%result%in%urbanisation%by%
attracting%financial%investment%and%residents.%Ghost%cities%are%the%material%
artifacts%of%an%unsuccessful%conjuring%trick.
•
c•
Sorace
Campanella(Reading
Wednesday,% October%25,%2017
1:09%PM
City%of%Chai
In%Nanjing,%only%a%handful%of%the%city's%once%numerous%Ming,%Qing,%or%
Republican-era%neighborhoods%have%survived%the%redevelopment%
onslaught%(146)
○
A%teeming%urban%neighborhood%the%year%before,%it%was%soon%reduced%to%
rubble,%picked%over%for%recyclables%by%migrant%workers.%In%its%place%now%
stands%a%towering%luxury%condominium%(146)
○
Extensive%demolition%of%China's%vernacular%urban%residential% fabric%has%been%a%
hallmark%of%the%post-Mao%era.%Few%cities%have%been%spared,%especially%those%in%
the%booming%coastal%provinces%(145)
•
Between&1988-1998&more&than&30&million&square&feet&of&old&housing&
stock&in&Shanghai&was&demolished.&The&next&four&years&saw&an&
additional&162&million&square&feet&of&old&neighborhoods&cleared&to&make&
way&for&new&development&-- 20&percent&of&the&city's&total&residential&
area
○
The&human&impact&of&such&extensive&redevelopment&is&equally&
staggering:&in&just&two&years,&from&1992&to&1994,&some&200,000&families&
(approx.&640,000&people)&were&tossed&out&of&Shanghai's&inner-city&
districts
○
More&recently,&an&additional&50,000&residents&were&relocated&from&
Minhang&District&to&make&way&for&the&2010&World&Expo
○
The&vernacular&urbanism&of&Beijing&is&significantly&older&than&that&of&
Shanghai,&and&more&thoroughly&Chinese,&some&of&it&dating&back&to&the&
Ming&Dynasty.&The&rapid&elimination&of&this&national&heritage&-- by&
Chinese&hands,&no&less&-- prompts&unsettling&comparisons&to&earlier&
episodes&of&self-inflicted&cultural&injury&such&as&the&Cultural&Revolution
○
Nanjing's%losses%pale%in%comparison%to%Shanghai%or%Beijing•
From%1420%until%the%end%of%the%Qing%Dynasty%in%1911,%Beijing's%hutong
fabric%reached%its%greatest%development,%filling%nearly%all%the%space%within%
the%inner%and%outer%city%walls%not%occupied%by%the%imperial%palace%and%
official%buildings
○
It%might%make%for%good%urbanism,%but%most%housing%in%these%old%
neighborhoods%was%terribly%overcrowded,%unsanitary,%and%unsafe
§
To%help%solve%the%sudden%housing%crisis,%government%officials%
encourage%infilling%the%siheyuan,(the%once-spacious%courtyards%were%
thus%transformed%into%a%maze%of%shacks%later%called%dazayuan,("big%
cluttered%courtyards")
§
In&all,&Beijing's&hutong were&a&superlative&example&of&humanistic&
urbanism,&the&very&antithesis&of&the&sprawling&high-rise&housing&that&has&
blanketed&vast&areas&of&urban&China&in&recent&years
○
Hutong:%narrow%lanes%and%alleys%in%the%Chinese%capital•
The%price%of%land%in%central%Beijing%skyrocketed
§
The%very%real% need%to%upgrade%housing%combined%with%the%emergence%of%a%
real%estate%market%and%the%ensuing%development%binge%spelled%its%doom%
(149)
○
As%property%values%soared,%the%lure%of%profit%overruled%such%niceties
○
By&the&mid&1990's&most&Old&City&residents&were&no&longer&being&
rehoused&on&site,&but&were&packed&off&to&cheap&new&quarters&far&
from&the&city¢er
§
Any&housing&that&was&built&on&such&land&was&almost&always&
beyond&the&means&of&former&residents;&poor&and&working-class&
residents&were&thu&replaced&by&affluent&elites
§
The&municipal&government&soon&abrogated&its&responsibility&to&provide&
affordable&new&housing&for&residents&in&the&Old&City,&and&chose&instead&
to&fatten&its&coffers&with&lucrative&land-lease&fees&and&taxes&on&parcels&
released&to&developers.&In&the&process,&Beijing&ridded&itself&of&both&"old&
and&dilapidated&housing"&and&the&poor&people&inconveniently&living&in&it
○
Save&for&war&and&earthquakes,&the&speed&and&totality&of&this&urban&
holocaust&has&no&equal&in&history
§
Central-city&redevelopment&in&Beijing&has&thoroughly&and&permanently&
altered&the&character&of&the&Chinese&capital.&A&conservative&estimate&is&
that&40%&of&the&Old&City&was&pulverized&between&1990-2002&,&eliminating&
in&a&decade&an&urban&landscape&that&had&endured&600&years&of&war,&
peace,&and&revolution
○
While%there%were%conservation%acts%put%into%place,%these%were%not%very%
substantial%and%had%the%unintended%effects%of%concentrating%-- and%
speeding%up%-- redevelopment%activity%in%those%areas%not%tagged%for%
conservation
○
The%act%of%privileging%site%over%building%as%the%prime%locus%of%value%
deviates%from%the%prevailing%Western%concept%of%historic%preservation,%in%
which%the%burden%of%significance%is%more%evenly%distributed%between%the%
site%and%the%original%structure
○
First,%Nanchizi's%siheyuan were%typically%overcrowded,%making%it%
impossible%to%rehouse%all%residents%on%the%same%site%without%dramatically%
increasing%the%height%of%the%buildings
○
Nanchizi%as%the%last%straw%in%a%decade%of%wreckage%and%renewal%in%the%
capital
○
Housing%Developments•
A%Chinese%Character%meaning%to%tear%down,%demolish,%or%tear%apart
○
Title&I&was&originally&intended&to&upgrade&and&replace&substandard&
residential&housing&in&decaying¢er-city&districts,&a&purpose¬&unlike&
that&of&Beijing's&Old&and&Dilapidated&Housing&Renewal&Program.&But&the&
provisions&were&vague&enough&to&sustain&a&variety&of&interpretations,&
some&of&which&excluded&affordable&housing&altogether&(163)
○
The%real% hope%underlying%urban%renewal%was%to%make%cities%appealing%
again%to%affluent%white%who%followed%the%suburban%dream%out%of%town%in%
the%1950's%and%1960's
○
Chai•
There%are%clear%and%obvious%parallels,%in%the%1950%and%1960's,%vast%tracts%
of%downtown%urban%land%in%American%cities%were%cleared%to%make%way%for%
new%development,%a%movement%driven%by%a%coalition%of%local%government%
and%private-sector%interests%whose%chief%aim%was%real%estate%development%
(163)
○
In%the%end,%urban%renewal%failed%in%almost%all%its%objectives.%The%historic%
cores%of%many%American%cities% were%left%gutted%and%empty,%tends%of%
thousands%of%families%were%displaced,%and%few%suburbanites%returned%to%
the%city%anyway
○
Parallels%to%the%US•
In&China,&the&drivers&of&urban&renewal&could¬&be&more&different.&Cities&
in&China&are&in&no&danger&of&economic&irrelevance&or&oblivion;&instead,&
they&have&been&the&engines&of&China's&explosive&economic&growth&over&
the&last&two&decades&(164)
○
Equates&to&roughly&one&million&people&displaced&in&the&1990's
§
This&is&human&upheaval&on&a&scale&seen&previously&only&in&time&of&
war&or&extreme&natural&catastrophe
§
Indeed,&it&may&be&that&the&real&measure&of&urban&resilience&is¬&a&
city's&capacity&to&reconstruct&bridges&and&highways,&but&how&well&
the&people&rebound&and&heal&their&communal&networks&and&social&
fabric
§
In&other&words,&in&a&mere&twelve&months&Beijing&displaced&a&number&of&
persons&equal&to&the&combined&displaced&population&of&some&of&the&
largest,&most&infamous&American&urban&renewal&projects&of&the&postwar&
era
○
"Everyday&domicide":&the%unprecedented%scale%of%upheaval%in%the%
Chinese%capital%-- and%indeed%most%major%cities% throughout%the%rapidly%
urbanizing%People's%Republic
○
China•
Other%Reading%Notes
The%performance%aspect%of%urbanisation,%however,%may%be%an%ineradicable%
component%of%urban%growth.%According%to%Tsing,%the%global%economy%of%financial%
speculation%and%investment%requires%an%“economy%of%appearances”%in%which%
profit%is%first imagined before%it%is produced.%In%order%to%attract%investment%
capital,%companies%must%“dramatise%their%dreams”%of%future%economic%success.%
Economic%desirability%depends%on%aesthetic%performance.%So%long%as%the%
conjuring%works,%the%dramatic%staging%is%hardly%perceptible.%When%economic%
success%does%not%materialise,%however,%the%aesthetic%devices%of%its%production%
are%laid%bare.
•
Political%success%is%dramatised%through%the%expansion%of%urban%space%as%a%
conduit%to%modernity,%which%promises%economic%abundance.%The%phantom%
urbanisation%process%is%precariously%held%together%by%the%assumption%that%the%
construction%of%urban%landscapes%will%eventually%result%in%urbanisation%by%
attracting%financial%investment%and%residents.%Ghost%cities%are%the%material%
artifacts%of%an%unsuccessful%conjuring%trick.
•
c•
Sorace
Campanella(Reading
Wednesday,% October%25,%2017 1:09%PM
Document Summary
Extensive demolition of china"s vernacular urban residential fabric has been a hallmark of the post-mao era. Few cities have been spared, especially those in the booming coastal provinces (145) In nanjing, only a handful of the city"s once numerous ming, qing, or. Republican-era neighborhoods have survived the redevelopment onslaught (146) A teeming urban neighborhood the year before, it was soon reduced to rubble, picked over for recyclables by migrant workers. In its place now stands a towering luxury condominium (146) Nanjing"s losses pale in comparison to shanghai or beijing. Between 1988-1998 more than 30 million square feet of old housing stock in shanghai was demolished. The next four years saw an additional 162 million square feet of old neighborhoods cleared to make way for new development -- 20 percent of the city"s total residential area. The human impact of such extensive redevelopment is equally staggering: in just two years, from 1992 to 1994, some 200,000 families (approx.
