Masterplanning

FOREWORD
These proceedings document the work of a wide range of researchers, academics and experts from across the world, each presenting at the Masterplanning the Future international conference held in China on October 18th and 19th 2012.
These proceedings of the conference outline a variety of intellectual explorations relating to historical and contemporary situations, discussions and case studies, in China and around the world. As a body of work, and as a contribution to open enquiry, this is less an examination of how direct "conclusions" or "lessons" can be learned from different historical periods and social circumstances, but hopefully helpfully, the exchange of ideas and experiences facilitated by the Masterplanning the Future conference may help to stimulate a better understanding of architecture, contemporary and traditional urbanism; fostering critical awareness and challenging perceptions. Within a rapidly urbanizing world, the contributors look variously at whether advocacy for, criticism of, or rejection of modern design – as well as Modernist idealism - can go some way to help us understand the global urban condition.
Let’s take the West, Africa and China as historico-cultural points on the compass. The West: In early 20th century Europe,
modernist Charles Jencks considers talk of a zeitgeist to be pernicious
the appeal of Modernism was that it caught the zeitgeist of
a social liberationist tendency. It divided opinion then, and continues to do so today. Post-
and academic Westfall suggests that the impact of Modernist historicism to be tyrannous
. But whether in agreement or otherwise, Modernism operated within an era of social
transformation: it was widely noted that it reflected an experimental age, in which
. In the course of the early years of the new century, risk-taking
avant-gardism in the West seems to have been replaced - for better or worse - by risk-aversion.
Does this current attitude reflect a maturation from the age of innocence shown by early
Modernists
contemporary
2011)
the self-assurance to try and to fail
(Westfall:
; or is it a sign of a loss of nerve in the  period.
Africa: As it usurps Asia as the most rapidly urbanising region in the world, many commentators, such as Mike Davis, use the African continent as a cypher for their disillusion with the modern world. The vision of the African city as innocent and about to be ravaged by modernity, recalls the view of Oswald Spengler who linked the decline of Western civilization with the rise of the new. In contemporary critiques, modernism in Africa reflects a cultural colonialism rather than a progressive developmental model (Avermate et al: 2010), with opponents advocating against direct planned improvements in living standards; Koolhaas, for example, celebrates his observation that
” (Koolhaas: 2002). Many in Africa are striving for a new way modernity, but is there just cause to kick against the Eurocentric model of development just because of its colonial past? (Araeen: 2003) When writers problematize "when modernism... transplanted to Africa, being not endogenous, it grafted poorly to existing life structures" (Agwuele: 2012), there is an implicit reverence for the economic and developmental gap. Modern life did not transplant into the relative poverty of Africa, they say, because Africa wasn't sufficiently developed to accept it. So how are we - or they - to square this underdevelopment circle?
China: Continuity and change have long been the hallmarks of Chinese development throughout the centuries. As such, a synergy between contemporary and traditional needs is conjured up in the abstract notion of "Modernity with Chinese characteristics" (Esherick: 2000). Conversely, the Masterplanning the Future keynote speaker, Professor Wang Yun, director of Atelier Fronti bemoans Modernism's “erasure” from China’s collective memory. Is there really a harmonious way to balance the needs and desires of the past and the future? Or does China’s current epoch exemplify the somewhat antagonistic rise of progress, sometimes codified as social modernity.
These abovementioned vignettes are simply placed here as illustrative models, however, the contributions within these proceedings are much more detailed, specific - and engaging - and are chosen as papers that will stimulate contention, discussion and argument.
(Jencks: 2002) designers had
“in Lagos there is no choice, but there are countless ways to articulate the condition of no
choice
4
We believe that these proceedings, initiated by Masterplanning the Future's "Modernism: East,
West & Across The World" conference, are an excellent opportunity to take a lead in a debate that will change the way that architecture and urbanism is understood and discussed in China... and further afield.
As the conference convenor, I, together with co-organiser, Theodoros Dounas, are delighted to have published these works which I hope will get the fullest credit and critique. As presenters and contributors to the academic conference, I believe that you have opened a window on the modern condition.
Austin Williams
XJTLU

The amount of public space per person is decreasing due to urban population growth. On the other hand, changes in lifestyle increases the demand for public spaces. In the age of economic uncertainty the existence of ample public space is imperative. The importance of locality is the basic feature in order to address successful public spaces. The paper aims to examine the availability of unused public spaces in the form of urban courtyards, and leftover open spaces that are likely to be used as pocket parks or parklets in order to propose their regeneration.

Sustainable neighbourhood standards, such as BREEAM Communities, have been examined by various researchers. There is less research that directly contrasts some of the more fundamental assumptions in such standards with core concepts applied in the field of urban design.

This paper summarises a literature review which examines narratives around sustainable development, urban design and neighbourhood masterplanning. Two areas are identified that affect the standard’s uptake and application: (i) the need for greater consistency in BREAAM Communities’ structure, including how ‘global’ sustainability issues are addressed in differing local contexts and stakeholder agendas, as well as the need for post-construction validation; (ii) how  BREAAM Communities might better reflect the wider context, where numerous factors impact construction sector application of voluntary standards, (e.g. the rate developments enter the market, private and public sector demand for ‘sustainable’ neighbourhoods, perceptions of cost, administrative burden and relevance).

It is these technical and contextual concerns that may ultimately determine how successful a standard can be in achieving its aims for sustainable urban development. Further empirical research is required to understand evaluative and decision-making practices in masterplanning and how BREEAM Communities may contribute to them.

In the last thirty years, Abuja the Federal Capital of Nigeria has experienced rapid urbanisation in a formerly agrarian community. The city has been developing prior to the emergence of the master plan, which is influenced by the rapid rate of construction. The critical need of vital infrastructure for the ever-increasing population in Nigeria's capital has led to an increase in informal settlement and demand for more housing and other associated services. The present city differs from its initial master plan so far, as there is a real spatial segregation between low and high-income groups. And it's relegates the low income earners to informal settlements which do not meet people's basic needs. This journal paper critically analyses the impact of different planning policies and the schemes under which the city has been expanding, which includes housing demolitions to maintain the master plan. This result shows a clear demonstration that the policies regarding the demolition of informal settlements are not the best solution to the Abuja master plan and it is socially/economically unsustainable but rather there are potential benefits in the adaptation of sustainability principles in the urban development of Abuja city.

The Case Study on Campus Masterplan was an analysis and perception of the project on 'Re-thinking Campus Master Planning - CUET in 2050'. The aim of this report was to achieve the basic understanding of Masterplan Designing and Example of three University Campus Masterplan of three different context. Another object of this report was to find out the future projection of any university along with the spation and functional relationship of different portions of a university. This report has been divided into three parts, National, International and Regional.
This Report was conducted in Level 4 - Term 2, Studio VIII of the B.Arch Programme in department of Architecture, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology.
The Project was instructed by Architect Kanu Kumar Das and Architect Shajib Paul, Assistant Professor, department of Architecture, CUET.

Tem-se por objetivo discutir a patrimonialização de espaços e paisagens, tomando como exemplo o Plano Diretor de Desenvolvimento Urbano Sustentável do Município do Rio de Janeiro, que determina que a paisagem é o bem mais valioso da cidade. A partir de discussão conceitual e da análise do próprio texto legal, examinamos as ambivalências, contradições e imprecisões inerentes à conjugação entre a paisagem como bem, a patrimonialização dos espaços e a produção legal que o referido plano diz pretender torna-las efetivas. Tem-se por objetivo analisar sua influência na gestão do espaço urbano e nos processos de segregação socioespacial, indicando como os padrões definidos para o uso do solo urbano podem promover o acesso geográfico desigual aos serviços urbanos, em diversos níveis.


Palavras-chave
Patrimônio, paisagem, plano diretor, Rio de Janeiro.