INTI’s exhibition “Checklist or Reality Check? Research by design in Guangming New Town” will open on December 23 at the seventh Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture (UABB) in China, which is themed “Cities Grow in Difference”. Curated by Linda Vlassenrood (INTI) in collaboration with Markus Appenzeller (MLA+), it will present the results of four urban planning workshops between 2015-2017 as part of our advisory role for the urban planning department of Guangming New Town.
Chinese urban planning is still a top-down process
The dense informal urbanism of Shenzhen’s urban villages testifies to the urgency of introducing an alternative planning approach. Taking up 5% of the city’s area, these peripheral villages house 50% of the city’s population, housing those who moved to the city but cannot afford to live in its centre. As in other Chinese cities, urban development is still a top-down process with little communication between various departments and design experts, and with limited participation from local stakeholders such as inhabitants or companies.
A more inclusive planning approach
In 2015, Guangming New Town – one of the four New Towns in the area outside Shenzhen – asked INTI to act as advisors for the city’s urban planning department. Our consultant team introduced a multidisciplinary design approach, developing strategic frameworks for large-scale urban projects and strengthening the municipality’s capacity by giving guidelines for directing, monitoring and testing projects, and implementing development processes with the involvement of many different stakeholders.
– More about the Biennale
– More about INTI’s work in Shenzhen
