UC Planners Draw from Experience in China for New Book and Journal Articles

Practical lessons for working in China are offered by two University of Cincinnati planning faculty members in a number of recent and upcoming journal articles and conference presentations – as well as details on a successful plan created by UC planning faculty and students that has guided the development of a new community for 350,000 residents in Anyang, China.

The new book, “Eastern New Town Plan: City of Anyang, Republic of China,” (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing), details the sustainable plans produced by UC School of Planning faculty and students from the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning and accepted for implementation in China. The book was written by David Edelman, professor of planning, and Menelaos Triantafillou, associate professor of planning.

The plan they helped create, completed in 2008, was unusual in that it advocated for mixed-use (vs. superblock) development with housing of different types, existing villages, educational and cultural venues, entertainment, public transport and green space intermixed, something which – up to that point – was not common in China.

In addition to this book, the two UC faculty members have written a series of journal articles and conference presentations since 2008, including

• “International Participation in Planning and Urban Design in Provincial China,” American Collegiate Schools of Planning – Association of European Schools of Planning conference, July 2008.

•  “A Conceptual Plan for a Metropolitan New Town Extension in Provincial China: Opportunities for and Barriers to Sustainable Development,” Proceedings of the International Forum on Metropolitan Regions Development, September 2008.

• “Environmentally Sensitive Planning and Urban Design in Provincial China,” Proceedings of the IAP International Conference: Urbanization in Climate Change, October 2010.

•  “Foreign University Involvement in Sustainable New Town Planning in Provincial China,” Journal of Urban Management, February 2012.

•  “A Case Study of Environmentally Sensitive Planning and Urban Design in Provincial China,” Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management (journal), May 2012.

•  “Anyang: A Case Study of Foreign University Involvement in Chinese Sustainable New Town Planning,” China City Planning Review, accepted for publication and expected out in December 2012.

 According to Edelman, these journal articles plus the new book can serve as guides for architects and planners hoping to work in China.

“The process of working in China has its difficulties and challenges as well as its rewards,” he explained. “We share our experience so that others can also have the chance to accomplish good work there and gain international experience in a country with a growing population where planning and design principles can have an impact.”

He added that Chinese officials are more open to good design sensitive to the environment due to the fact that in the past, they country traditionally built very fast without always paying attention to the needs of the environment.

And, of course, there are matters of politics and payment to attend to for any planning or architectural project.

For instance, in terms of the faculty and student work in preparing plans for Anyang, the university only had to at least break even and cover studio and travel expenses. “To do that,” stated Edelman, “We negotiated 30 percent on signing, 50 percent on completion of the draft and 20 percent after final approval of the project. In this way, we safeguarded ourselves. We broke even after we completed the draft. The rest was profit. If we didn't get the final payment, they would receive no images.”

He added that China is an exciting place to work, and an international firm seeking to do business there should first go into the market realizing that the experience must be the initial driver vs. a need to add to a firm’s bottom line.

“It’s important to become known for doing good work. So, the first job is the learning experience, the product for which you will become known. If you are then recommended via the business and political networks, only then should any international firm expect to recoup expenses and see a significant profit,” he opined. "They have money to spend, but want to do so wisely and are tough negotiators. You need to be sure of yourself when working on the terms of any work."

UC’s Triantafillou added that the opportunity for planning students at the university to gain experience in the Anyang project was a rare one, not often found at universities in the United States.

The typical planning and design studio in the U.S. addresses project needs in this country. Said Triantafillou, “When it comes to redevelopment and new development projects in the U.S., it is not possible to tackle complex, large-scale interventions because they are no longer attempted.

The last time such large projects were attempted in this country was  during the urban renewal era and the development of two new towns on the East Coast when the Federal government and the development sector were engaged in planning.  Today, projects are small, difficult to approve, and with very limited funding”

In contrast, planning and development in China is a top-down effort that offers the opportunity to implement large-scale projects. For Triantafillou, the Anyang project was the first large-scale project (both in terms of consulting and teaching) in many years “where I could think big, holistically. Innovation at the city scale was possible, and we could, for example, explore the concept of the ‘green city’ area-wide and at the urban-block level.”

He added, “We need to pursue similar collaborations between the University of Cincinnati and other Chinese cities and universities, as it has strong potential for mutually beneficial results and for our students to acquire planning and design experience with the rapidly urbanizing  Chinese and southeastern Asian regions.”

• Apply to UC's undegraduate program in urban planning.
• Apply to UC's master's program in community planning.