TYPE: Group Work
COLLABORATOR: Duolin Kong, Yicheng Xu
LOCATION: Wuhan, China
DATE: Summer 2018

Wuhan is suffering from its Anti-lake Urbanism in the last century. We are proposing to revive the urban environment by bringing back the water-based community. We call it Water[Re]Urbanism.

[ANTI-LAKE URBANISM]
More than a hundred years ago, with the Yangtze River and Han River flowing, hundreds of lakes were scattered in Wuhan, weaving a huge water network. Thus, Wuhan is called the Thousands Lakes City.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong who’s the governor of Huguang, built Zhanggong Dike and then a large number of lowlands rise from wetland. In the following 100 years, the history of urban development in Wuhan has also become a "Filling Lake History." We call it "Anti-lake Urbanism".
Wuhan’s Anti-lake Urbanism can be roughly divided into three types:
The first type was industrialization beginning from the late 19th century and throughout the whole 20th century. Marked by the establishment of the Hanyang Arsenal in 1984, a large number of factories were up in Wuhan by filling a large number of lakes.
The second type was from the 1950s to the early 1980s. In order to solve food shortage, the country has set off a campaign of Agriculture Priority, and thus 60% of the lake area have been reduced and turned into farmland during that period.
The third type began in the 1980s. With the accelerated urban development, filling lakes has become the simplest and most profitable way to create urban lands. In the past 30 years, the lake area in Wuhan has been reduced by one third.
[ URBAN ISSUES ]
As the number of lakes has been reduced from 127 in the 1950s to 38, many urban problems have arisen in Wuhan.
In the rainy season over the years, Wuhan is one of cities which have the severest water logging problem in China. The loss of the lake area directly led to a drastic reduction in the capacity of these natural reservoirs, and it is difficult for remaining lakes to accommodate the same amount of rainfall as before.
At the same time, the number of polluted lakes accounts for 85.2% of the total number of lakes in the urban area. The industrial sewage disposal and shrinking of waterbody have become major causes of the soaring pollution index.
As one of the Three Stove Cities in China, Wuhan has a significant urban heat island effect every summer. The reduction in lake area has drastically exacerbated this effect.
[POST-INDUSTRIAL URBAN DECAY]
Today, a large number of factories moved out of urban areas, leaving 85 industrial heritages in Wuhan. These dilapidated factories and communities face serious urban decay, and both physical space and industrial structures need to be re-urbanized. How to redefine lifestyle and community spirit is a common challenge faced by these 85 sites.
The solution we proposed is Water[Re]Urbanism, by regarding its unique water space as an urban identity of Wuhan, making it as a community spirit and reshape the public realm to re-urbanize these post-industrial campuses. In the end, Wuhan can find a new balance between water and land to create sustainable urban habitat.
[ WATER[RE]URBANISM ]
The design site, Guishanbei is one of the 85 industrial heritage sites. More than a hundred years ago, it was a part of the Moon Lake water system, connecting lakes and Yangtze river. In the end of the 19th century, Wuhan started its industrialization. As a result, the waterfront became levees and the wetland became industrial campuses, which made Guishanbei became one of the industrial centers in Wuhan at that time. In the last three decades, Wuhan has experienced a rapid urban development. But for Guishanbei, time seems to have stopped 30 years ago, not involved in this rapid urban development. The bypassing expressways on both sides of the site blocked its connection with city while enterprises and factories in the site continued to move out. However, in the near future, the opening of two subway lines will reconnect Guishanbei and city, bringing opportunities for re-urbanism.
Our vision for the next chapter of Guishanbei is Water[Re]Urbanism. We will demolish the dam, expand the estuary of Han River and construct diversion wetlands to  alleviate the local flooding problem in rainy seasons. We will restore the lake system and reconnect lakes and rivers to solve the waterlogging problem and create recreational places for citizens. We will adjust the industrial structure to create more job opportunities by introducing creative industry, conference exhibitions and tourism in Guishanbei. To commemorate the history of the industry in the last century, we will create new urban fabric based on past industrial campuses. We will introduce post-industrial water-based communities through new interaction of water and industrial elements in different themes of public space. We will advocate a walk, bicycle, street car-oriented but anti-car neighborhood by a green loop system. In the end, through the interaction of Water, Industry, Residents and Place Memory, we can bring urban identity and community spirit back and start a new chapter of Guishanbei.
This is a revival of water and city. We call it Water[Re]Urbanism.
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