Path to Urban Landscape—Communicating with Mayors

Author: Yu Kongjian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: This book is divided into three parts. The Urban section is the main part of the book, featuring 11 articles that reveal and critique various missteps in urban construction in China over the past two decades. It particularly targets the absurd "urban beautification" movement prevalent in major cities across the country, the extravagant and wasteful large-scale public buildings lacking humanistic and environmental awareness, and the urban planning and river management projects driven by singular goals, devoid of land ethics and systematic scientific theory. The Rural section focuses on the rural landscape of China. These articles warn that after destroying one unique old rural town after another, we will soon destroy even more distinctive rural areas rich in ecological and humanistic value. Rural landscapes, though ordinary and authentic, are considered lower culture and have not been protected or cherished by national or local governments. Yet, they have thrived for thousands of years, serving as "the art of survival" and the foundation of grassroots beliefs, as well as the cornerstone of a harmonious society. The Heritage section, under the new ethics and aesthetics of "cultural heritage beneath our feet" and the beauty of wild grasses, evaluates our heritage, aiming to move beyond traditional notions of cultural relics and aristocratic values to recognize the common, grassroots culture. This book emphasizes that urban landscape design and construction should never be mere superficial beautification but rather the coordination of human-nature and human-human relationships, creating aesthetically pleasing yet realistic living spaces, safe and healthy ecosystems, and meaningful physical and spiritual spaces—human settlements that harmonize heaven, earth, humans, and deities.
The book is divided into three parts: Upper, Middle, and Lower. The first two parts, within the context of social development history and international perspectives, draw lessons from the urban beautification movement in the United States a century ago, directly pointing out that the current urban beautification movement across China is a misstep in urban landscape construction, repeating the mistakes of Western urban development and reflecting a combination of feudal monarchist consciousness, nouveau riche mentality, and petty farmer mentality. It calls for the attention of society as a whole, particularly urban planning decision-makers. Without breaking, there can be no making; breaking is necessary for building. The lower part advocates for urban landscape construction that respects nature, people, and local spirit. It first outlines a path to a brighter future for urban planning decision-makers at a strategic level—urban ecological infrastructure. Like municipal infrastructure, it is the guarantee for urban sustainable development, and to establish such an ecological infrastructure, one must adopt the mindset of "anti-planning" and possess long-term strategic vision. Faced with the lost souls of urban landscapes in the era of rapid urbanization, this book calls for their return: the return to nature, the return to humanity, and the return to local spirit.