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December 15, 2015

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Ideas about future urban culture take root

By Xu Wenwen | December 15, 2015, Tuesday | Print Edition

HANGZHOU hosted a conference last week celebrating innovative thinking about how culture can affect urban development.

The International Conference on Culture for Sustainable Cities pointed to several success stories: Milan reinventing itself as a tourism mecca by hosting World Expo 2015; Johannesburg using a grocery store to create a theater for ordinary people; Nairobi opening an art center that proved so popular that a song was written about it.

A communiqué issued at the end of the Hangzhou conference recommended that cities adopt a “new urban agenda” to integrate culture and creative industries as a “pre-condition to helping build safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities.”

Du Yue, secretary-general of National Commission of China for UNESCO, said he thinks the conference will influence governments and policymakers.

“Those in major cities will play a leading role, while those of smaller cities and suburb areas will follow in their footsteps,” he said.

The role culture plays in shaping sustainable urban development comes in numerous guises and from different points of interpretation around the world.

Spanish architect Joan Busquets said many modern cities look similar, and those who manage urban areas should strive for uniqueness that mirrors local ways of transportation, economic patterns, natural resources and social justice.

He gave the example of the Dutch city of Delft, which combined its new train station with municipal offices and sits atop a new tunnel that replaced an old concrete viaduct that once divided the city in two. The station is no longer an impediment to free movement across the city. It has become a popular public place.

Juan Pablo De la Puente Brunke, vice minister of cultural heritage, industries and arts in Peru, said heritage protection projects in his country have proven very beneficial.

He gave the example of Huaca del Sol y la Luna, reclaimed from the desert two decades ago. It was turned into a cultural center and is one of Peru’s most popular tourist attractions in Trujillo, the third-largest city in the country.

It’s not only ancient culture that plays a role, the conference heard. Contemporary culture can also transform and define a city.

Milan Deputy Mayor Alessandro Balducci said his city has blossomed after World Expo 2015. It now enjoys a high profile as a tourist destination. About a third of visitors come from abroad. The site of the exhibition was turned into a new cultural center after expo ended, Balducci said.

Chinese architect and Prtizker Award winner Wang Shu said old and new cultures can be combined with great effect. In China, he said, old architecture is either entirely demolished or fully protected. “Why don’t we put new and old buildings together?” he suggested.

Wang’s studio initiated a program in Wen Village in Hangzhou to help the local government with creative land planning. Traditional houses were retained, and new houses were built in traditional Chinese architecture. Elements of farmland and a natural environment were also included in the planning.

“It takes centuries or even thousands of years to establish a culture, yet one can be demolished in only few days,” said Wang. “Once that happens, it is extremely difficult to restore what is lost.”

He said his studio intends to sponsor similar projects in other Chinese villages.

Urban development can be a driver of culture.

Sue Millar, president of the International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism, cited the example of the quintessential British fish and chips shops that almost disappeared. The culinary heritage was saved, she said, by the influx of foreign tourists who wanted to sample that famous tradition.

In Nairobi, Kenya, a warehouse was transformed into an art center that became a popular meeting place. It now hosts one of the city’s largest cultural festivals.

According to the United Nations, about 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. The global body will host a major conference on housing and sustainable urban development in Quito, Ecuador, next year.

Hangzhou, a city already renowned for its culture and beauty, intends to be a global leader in the quest for more livable cities. Two years ago, the city released a declaration entitled “Placing Culture at the Heart of Sustainable Development.”

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