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Rethinking Water Values for Urban Vitality
PhD Candidate, Department of Urbanism
Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft Email: y.tai@tudelft.nl Yuting Tai
反思水在营造城市活力中的价值
纵观历史，水在三角洲城市中扮演着多重角色，比如供 水，交通，旅游和对生态系统的支持。水是三角洲城市中 主导的文化和经济元素。水可以营造有活力的城市空间， 承载多样的空间功能，组织有趣的城市肌理。然而快速城 市化给水环境中的城市带来了巨大的挑战。与水相关的城 市问题也引起了越来越广泛的关注，包括洪涝灾害，滨水 区衰退和绅士化，水环境恶化，以及水文化特性的消失。 中国的珠江三角洲是全球经济活力和人口密度最高的 城市三角洲区域之一。据 2015 年的一份世界银行报告显 示，中国的珠江三角洲已经超过了东京都市区，成为世界 上面积和人口最大的城市区域。其中心城市广州拥有超过 2200 年的悠久历史。然而在近 30 年，广州经历了迅猛的 城市化进程，面临着自然环境恶化和社会经济转型的双重 压力。城市化进程给水 - 城关系带来了积极和消极的影响。 例如在城市更新过程中，通过恢复老城区的历史河涌来复 苏水的社会文化价值；在滨水区转型过程中，发展多功能 的城市空间与保护滨水工业遗产同样重要；此外，城市扩 张背景下的滨海新区发展也面临着洪水风险和环境保护的 挑战。Throughout history water has played a multifunctional role in delta cities, providing water supply, enabling transport, encouraging tourism, and supporting ecosystems. Water is the dominant cultural and economic factor in deltas. Water brings vitality to urban space, carries a diversity of spatial functions and structures attractive urban fabric. However, rapid urbanisation in the water environment has brought enormous challenges. There is a growing concern over water related urban issues including flooding, waterfront decline and gentrification, environmental deterioration, as well as the loss of the water-oriented cultural identity.
Among the urbanised delta regions in the world, China’s Pearl River Delta (PRD) with Guangzhou as the central metropolis, is one of the most economically dynamic and densely populated. According to a World Bank report in 2015, China’s Pearl River Delta has overtaken Tokyo as world’s largest mega-region in both area and population. With a history of over 2,200 years Guangzhou has experienced extremely rapid urbanisation over the last three decades and faces great pressure in terms of threats to its vulnerable natural environment and sharp socio-economic transitions.
Figure 1. Riverfront urbanisation in Guangzhou (photo taken by the author) 图 1. 广州滨江城市化（笔者）
44 Urbanisation and increasing prosperity has brought both
advantages and disadvantages to water-city synergy. For example, ancient canals have been reopened in the historical centre so as to recall social and cultural meanings of water in the process of urban regeneration; waterfronts are undergoing major transformations where both the development of vital multifunctional urban space and the preservation of industrial heritage are both important; city expansion into new coastal towns faces increasing challenges of flood risk and the need for environmental protection.
There are two main areas of public policy that contribute to tackling and resolving the main water challenges for urbanising delta regions; urbanism (urban planning and design) and water management. They are dominated by different and often separate professional disciplines. On the one hand, urban planners and designers are responsible for shaping new urban development and the transformation of older urban areas. They make use of water to connect urban functions or improve the aesthetics. On the other hand, hydraulic engineers are responsible for water infrastructures, both the provision of capacity to provide for new urban development, and the renewing of ageing hydraulic infrastructures especially to cope with the increasing uncertainties of flood risk due to climate change. In both urban planning and water management interventions stakeholders seek to promote and realise their values and objectives in relation to water and urban development. Questions are raised about the best ways to achieve a balance among competing values so as to provide for more vitality, liveability, sustainability and resilience in delta regions. It is essential to develop adaptive strategies that can not only integrate different values of water for a robust economy, a vital society, and a liveable environment, but also can deal with the changing contexts and great uncertainties in the future.
针对三角洲区域与水相关的城市问题主要有两类公共政策：城 市规划与设计，以及水管理。它们归属于不同且分离的专业领域。 一方面，城市规划师和设计师负责新的城市开发或旧城区改造， 水往往被用来连接城市功能或美化城市形象。另一方面，水利工 程师主管水利基础设施。包括调配城市发展所需的水容量，以及 更新老化的水利基础设施，特别是需要应对气候变化带来的不确 定性。无论是城市规划还是水管理，利益相关者通常在城市发展 过程中寻求水对其利益的价值体现。因此，研究的核心问题是如 何实现相互竞争的不同价值间的平衡，以促进三角洲城市的活力， 宜居性，可持续性以及弹性。而发展适应性的策略则至关重要， 其不仅可以整合水的不同价值，以实现经济活力，社会繁荣和宜 居环境，并且可以应对未来的多变和不确定性。
Figure 2. Water and urban life in Guangzhou in the Qing Dynasty (photo taken at the East Moat Museum by the author)
Figure 3. Urban regeneration along with reopened canals (photo taken by the author)
图 2. 清代广州水与城市生活（笔者摄于东濠涌博物馆 )
