Researching The Urban Form-based Development Control In Shan-Shui City

The urban landscape comes from the traditional Chinese concept of mountain and water,where the vision of the future city emerges out of the heaven on earth philosophical outlook.However, during this phase of rapid urbanization, China is faced with the loss of naturallandscape, as development gradually creates indistinguishable, analogous cities.This thesis researches the integration of traditional Chinese landscape theory withmethods in modern urban planning. In summing up the theories and practices related tourban spatial planning both in China and abroad, and in trying to construct the ideal landscapeurban spatial plan, it is necessary to first establish the description and method of evaluation ofsuch a city. At the same time, comparing the landscape of Lingnan to that of Zhaoqing,while exploring the culture and zoning characteristics of these cities we will create a contrastbetween landscape cities both modern and traditional, which can be used as a reference for thedevelopment of similar cities.This study is divided into three parts. The first part will serve as a base theoreticalresearch as to what defines urban landscape spatial planning, and will explore methods ofcontrolling spatial planning. The second will utilize these methods to develop urbanplanning and implementation strategies on macro, meso, and micro scales. The last sectionwill take Zhaoqing as an empirical case to test the feasibility of the aforementioned urbanplanning strategies.The first part of this thesis will develop the ideal urban landscape condition and thespatial orientation methods used to create these conditions. First we will touch upon thetheory of urban landscape, and exploring its development over time. Next, looking atlandscape spatial orientation we will propose a vision of the modern urban landscape.Following will be a summary of the theory and practices of foreign urban landscape design,focusing on New Urbanism’s smart growth theory that has evolved recently in Britain andother international urban planning practices—form-based code. Finally, introducing andsummarizing Grand Urban Rules, a book on controlling urban landscape planning and development.Secondly, we present the theory of “strengthening natural landscape patterns, creating naturalspacious imagery, and respecting regional culture, as three elements in controlling landscapedesign. Using Form-based Code and Grand Urban Rules as criteria we will develop urbanlandscape design strategies on macro, meso, and micro scales.The third and final part of this thesis will examine the city of Zhaoqing’s urbanlandscape, summarizing the morphology of Zhaoqing’s urban spaces, its evolution over timeand problems faced during development. Finally, summarizing Zhaoqing’s urban landscapedesign practices we will determine the optimal implementation strategy.