Research On Zhuhai Urban Design From The Perspective Of Design Governance

China's urban development is undergoing a transformation from quantity to quality.Urban design is an essential method for improving the quality of urban space as a public intervention in the process of urban shaping.In China,the government is responsible for urban design.The problems such as the difficulty of interest coordination,the lack of evaluation standard,and the uncertainty of intervention are common,which restrict the urban design level's improvement.With the transformation of national governance,stakeholders such as the market,the public,and designers participate in urban design and jointly shape a more active design decisionmaking environment.Matthew Carmona,a famous British urban design scholar,elaborated on the concept of "design governance" in 2016.He believes that design governance is a feasible way to solve the quality problems of the built environment and promote the processes and outcomes of urban design in a defined public interest.It also provides the possibility of benefiting all interest groups participating in urban shaping.This concept provides new ideas for the transformation and development of urban design in China.From the perspective of design governance,this paper combines the discussion of urban governance and the exceptional practical experience of the United States,the United Kingdom,and Singapore to establish the theoretical framework of design governance,and further analyzes the characteristics of design governance in China,and forms an international experience comparison.On this basis,this article conducts empirical research on Zhuhai.Zhuhai is one of the earliest four special zones in the country to implement external development.It has significant economic development and remarkable urban characteristics.Since its establishment,it has engaged in urban construction and planning management.In 2017,Zhuhai became the first batch of urban design pilot cities.It can reflect the urban design development of similar cities,such as Xiamen,Qingdao,Foshan,and Dongguan.This paper summarizes the development process of design governance in Zhuhai through literature research,case interpretation,field research,and interviews.After studying the practice of design governance in critical regions,this paper summarizes the evolution characteristics of design governance in Zhuhai and analyzes its development impact factors from three aspects of government,market,and society.The results of the study show that,unlike the governance of multiple entities in the United Kingdom and the United States,China has been affected by factors such as a highly centralized political system,an immature market economy system,the start of civil society,and limited technology,forming a state of design governance dominated by the government,participated in by the market,and formally participated by the public.In this context,Zhuhai's urban design has gone through the stages of respect for nature and cautious development(1979-1998),weak intervention for development(1999-2009),improve design control(2010-2015),and is moving towards a primary stage of design governance(2016 to now).Zhuhai has an excellent political and economic foundation for the development of urban design and has long adhered to the goal of ecological livability.It gradually shows the characteristics of diversified governance subjects,differentiated regional governance objects,and diversified governance tools.It has achieved specific governance efficiency,but problems such as the governance system are not mature enough,and the public interest feedback is insufficient.Under the forceful promotion of the government,Zhuhai has realized the transition from the stage of design control to the primary stage of design governance.The multi-stakeholders have already had channels for consultation and co-governance in the urban design process.The government,market,and society should further overcome their role inertial constraints,gradually carry out their self-adjustment,strengthen the platform construction of interactive influence,and jointly improve the ability of local design governance to achieve the benefit sharing and optimal results in the process of urban shaping adapted to the context of the Chinese system.