This master plan was developed by a household name in the Hong Kong development sector, in close coordination with the project-affected community and the Government of Hong Kong. It illustrates private development sector capacity in meeting housing needs and choice and at the same time accommodating the aspirations of a traditional village.

Park Island, which is now complete accommodates a variety mid-range high rise housing in a sustainable road traffic free environment, together with an upgraded village environment, which includes new areas for the re-location of previously inadequate and poorly located village housing. The island also accommodates a bonus in the form of new recreation development available to the general public.

Land in China is generally categorised in rural and in urban land. Whereas rural land is collectively owned by rural communities, urban land is owned by the government and generally leased to companies and/or individuals for 70 years. In the current urbanisation process, rural farmland is often converted to urban land and re-sold to development companies at a higher price, whereas the financial compensation for rural housing (village) land is often too high for conversion into urban land. As a result, so-called “urban villages” can be found on the urban fringes of almost all Chinese cities.

The implications of this phenomenon and the functions of urban villages in the wider urban economy have been researched by Urbanlogic, and the results were presented i.a. at the 2012 Shanghai Archi-Fair Eco Cities Forum.

Pi County is situated to the north-west of Chengdu. The master plan for this 16km2 new town is to accommodate the rapidly rising need for housing and services, due to the new arrival of electronics manufacturer Foxconn.

The site, “Deyuan New Town”, lies south of the old Pi city and the Qingshui River and west of the Foxconn factories. A mixed use district with a small concert hall and a big public plaza is the new center of the Deyuan New Town.

The culture axis connects the New Town to the Wangcong Cultural Park at the old city centre of Pixian. The five surrounding residential districts each have their sub-center for all functions of everyday life.

The main idea is to connect all these districts with a sustainable green, open space, public, pedestrian and cyclist and social network. We named it the `Leisure Network´. The public plaza, the landscape axis, sub center green corridors, the river front sides and bi-cycle ways defines the Leisure Network and connect sports activities and recreational elements.

The main public transport is organized on a ring boulevard connecting the district centers with all sub-centers and the entrances of the Foxconn site.

Upon invitation by the German Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, Urbanlogic researched the implications of interpreting smart grids as a common-pool resource good, expanding the current technology-centred discourse on smart grids by socio-economic considerations for implementation. The results were presented at the URBANTEC conference in Beijing in May 2013.

Preparation of Technical Assistance in the Dhaka and Khulna regions, which has two key components: (i) Conceptual Planning Framework for long-term development and investment in sustainable infrastructure and institutions supporting increased economic activity and sustainability; and (ii) identifying priority components and assessing feasibility for inclusion in an ADB funded Loan Project.

The feasibility study intended set new initiatives for pedestrian planning policy in Hong Kong. The study provides a revised policy and practice framework for use in the public realm.

The Study realised the social, economic and land management implications/opportunities of a comprehensive approach to pedestrian planning and in particular the need to place high proportions of the urban population with walking distance of frequent and comfortable forms of public transport. This can be largely achieved in the Hong Kong environment, where high levels of the population are within 400 metres of mass transit rail stations. To this extent the study explored safe and attractive pedestrian connectors between transport hubs, retail and employment centres and major population areas, through design options, including pedestrian and pedestrian priority streets/spaces and through shared surface concepts.

The revised policy context is tested through several case studies, featuring comprehensive master and landscape plans and urban design guidelines for pedestrian spaces and streets. Some the recommendations contained in the Study, including the case studies are now implemented.

City Waterside’s objective is to reinvigorate the housing market in Stoke-on-Trent, an area of low demand.

To achieve this aspiration the Lichfield site has to build on its two key assets: Its proximity to the city centre and its romantic setting on the canal.

We propose to connect these two “points of desire” with a new public space- a pedestrian route parallel to Lichfield Street. The route is conceived as a grand staircase that celebrates the approach to the water- the “cascade”. Terraces create a series of squares that open up vistas onto the canal and into the landscape. The two existing squares- to the north of the canal and beside the school- will thus be given new meanings and linked to the new quarter. Two further smaller “neighbourhood “ squares will offer high-quality outdoor spaces to their immediate surrounding. Balancing ponds and swales collect and drain surface water on the squares and, like beads on a string, further underline the theme of the cascade.

The hard-landscaped public spine is accompanied by a series of semi-private “communal” gardens. We envisage them as orchards- with cherry, apple and pear trees on a central lawn. Permeable paving on the perimeter provides pedestrian access to the houses.

The Central Asian Trading Zone is situated on the shore of the Bahe River. [Read more…]

This multi-sector feasibility study was built around a master plan for the regeneration and environmental upgrading of the Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal, a heavily polluted waterway flowing through highly urbanised parts of Ho Chi Minh City.

The master plan set an urban planning and regeneration context for revitalisation of the canal and its environs, including the upgrading of the residential canal-side environment, better flood control and drainage infrastructure and better wastewater treatment. The project included the preparation of an urban design and landscape framework for the canal bank environment and innovative new low-cost designs for local resettlement housing.

The project was closely aligned with the World Bank’s program of in-situ urban upgrading of low quality housing, such that the Study prioritised and developed concept plans for canal side housing occupied by the urban poor for inclusion in the World Bank program.

As part and in continuation of his MSc thesis, Urbanlogic’s Christian Junge investigated the potential of applying the German model of building-partnership-based urban development (made famous by Freiburg-Vauban and Tuebingen-Suedstadt) in the UK and in China. Case studies were published online on the UK Commission For Architecture and the Built Environment’s “Building For Life” website, and by UK TV presenter Kevin McCloud’s “Grand Design”.