January 2010 Archives
Historic Core
Guangzhou's historic core has been continuously inhabited for 2,200 years.Typically in areas like Xiguan, in the Liwan District, the historic lineage of the city is perceptible. With todays redevelopment, the Office, retail, and residential towers that sprout up in Guangzhou's the city centre tends to use more of a plot-by-plot rather than a tabula rasa (Blank slate) demolition approach. The result, is an ongoing densification and renewal resulting in a diverse mix of buildings that will help retain the rich urban fabric.
Despite these new developments, cars account for less than 1% of trips in Xiguan. Car useage are so low because of the lack of space for driving and parking. (Estimated 274 street segments and alleys in a 0.7km2 area in Xiguan). Xiguan is than mainly made up of dense and intricate networks of pedestrian alleyways, which is rich in cultural, commercial, architectural and social features.
Socialist-Era Housing Areas
Several districts of Guangzhou are upgrading public spaces and walkways, and installing ground-level shops in previously walled-off apartments built primarily in the 1980s and 1990s. The result is a largely pedestrianised urban environment in a carfree urban oaises. The main opposition to this carfree urban revitalisation has come from city planning officials, who object to the change in use of the ground-level apartments from residential to commercial space.
Urban Villages
Guangzhou's 138 "urban villages" are overbuilt, extremely dense areas of informal housing formed when farmland surrounding an agricultural village was converted to urban use and absorbed into the expanding city. The villagers are now wealthy absentee landlords, with villages occupied by migrants from other cities. Housing conditions are crowded and often unpleasant, but the villages nevertheless have some positive characteristics. Car ownership is virtually non-existent, because cars cannot enter the narrow streets. And since a citywide ban on motorcycles came into effect in January 2007, the street-life in the labyrinthine alleyways has become even more vibrant.
Transit System
The different kinds of neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, rely almost wholly on buses for longer trips, and the city has some of the world's highest bus passenger flows. Bus speeds, however, are declining: now down to 11km/h or slower on many main roads. The new BRT (Bus rapid transit) system will remedy the problem of low bus speeds and improve conditions for bus passengers.
Guangzhou Bus Map
Guangzhou Subway Map
Parking
One of the main reasons car use is so low is the low availability and high cost of parking. The ratio of new apartments to parking spaces of around 3:1 for newer areas in the periphery often exceeds 8:1 in built-up areas, so availability of parking spaces is low. Meanwhile monthly parking charges are capped at 400 yuan (US$60), so developers prefer to sell rather than rent out the parking spaces.
New Developments
Guangzhou's newer high-rise apartment
developments contribute to a sterile streetscape, facilitate automobile
use, and penalise those on foot.
Guangzhou's urban density and limited road network, it is a recipe for gridlock.
-80 billion RMB representing double the amount spent in 2008
-The eight most important projects involving investment of over 2 billion RMB are: the Guangzhou Asian Games town; Metro Line 5; the extension of Metro Lines 2 &8; northern extension of Metro Line 3; the new Guangzhou passenger railway station &relevant projects; new water treatment plants; the renovation and upgrade of Guangzhou's power supply network; and the construction of the Guangzhou Business &Trade Gathering Area.
News
-RMB 1.9 billion to be invested to build 15,000 parking spaces along metro lines.
government way to solve problem:
"paradigm shift"
- eliminate off-street parking requirements, so that parking becomes 'unbundled' from other real estate
- price on-street parking to ensure a few vacancies and eliminate cruising for parking
- return the street-parking revenue to local benefit districts.
