Walkable Cities in High Density China

Book excerpt: - Explores the design innovation developed to create a 'walkable' environment in high-density cities - using Shanghai and Shenzhen as examples - showing how to make cities more liveable, healthier, and friendlier, by making them walkable and overall more sustainable - The first outcome of the Joint Research Lab - an academic encounter between University IUAV of Venice and Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) Modern Chinese cities, which have been developed at a rapid speed and a massive scale for about thirty years, are confronted with many challenges to becoming more livable, healthy, and sustainable. Among a variety of design principles this book suggests that walkability is the fundamental principle to improving quality of life. A walkable city provides a convenient and comfortable walking and cycling environment for all local residents. This book attempts to explore the design innovation to create a walkable city and propose solutions within the high-density cities - Shenzhen and Shanghai. Selected cases include an urban village in Shenzhen and the CBD and a workers' community in Shanghai as different spatial samples to apply specific design strategies for a livable, healthy, and sustainable city.