Abstract

Restoration and redevelopment are difficult when traces of things that require preservation have been minimized. Such operations are even more complex whenever a portion of an ancient city is involved. This essay describes the redevelopment project of the historic center of Wuhu through the different themes raised during the drafting of the project: from the cultural opportunity of a wide reconstruction work, to the definition of the main design strategies, and the question of memory and identity. The results show that the field of intervention in this project is broader than that of most restoration projects, that is, an evolving city center, which is impossible to consider with traditional restoration parameters or with pure conservation. The only possibility of intervention is on the city structure, which allows the city to develop itself continuously within a well-defined system of rules.

Abstract

Renewal of urban transport infrastructure faces many challenges such as shortage of funding and poor redevelopment decisions. The variety of stakeholders involved brings about different communication protocols as well as competing interests. This affects the understanding, agreement and collaboration on sustainable measures and deliverables. Short-term focused and reactive decision-making in professional silos is a symptom of such problems in Australia. As the source for infrastructure funding shifts from governments to end users, how to engage community groups, identify issues, harness collective input and communicate actions should be on top of the agenda. Advancement of web technologies presents the feasibility of developing a social-media compatible portal for communication and engagement of all involved stakeholders. Characteristics and key issues of urban renewal need to be explored together with decision making patterns and approaches. This will inform the industry to change old practices to innovative decision making, in order to optimise goals of sustainability, public policies, private investors’ priority and community interests. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

An entire paper could be written on the question: what do we mean by that ambiguous word planning, in any particular context? That question must be answered at the outset, because it is central to this paper: here planning will centrally mean land-use planning, that is, the codification and control of land use in new development and redevelopment according to plans that then form the basis of development control decisions; but it is impossible to confine discussion to this narrow definition, because land-use planning inevitably reflects wider urban policy concerns in the fields of economic development, social and community policy, housing policy, transportation planning, and environmental policy, to name only a few of the most important. Tracing these interrelationships will indeed prove the central theme of this discussion. Document type: Book