Protecting the Visual Integrity of Historic Urban Landscapes ­ what policies and strategies are working in Tianjin, Melbourne, Shanghai and Hanoi?

Ref.: 193
Key theme: 03 Visual integrity of historic urban landscapes
Date of reception: 28/10/2008

AUTHORS (*Main author)

BALDERSTONE B., Susan * (Australia) - Deakin University Melbourne

ABSTRACT

The Asian urban landscape is envisaged as one in which low rise traditional or vernacular buildings are giving way to modern, high rise development. Narrow residential streets and lanes with their associated courtyard housing, together with the traditional gates which separated the various functions of the commercial areas, such as metal workers, stonemasons and basket makers are fast disappearing because of overcrowding and the huge need for more accommodation. The aesthetic value of the old areas was not lost on artists and writers, who led the push in the 1990s to salvage some of the urban heritage of Hanoi. Similar sentiments were apparent in Tianjin and Shanghai ­ but they were much in the minority compared with developers wanting to cash in on Asian economic growth.

The problem was and still is ­ how to keep the places communities want to keep, at the same time fitting in more and more people. In Shanghai and Tianjin the local authorities recognised the attraction of traditional gardens and shopping streets for tourists and local businesses, and over the past two decades have instigated their reclamation and reconstruction. Some appear more Disneyland than authentic, but their popularity with both locals and foreign visitors is undeniable.

In Tianjin there was early recognition by local architects and planners that the first wave of internationalisation of Asian cities had created its own heritage of colonial streetscapes. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the built environments of parts of Tianjin, Melbourne, Shanghai and Hanoi were remarkably similar. The wide streets, style of architecture, trams and street trees were defining elements. European ideas of town planning included the use of vistas, focal points such as fountains and monuments, and public transport. The European quarters were laid out outside the original walled cities in less populated areas, not from any desire to conserve the old settlements but because it was easier to introduce new infrastructure such as sewerage, water supply, electricity and tramways away from the built-up areas. They demonstrate the overall influence of the international `city beautiful' movement of 1900-1930, which focused on social concerns for better planned and healthier cities and professional concern for the general aesthetic condition of cities. The concept of the designed urban vista, deriving from eighteenth century European town planning practice, is notably portrayed by the Hanoi Opera House termination of Trang Tien Street. Such vistas have not always been recognised or protected in planning policies, to the detriment of visual integrity and the sense of place.

This paper focuses on the experience gained by the author through participation in and study of urban heritage conservation planning in Melbourne, Tianjin, Shanghai and Hanoi and discusses policies and legal frameworks for protecting the visual integrity of historic urban landscapes. The role of community groups, municipal government, and planning and heritage professionals is considered in relation to the success or otherwise of measures taken since the early 1990s.

REFERENCES

Alexander, Nathan and Gordon Rushman (ed) 1994 Tianjin Urban Conservation Strategy, Melbourne: Australian Institute of Urban Studies.

Balderstone, Susan 1994 Conservation of the Old City of Tianjin and 160 Buildings, in Nathan Alexander and Gordon Rushman (ed) Tianjin Urban Conservation Strategy, Melbourne: Australian Institute of Urban Studies, 167-182 and 35- 110.

Balderstone, Susan 1997 The Mapping of Old Hanoi, TAASA Review (The Journal of the Asian Arts Society of Australia): 6, 4, 12- 15.

Balderstone, Susan 1997 The Preservation of Historic Areas in Victoria, Australia, The Preservation of Historic Areas, Ministry of Construction, Peoples Republic of China, Urban Planning Conference, Tunxi PR China, June 1996 in Foreign Urban Planning: 3, 5-7 (Mandarin translation).

Balderstone, Susan, Qian Fengqi and Zhang Bing 2002 Shanghai Reincarnated, in William S. Logan (ed) The Disappearing Asian City, 2002, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 21-34.

Balderstone, Susan and William Logan 2003 Vietnamese Dwellings, in Ronald G. Knapp (ed) Asia's Old Dwellings: Tradition, Resilience, and Change, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 135- 157.

Freestone, Robert 2007 Designing Australia's Cities: Culture Commerce and the City Beautiful 1900-1930, Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.

Heritage Council of Victoria 2007 The Heritage Overlay: Guidelines for Assessing Planning Permit Applications, Melbourne: Government of Victoria.