Young Planning Professionals'Workshop Shenzhen,China,June2014

Since 1991 ISOCARP has organized the Young Planning Professionals’ workshops, intended to stimulate the professional interests and the development of planning skills of young planners. For this purpose ISOCARP is partnering with other institutions, including national and local professional organizations as well as consortiums developed in order to elaborate international cooperation projects.

ISOCARP and the Urban Planning Society of China （UPSC） have recently made an agreement which entails a Young Planning Professionals National Workshop, intended for Chinese and international young planners and being a part of the pre-congress activities.

THEME

URBAN REVITALIZATION: TO BUILD A CITY WITH EQUITY AND VITALITY

Just as language, city is one of human's greatest artwork. As the permanent settlement of mankind, it is a complicated dynamic system in which social relationships of different classes constantly interact with the entity space of the city. While the world?s urban population exceeded the rural population in 2007 for the first time, such worldwide population migration has caused continuous trends of urbanization, at the same time it has brought some problems like urban congestion, environmental pollution, shrinking open spaces and loss of geographical features. Fortunately, our city keeps renewing, reconstructing and even reinventing itself, so as to meet the needs of the growing population. Therefore, we would like to address the theme of the Workshop as:

Urban Revitalization: To Build a City with Equity and Vitality

This theme conveys the shared vision of “Better City, Better Life”。 Facing the increasing pressure of population growth caused by urbanization, the city must embody characteristics of equity and openness, to be inclusive for different groups of people, and to be diverse in cultures and ideas. The urban space is all-embracing; whose complexity determines the vitality and quality of a city. And a city with vitality could provide people with healthy living environment, equal opportunity for education, democratic social environment, adequate jobs and decent housing.

The rapid development of China in the past 30 years has drawn worldwide attention; however, the resource consumption based high-speed growth has led to problems of environmental pollution, resource exhaustion and social justice. Shenzhen, as the best experimental field of China's urbanization and the pioneer of the reform and opening up, has rapidly grown in the past 30 years. Urban planning has organically coordinated the natural environment, with urban construction and social economy, in order to meet the needs of the rapid population and economy growth, to properly improve the relation between the city and the region, and to maintain the sustainable development of the city, therefore creating a world miracle of rapid urbanization. Nowadays, Shenzhen is still on its way of developing, new requirements has been made to the development of the city while the increasing tensions of population and constrain of urban environment. Therefore, discussions on Shenzhen's urban development play an enlightening role in China?s future progress of urbanization.

Xiangmi Lake area, one of the earliest urban development areas in Shenzhen, its urban function has been changing with the continuing development of the city, and its current confusion on developing has been regarded as a future challenge for the city. Therefore, the studies on the Xiangmi Lake area during this Workshop would draw lessons for the urban development in China, even in the world. Xiangmi Lake Area used to be a well-known theme park in China at the fringe of the city core. With urban development, a series of exploitation and construction have been carried out in and around Xiangmi Lake, filling in the area with functions such as temporary car sales, catering and resorts services. At present, Xiangmi Lake Area is close to the Central Futian, as a valuable place for public activities the development of Xiangmi Lake area is bound to stimulate the economic, social and living environment of Shenzhen.

We initiate a city with equity and vitality, for a better life!