ROOM FOR THE ESTUARY AN ALTERNATIVE REGIONAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN FOR EAST PEARL RIVER ESTUARY An attempt of system approach under Chinese context XINCHANG TONG MASTER THESIS LANDSCAPE ACHITECTURE ROOM FOR THE ESTUARY AN ALTERNATIVE REGIONAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN FOR EAST PEARL RIVER ESTUARY An attempt of system approach under Chinese context XINCHANG TONG MASTER THESIS LANDSCAPE ACHITECTURE © Wageningen University, 2019 In fulfillment of the requirements for Master of science degree in Landscape Architecture at the Wageningen University, Landscape Architecture Group Xinchang Tong Reg. No. 920128838070 E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Supervisor and examiner: Prof. Ir. Adriaan Geuze system, or transmitted, in any form or any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of either the author or Professor Landscape Architecture Wageningen University Landscape architecture chair group. This publication is written Wageningen University as a final master thesis report Landscape architecture by order of chair group of landscape architecture at Wageningen University. October 2019 _________________________________________________ Landscape Architecture group phone: +31 317 484 056 fax: +31 317 482 166 e-mail: [email protected] Postal address: Examiner: Prof. Dr. Ir. Rudi van Etteger Postbus 47 6700 AA Wageningen Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture The Netherlands Wageningen University Visiting address: Gaia, building No 101 Droevendaalsesteeg 3 _________________________________________________ 6708 PB Wageningen The Netherlands PREFACE ABSTRACT This project was inspired by my concern about the ecological environment The rapid and intensive estuarine-coastal development has caused severe of my homeland. The study at Wageningen University has facilitated in me a ecological environment problems in China. Chinese society calls for ‘holistic system view on the landscape. Landscape is a broader and deeper concept approach’ in regional planning and design for addressing this issue. However, than I learned in previous education. I believe my knowledge gained from here the current planning system is still urban-focused and economy-driven. Local the Netherlands has the potential for improving the landscape situation in my authorities make dissociated plans and compete for shared natural resources. It homeland. is an urgent issue to enhance ecological value on the upper scale level of re- gional planning for Chinese estuarine-coastal regions. My study at Wageningen University, including the process of this project, has been an exciting challenge for me. Completing the study here and growing The project takes the East Pearl River Estuary as the study case. Due to previ- such a lot would not have been possible without the support of many people ous aggressive development, the ecological landscape at the upper half of the whose name may not all be enumerated. region has lost. The most recent giant seaport project Nansha New Port is with- out any spatial environment compensation plan; and each of the other coastal Here I want to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Adriaan Geuze, for areas in the region has a plan for itself. These situations constitute the problem his pointed and wise comments, valuable guides on the project and on my that the estuary region as a whole landscape unit has been overlooked. personal skills, and encouraging me to explore independence; and to Roel Di- jksma for helping me understand the hydrology situation and Martijn de Jong in This design research tried to improve this situation. It is an attempt to make sys- Deltares for helping me understand the maritime transportation and navigation; tem regional landscape planning for the East Pearl River Estuary and to provide and to my fellow students for their support, advises and company. an alternative landscape design for the Nansha New Port related area, the Hu- Men Outlet area. It aims to reduce the environmental impact of the Nansha New At last, I want to thank Yanran Luo for her support and company since we ap- Port and make environmental compensation for it. plied for this university, Wei Dai in TU Delft for his insights and providing infor- mation and maps of the study case and company throughout the process and The project first looked into the system theory and design approach for land- my parents for their unconditional support and love. scape architecture and studied reference cases in system regional landscape planning for identifying the design method and principles. Then used the knowledge for the through-scale landscape design in the study region. The final products propose a regional ecological landscape structure and land- scape casco for different land use development areas. The designing process also provides insights for improving regional landscape planning and design under the Chinese context. Keywords: regional landscape, system approach, ecosystem-based, dynamics, through-scale, landscape casco, China C O N T E N T S Preface and Acknowledgment RESEARCH THROUGH DESIGNING Abstract 46 06 REGIONAL LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE 46 Strategies INTRODUCTION 48 Regional design 1/100000 12 01 RESEARCH CONTEXT 50 07 THROUGH-SCALE REGIONAL DESIGN 12 The Chinese estuarine-coastal land reclamation 13 A gap in Chinese regional landscape planning and design 50 Site introduction - Three linked zones 14 02 THESIS STATEMENT - Zoom-in questions 14 Study area 54 Strategy 18 Problem statement - Regional system understanding 18 Goal and objectives - Two models 18 Research design 56 Models application 19 Outline of the report - Long-Xue Island - Nan-Sha Is;land - Wei-Yuan Island RESEARCH FOR DESIGNING 70 Design overview 22 03 ‘HOLISTIC’ APPROACH - The prototypes - Open space system 22 Systems theory and systems thinking - Water-borne transportation and recreation 23 Systems approach in regional landscape planning and design 24 Conclusion EVALUATION 26 04 CONTEXT LANDSCAPE UNDERSTANDING 26 Context system understanding 86 08 EVALUATION 35 Problem understanding 86 Comparison 36 Conclusion: the interim questions 89 Reflection 90 Conclusion 38 05 REFERENCE CASES STUDY 38 Environment restoration 41 Environmental-friendly seaport 94 References 42 Conclusion: the design principles 96 List of figures 98 Attachments INTRODUCTION situation and adopting holistic approach to planning However, the actual effectiveness of the regional envi- and design is one of the most desired solutions. ronmental problem is limited. This attributes to three 0 1 R E S E A R C H C O N T E X T main reasons: first, under Chinese context of gigantic As China is undergoing the fourth stage of coastal land population, high population density and uncommon eco- reclamation, seaports development at the estuaries is logical aesthetics, mass public and even some scholars the very typical and urgent case for studying these above rather prefer artificial and traffic-based greenways (Liu et problems (Hou et al., 2016; Xu, 2016). The future sea- al., 2017); second, the planning of the greenway system port development not only needs to compensate for only considered connecting existing good condition natu- seaports, followed by urban areas, grew the most. The development of Chinese estua- their environmental impact but also should as much as ral landscape rather than restoring and protecting those possible to restore the environment damaged by the rine coast Negative environmental impact is definite, caused by damaged or under damaging; third, regional (geo-)land- previous reclamation and development activities. the coastal land reclamation, and is much severer at es- scape system and the natural process underlay did not be China has a very long history in coastal land reclamation, tuarine-coastal areas (Gao et al., 2013). As said before, included and studied in the planning and design process. which can date back to the Song Dynasty. The coastal these estuarine coastal areas are resource-rich deltas In spite of the above, China does have studies on the reclamation happens, especially along the estuarine and plains (Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Yel- A gap in Chinese regional landscape geo-landscape system and natural process but by geol- coast. Flood plain behind the estuarine coast has always low River Delta, North China Plain, Yangtze Plain and planning and design ogists, and regional ecological landscape planning and attracting people to live in as it provides fertile land and South-east coastal plains), where social and economic design practice but on much smaller scales. Under the livable environment. Coastal land reclamation has been activities tend to thrive. Urbanization in these areas have China has put great effort into urban development. Re- Chinese context, landscape researcher and designer have an efficient way to increase land supply for the increasing been significantly accelerating and reached a population gional planning (spatial) in China is called “City-town not yet played well the role of trans-disciplinary knowl- population in the region. density above 500 ppl/km2, at deltas, it is above 1000 structure planning ( 城镇体系规划)” or “City group edge coordinator nor made sufficient contribution to the ppl/km2. Land reclamation has specifically been a way planning ( 城市群规划 )”, the system has evolved several To recover and develop economy after World War II, Chi- large-scale regional landscape planning, design and man- to alleviating the contradiction between