“A WALKABLE CANAL CITY”
A sustainable masterplan for Pazhou Island • water management ·• environmental design,
Urban design Workshop at Guangzhou organised by SCUT-UC Berkeley
Group project collaborators: Sihan Sun, Bilin Chen, Dengyue Wang, Mingqi Xue
Supervisor: Peter Bosselmann
Keywords: Pearl River Delta, Pazhou Island, water management, adaptation of urban form
Pazhou Island is located directly to the south of Guangzhou’s central city in China’s Pearl River Delta. As reflected in historical maps, the island was formed by long-term a cretion of river sediments around two rock outcrops between the front channel of the Northern Pearl River and the Whampoa Canal. Eye-level renderings depict how one of the two rock outcrops provided foundations to the 16th century Pazhou Pagoda, which was a key landmark for ocean-going sailing ships ascending from the Humen Estuary to the natural port at Whampoa Harbor.
Whampoa village on Pazhou Island remained a sizable urban settlement on the second rock outcrop of the island With the opening of the Pearl River Delta region to foreign investments Guangzhou experienced explosive growth since the 1980s, Pazhou Island’s strategic proximity to Guangzhou’s financial district has made it a prime location for urban development, and the western portion of the island became part of media and new technology district in the second decade of the 21st century.
In light of current proposals to turn the eastern part of the island into a major commercial concentration of the new Pearl River Bay polycentric region, we contrast two development scenarios and analyzed how well each could provide for the water storage required during heavy typhoonal rains, and the protections needed against riverine flooding and tidal surges.
One team worked on the scenario that would develop all available land, while the our team worked on the scenario that would leave currently low-lying land available as wetlands that can be flooded during storm events.
We concluded with recommendations to the regional government for adaptable designs of the island perimeter for flood protection and for adaptable design of water storage in low-lying unbuilt areas, and also under parks and roads, on roof and inside buildings. We also delineate alternative future conditions for the villages on the island, including a fishing village that is openly exposed to typhoonal wind and waves along the island’s south-eastern shore.
Stormwater management: During periodic floods the island performs like a sponge. Six sizeable sloghs dissect the eastern portion of the Pazhou Island. Climate change will call for adaptability of designs to accomodate flooding conditions. These conditions, once considered extreme and rare, are now more frequently occuring. A world class design of Pazhou Island would take a long range view that prepares urban districts for catastrophic events, simply because forsight will help prevent physical and social disasters.
