Hao Deng

PhD Title: An Everyday Urbanism Approach to Urban Design of Cultural Quarters in China

Supervisors: Fei Chen, Francesca Piazzoni

Overview: This project explores the (re)production of urban spaces in cultural quarters through the perspective of Everyday Urbanism. The cultural quarters selected in this research are developed following a ‘Culture-led Urban Regeneration’ (CUR) approach in China. The research aims to understand the contest between planning strategies of the local authority or elites and the tactics of ordinary citizens in the urban spaces. It pays particular attention to street corners as this type of space has converging flows of people and diverse ‘everyday culture’. The research intends to make a contribution to the design and planning of cultural quarters to support people’s daily lives and place-making.

Image: A Street Corner Space in Old City-centred Neighbourhood, Guangzhou, Source: Visual China Group 2020

Khalid Bazughayfan

PhD Title: Design for environmental sustainability: comparative study of two design governance mechanisms in Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Fei Chen, David Chow

Overview: This project explores the planning systems in Saudi Arabia and the management of design issues that are related to environmental sustainability in these systems. Two design governance mechanisms can be identified in Saudi Arabia. One is the private-led Economic City Authorities which control the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), and the other is led by the crown and the government. The former is particularly effective in promoting environmental sustainability. The project aims to understand the similarities and differences between the two systems with regards to regulations, strategies and approaches of urban design and planning. Key obstacles, challenges, strengths and weaknesses of the systems will be identified. Lessons will be drawn from each system to improve them in the future. The outcome of the project will enable more effective design management for sustainability in Saudi cities and communities.  

Aufa Abd Rahman

PhD Title: Design Governance in Heritage-led Urban Regeneration : the case of George Town World Heritage Site, Malaysia

Supervisors: Fei Chen, Junjie Xi

Overview: Cities are increasingly embracing culture as a catalyst for urban development. This culminates in heritage-led urban regeneration of historic urban areas. To ensure that cities remain resilient while retaining their cultural identities, urban regeneration must be planned with a clear understanding of design issues and stakeholder relationship in the process. The case of George Town offers a unique context that represents this process of the involvement of stakeholders with varying cultural values and visions in the preparation of conservation and management plans. These local and international entities collaborate on multiple design and conservation activities within the city's informal decision-making environment and the formal planning system. The purpose of the study is to investigate how stakeholders address design challenges through various types of conservation plans and other planning instruments to facilitate George Town's urban regeneration following its 2008 inscription. This study will advance our understanding of design governance in historic cities within the Malaysian planning structure and systematically enhance design quality in order to achieve sustainable development.

Xicheng Li

PhD Title: Learning from sustainable development in different contexts: How to avoid urban planning policy conflict between urban/community/building scales (Take Melbourne and Cape Town as examples).

Supervisors: Ranald Lawrence, Yat Shun Kei

Overview: This research focuses on coastal cities in the Southern Hemisphere. The two case studies: Melbourne and Cape Town represent different socioeconomic contexts. I aims to analyse the potential conflicts and interactions between sustainable policies and urban development during the implementation process. Furthermore, the study will identify the manifestation of conflicts at different scales (City/Community/Buildings). With each scale, the challenges of carbon emission, climate change, and transportation will be considered. The cross-exanimation of the data from the two cities will enable us to in to construct a pattern of potential conflicts occurred during the process of sustainability policy implementation.

Image: A Street Corner Space in Old City-centred Neighbourhood, Guangzhou, Source: Visual China Group 2020

Li Ma

PhD Title: The Cultural Landscape of Coastal Defense Castles in China

Supervisors: Fei Chen, Kei Yat Shun 

Overview: this project explores the transformation and development of the cultural landscape of coastal defense castles in China. The coastal defense castle in this research refers to the military settlements established during the Ming dynasty (AD 1368) in coastal regions of China. The research aims to employ the concept of ‘cultural landscape’ to understand the value of the coastal defense castles for the local communities. It intends to propose strategies for further development of these castles without destroying their historical characteristics nor compromising their values. This research contributes to heritage management of coastal defense castles in practice and the theories of Military Urbanism and heritage-led urban regeneration.

Image: PengLai Coastal Defence Castle, Shandong, China. Source: Author, 2023