Effectiveness Of Urban Design For Enhancing Public Value Of Built Environment

Since 1990, China's social economy reform and fast urbanization have impelled the rapid vicissitude of the urban space form. Under this background, with the prosperity of domestic urban design praxis in recent ten years and massive proposition opportunities arising, the operating mechanism and the feasibility of the urban design have become the mainstream of the current theory research. However, detailed research as to what effect urban design praxis would have is still outstanding. The subject of this paper is "effectiveness of urban design praxis in contemporary China".The issue of "effectiveness of urban design praxis" consists of three basic questions: the first is: "what the effectiveness of urban design praxis should be?" i.e. "how the ideal urban design praxis should go?". This is a value judgment proposition of "what to be supposed". The paper discusses the axiology of urban design as specific social praxis in the perspective of social philosophy, and the object system of urban design praxis—public value realm of the built environment, interpreting "what urban design to be supposed" as social praxis of "promoting the public value realm of built environment healthy development ". The paper further discusses the ethics dimension of urban design praxis systematically to figure out the right, benefit or the fairness of "what urban design praxis to be supposed", and also provide an ethical normative reference for practitioners in their role cognition and the behavior model. Therefore, this paper initially outlines the theoretical understanding of "what to be supposed" based on the normative research, and also presupposes a normative value criterion for the evaluating the effectiveness of urban design praxis in contemporary China. Secondly, as to "what kind of real role the urban design praxis has actually played?", this proposition needs both the factual judgment coming from the experience studies, and also requires appraisal by the normative value criterion (i.e. effectiveness appraisal). Thirdly, as to "how the actual effect of urban design praxis generates with the restriction of external social environment and influences of different social agencies?", this is the explanation as to the origination of urban design effectiveness. These two questions in fact also compromise the question on "what urban design praxis actually is ". This paper thus constitutes a theoretical framework on effectiveness analysis and explanation of urban design. Based on this framework, the paper conducts experimental research on the effectiveness of urban design by citing "the redevelopment in Taipingqiao Area of Luwan District in Shanghai " and" the development of two blocks in Shenzhen CBD" as references. Not only did we pay attention to whether the quality of public value realm of the built environment is enhanced, but especially attached importance to the role cognition and the behavior model of urban designers in the social process of urban design praxis, as well as the inner and outer original mechanism which finally produced the effectiveness, thus a basic comprehension on the urban design praxis in contemporary China (in developed cities with market economy) could be obtained.By case comparing study ,this paper preliminarily points out the real logic in which urban design praxis operates in the current social system environment. Based on this real logic, while urban design inevitably acts as the important "tool" during the shaping of built environment, the practitioners still maintain the core professional value to the best with their occupationlegitimation and their subjectivity only if the external social environment permits. The transformation of structural factors within contemporary China's social system, in particular, the political and economic institution, play a decisive role on the main target and evolution of urban design praxis;And the key actors during urban developments—local governments and economic organizations who dominant the shaping of built environment, have substantial impact on urban design praxis process and results thereof. Both factors jointly result in the disparity between "actual" urban design and the "maintenance and promotion of the public value of built environment". As to this effectiveness predicament on urban design in contemporary China, this paper undertakes a critical overall reflection from three dimensions, i.e. the "value system", the "practice environment" and the "practitioner". Basing on the reflection, the paper attempts to explore possible changes within "thoughts pattern" and "idea paradigm" in urban design praxis. For the community of practitioners this is self-awareness adjustment and social role's reconstruction, which is not only the reorientation of action, but also somehow the rational balance adopted by the practitioners between the practice environment and their survival conditions, and also provides a possible approach for alleviating the effectiveness predicament the local urban design currently encountered.