Space·System·Organization

The Industrial Revolution brought great changes to the history of human development. It was a time of dramatic social and economic changes that marked the leap from an agriculture-based society to a modern industrialized society. The rapid growth of cities was one of the major consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Hasty transformation and uncontrolled expansion brought serious harm to the cities such as poor building infrastructure, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, cultural erosion and so on and so forth.The aim of this dissertation is to address these problems through the analysis of the relevant theories of historical development as well as urban design of city centers. Since its formation, the central districts have been undergoing constant growth, through the integration of its infrastructure and transport system. This created cities pulsing with a sentient life of its own alike an organic entity.This dissertation introduces the concept of "Spatial System of a City Central District", which is a synergy of the "Systematic Theory" concept and the traditional City Design Theory. Infrastructures within a city central district and their surrounding urban space each have their own unique spatial level and structure. They interact and are mutually interdependent of each other in a complex social environmental system. With the Systematic Theory as the core concept, the spatial system of a city central district will have the basic principles of system and level organizations, but with the human attributes of spirit, liberty and purpose.Analogies between a city central district and that of an organic entity have been made, thus putting forward the view that "the spatial system of a city central district is similar to the body systems of an organic entity". The spatial system of a city central district has been compared to the structure, functions, and their integration within a living organism and also the external environment without a living organism. The spatial system of a city central district was discussed in terms of the coordination and interaction of eight major body systems, namely, "respiratory system", "circulatory system", "gastrointestinal system", "excretory system", "musculoskeletal system", "nervous system", "endocrine system" and "reproductive system".This dissertation further analyses the spatial system of a city central district in the context of the age of information. Its development can then be classified into the following three areas: systematic introduction of the third dimension, orderly building planning and personification of the human element in the system. In addition, the strategy should ensure sufficient room for continuous and sustainable development in order to meet up with new demands of the 21st century.