Water & the city
admin
2005-11-01
来源：景观中国网
The role of water, its use, its abuse and its future in urban design. Some general observations for your consideration。 Water has always been impor
The role of water, its use, its abuse and its future in urban design. Some general observations for your consideration。
Water has always been important to human habitation, in fact it is second only to air as being crucial to our very existence. Your elementary education will have informed you that the oxygen we breathe, our bodies, our food, all are intricately associated with water。
Our world cannot survive without it and yet we treat it so badly。
First we must look at water in its various forms, the great oceans of the world so salty but provide fresh water for our consumption through evaporation clouds and rain. The relation of oceans, seas, and lakes are primary determining factors in our individual climatic experiences。
Deserts, forests and fertile plains are all the product of water and its natural cycles。A short review of the development of urban communities will show that they are all reliant on the supply of a fresh water resource. It is so important that the supply of water will ultimately determine the total population of our planet。
Villages, towns, cities are almost always located close by a river, the junction of rivers or on the shores of a lake. Even a port city reliant on the commerce of the sea must be within reach of a mountain range where water can be gathered and stored。
The desert community relies on a different system. They trap underground water supplies and use wells to tap this resource。
So it is with some commitment that I come to this conference. Any forum that is discussing water and its future use is important。
Let us look at the way we use water in today's urban society.
What do we do：
We use large quantities in the very construction of the built environment。
we built accommodation that supplies appliances and services that use further continuous quantities for daily activities。
we proudly provide generous landscape areas that require seasonal watering。
we develop a thirst for the latest products that also consume large quantities in their manufacture。
we build roads, public squares, footpaths and surface car parks that require a visit from the wash down vehicle daily or weekly。
All these and other activities use water in a very poorly managed way。 The large built surface areas are not used to collect water for recycling。 The human waste water is in the main just sent to waste and thereby polluting the very resource we need。
The landscape areas we have proudly established are poor recipients of rain and do nothing to conserve and store this vital resource。
We ride roughly over the land with a hunger to consume its surface, smash down the hills, fill the hollows, destroy the natural vegetation and as we go we consume the earth's very life blood。
Just as I have witnessed in many western societies, China is now rushing headlong with a single purpose of redevelopment, removing nature from each of its developing urban areas。The idea is to create a wonderful transport network, wide straight roads, large civic squares, artificial lakes and park environments all because, this is the fashion。To have a successful city you must have all these 'wonderful' 20th century features。
I am here to tell you all! This sounds pompous and it probably is but I believe with a passion that the world cannot continue to develop in this way。We must change our philosophy completely we must influence fashion such that a new definition of 'wonderful' is adopted。
Let us go back a moment in history, say 2000 years。
Certainly there were urban societies, but they were few and far between, with people numbering in the thousands not in the millions. The hunger for energy was modest. No air-conditioners, no motorcars, and no factories. The impact on the natural environment was almost insignificant。
The natural systems controlling our planet easily handled this level of activity. So why does the care of our natural environment matter 2000 years on。
The answer is clearly a matter of quantity. The earth's climatic system adjusts to balance the variety of forces that contribute to its function。
And its function, to keep the air pure, the water clean, the cycle of night and day stable, the seasons in rotation, the vegetation health, the oceans and seas in balance. A climate in harmony. Life on earth, the wonderful, diverse thing it should be!
The earth's ecology of 2000 year ago was relatively stable. The forests were still active, the rain fell to the earth washing out minerals and nutrients needed for healthy vegetation, societies were small enough to have little overall impact on these systems。
The balance has now completely and utterly gone。
Population growth hungers for resources, burning of fossil fuel, destruction of our forests and the spread of pavement over much of the surface of the planet is having catastrophic effects. The very surface area of our planet is now so badly damaged that the natural forces of climate, the falling rain, the gentle winds, the life cycle of vegetation is now completely out of balance。The lung for our earth is being reduced daily。
We must immediately start to restore the balance. It is easy to say why must it be our small project, our urban redevelopment, why must we give up the fashion we have looked forward to。 Why must it be us, it is surely someone else's problem. To this I say the need for change is everyone's, but more than this I think an urban area that is compact, designed with nature in full view, is designed to conserve energy, has multifunctional uses and will ultimately provide a more desirable place in which to live。
So what really are we talking about? Water is in everything to do with nature。 If we consider all the factors that are influenced by the use of water we are by necessity considering a broad range of planning decision that can be in harmony with nature。
Let us list the natural design factors:
the shape and form of the terrain
the location of forests and open plains
the wetland systems and watercourses
the local climatic conditions
All these have something to do with water and as such will be central to urban design decisions。So my overall mantra has always been build, lightly on the earth, use materials and resources sparingly and work with nature。
From a practical point of view this means：
Concentrate all development on the minimum footprint that is practical in the individual circumstance
Combine individual activities of common purpose so that the built environment becomes multi-functional。
Keep transport systems simple, direct and contained to the least footprint possible
Provide landscape in a form that is of the area (indigenous) and of a design that is climatic compatible。
Plan buildings as efficiently as possible eliminating all excess space and place them on the smallest practical footprint。
Orientation of buildings should be appropriate for the local climate。South orientation is not always desirable。
Join buildings to assist in climate control and reduce travel distance。
Use the topography to assist with separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic routes。
Respect natural features such as rock outcrops, watercourses and wetlands in the design and foster the participation of these features in the urban fabric。
Lastly but certainly not the least most important, water is such a valuable resource that we must take every opportunity to collect, channel and recycle it as an integral part of our urban plan。
By way of example, I would sight a golf course environment. The very nature of a golf course is large artificially formed landscaped playgrounds, golf course designers go to a lot of trouble to create hazards, sand traps, water traps and vegetation to present a challenge to the golfer。
A golf course I know about has recently been redesigned to introduce an extensive wetland system. This has changed the appearance for the better, improving the golfers challenge and by doing so introduced a wetland system that now gathers all adjacent community stormwater runoff, polluted road pavement runoff, fertilizer and other pollutants and in its system uses the natural filters of sun, wind, vegetation and the soil itself to purify the water allowing for its reuse in golf course maintenance and absorption into the general sub-surface water reservoir。
Prior to this the polluted stormwater was being channeled directly into the ocean and the golf course was being maintained by the town water supply。
Water runoff collection and recycling will be one of the future urban technologies and designers will be required to utilize techniques of recovery and injection into the natural subsoil systems。
A further opportunity exists to utilize the bodies of water associated with cities using the geothermal mass of the water to supply the heating and cooling needs of the community。
This technology uses the relatively constant temperature of water at a depth of 2 to 3 meters to supply a renewable energy source to drive the heat exchange units。
The collection of rainwater directly from the roof areas of building has for years provided some isolated semi-desert communities with the only water supply。 Many cities are now advocating the collection of roof water for general service use in houses to supply washing, toilet and laundry need。 This water is then subsequently collected (known as grey water) and treated before being reused for the same service needs providing an almost fully sustainable cycle assuming that there is a small rainfall top up from time to time。
The way forward is not a simple one but it is an exciting one。 An urban designer will have to be able to have working overview of many developing earth and climate sciences。Know when they are relevant, how they are relevant and how best to apply them。
It all gets back to nature。However!! If you know and love nature, see how wise and relevant it is then it can be your friend and provide the tools to build better communities and perhaps some hope for the future of our planet。
Water has always been important to human habitation, in fact it is second only to air as being crucial to our very existence. Your elementary education will have informed you that the oxygen we breathe, our bodies, our food, all are intricately associated with water。
Our world cannot survive without it and yet we treat it so badly。
First we must look at water in its various forms, the great oceans of the world so salty but provide fresh water for our consumption through evaporation clouds and rain. The relation of oceans, seas, and lakes are primary determining factors in our individual climatic experiences。
Deserts, forests and fertile plains are all the product of water and its natural cycles。A short review of the development of urban communities will show that they are all reliant on the supply of a fresh water resource. It is so important that the supply of water will ultimately determine the total population of our planet。
Villages, towns, cities are almost always located close by a river, the junction of rivers or on the shores of a lake. Even a port city reliant on the commerce of the sea must be within reach of a mountain range where water can be gathered and stored。
The desert community relies on a different system. They trap underground water supplies and use wells to tap this resource。
So it is with some commitment that I come to this conference. Any forum that is discussing water and its future use is important。
Let us look at the way we use water in today's urban society.
What do we do：
We use large quantities in the very construction of the built environment。
we built accommodation that supplies appliances and services that use further continuous quantities for daily activities。
we proudly provide generous landscape areas that require seasonal watering。
we develop a thirst for the latest products that also consume large quantities in their manufacture。
we build roads, public squares, footpaths and surface car parks that require a visit from the wash down vehicle daily or weekly。
All these and other activities use water in a very poorly managed way。 The large built surface areas are not used to collect water for recycling。 The human waste water is in the main just sent to waste and thereby polluting the very resource we need。
The landscape areas we have proudly established are poor recipients of rain and do nothing to conserve and store this vital resource。
We ride roughly over the land with a hunger to consume its surface, smash down the hills, fill the hollows, destroy the natural vegetation and as we go we consume the earth's very life blood。
Just as I have witnessed in many western societies, China is now rushing headlong with a single purpose of redevelopment, removing nature from each of its developing urban areas。The idea is to create a wonderful transport network, wide straight roads, large civic squares, artificial lakes and park environments all because, this is the fashion。To have a successful city you must have all these 'wonderful' 20th century features。
I am here to tell you all! This sounds pompous and it probably is but I believe with a passion that the world cannot continue to develop in this way。We must change our philosophy completely we must influence fashion such that a new definition of 'wonderful' is adopted。
Let us go back a moment in history, say 2000 years。
Certainly there were urban societies, but they were few and far between, with people numbering in the thousands not in the millions. The hunger for energy was modest. No air-conditioners, no motorcars, and no factories. The impact on the natural environment was almost insignificant。
The natural systems controlling our planet easily handled this level of activity. So why does the care of our natural environment matter 2000 years on。
The answer is clearly a matter of quantity. The earth's climatic system adjusts to balance the variety of forces that contribute to its function。
And its function, to keep the air pure, the water clean, the cycle of night and day stable, the seasons in rotation, the vegetation health, the oceans and seas in balance. A climate in harmony. Life on earth, the wonderful, diverse thing it should be!
The earth's ecology of 2000 year ago was relatively stable. The forests were still active, the rain fell to the earth washing out minerals and nutrients needed for healthy vegetation, societies were small enough to have little overall impact on these systems。
The balance has now completely and utterly gone。
Population growth hungers for resources, burning of fossil fuel, destruction of our forests and the spread of pavement over much of the surface of the planet is having catastrophic effects. The very surface area of our planet is now so badly damaged that the natural forces of climate, the falling rain, the gentle winds, the life cycle of vegetation is now completely out of balance。The lung for our earth is being reduced daily。
We must immediately start to restore the balance. It is easy to say why must it be our small project, our urban redevelopment, why must we give up the fashion we have looked forward to。 Why must it be us, it is surely someone else's problem. To this I say the need for change is everyone's, but more than this I think an urban area that is compact, designed with nature in full view, is designed to conserve energy, has multifunctional uses and will ultimately provide a more desirable place in which to live。
So what really are we talking about? Water is in everything to do with nature。 If we consider all the factors that are influenced by the use of water we are by necessity considering a broad range of planning decision that can be in harmony with nature。
Let us list the natural design factors:
the shape and form of the terrain
the location of forests and open plains
the wetland systems and watercourses
the local climatic conditions
All these have something to do with water and as such will be central to urban design decisions。So my overall mantra has always been build, lightly on the earth, use materials and resources sparingly and work with nature。
From a practical point of view this means：
Concentrate all development on the minimum footprint that is practical in the individual circumstance
Combine individual activities of common purpose so that the built environment becomes multi-functional。
Keep transport systems simple, direct and contained to the least footprint possible
Provide landscape in a form that is of the area (indigenous) and of a design that is climatic compatible。
Plan buildings as efficiently as possible eliminating all excess space and place them on the smallest practical footprint。
Orientation of buildings should be appropriate for the local climate。South orientation is not always desirable。
Join buildings to assist in climate control and reduce travel distance。
Use the topography to assist with separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic routes。
Respect natural features such as rock outcrops, watercourses and wetlands in the design and foster the participation of these features in the urban fabric。
Lastly but certainly not the least most important, water is such a valuable resource that we must take every opportunity to collect, channel and recycle it as an integral part of our urban plan。
By way of example, I would sight a golf course environment. The very nature of a golf course is large artificially formed landscaped playgrounds, golf course designers go to a lot of trouble to create hazards, sand traps, water traps and vegetation to present a challenge to the golfer。
A golf course I know about has recently been redesigned to introduce an extensive wetland system. This has changed the appearance for the better, improving the golfers challenge and by doing so introduced a wetland system that now gathers all adjacent community stormwater runoff, polluted road pavement runoff, fertilizer and other pollutants and in its system uses the natural filters of sun, wind, vegetation and the soil itself to purify the water allowing for its reuse in golf course maintenance and absorption into the general sub-surface water reservoir。
Prior to this the polluted stormwater was being channeled directly into the ocean and the golf course was being maintained by the town water supply。
Water runoff collection and recycling will be one of the future urban technologies and designers will be required to utilize techniques of recovery and injection into the natural subsoil systems。
A further opportunity exists to utilize the bodies of water associated with cities using the geothermal mass of the water to supply the heating and cooling needs of the community。
This technology uses the relatively constant temperature of water at a depth of 2 to 3 meters to supply a renewable energy source to drive the heat exchange units。
The collection of rainwater directly from the roof areas of building has for years provided some isolated semi-desert communities with the only water supply。 Many cities are now advocating the collection of roof water for general service use in houses to supply washing, toilet and laundry need。 This water is then subsequently collected (known as grey water) and treated before being reused for the same service needs providing an almost fully sustainable cycle assuming that there is a small rainfall top up from time to time。
The way forward is not a simple one but it is an exciting one。 An urban designer will have to be able to have working overview of many developing earth and climate sciences。Know when they are relevant, how they are relevant and how best to apply them。
It all gets back to nature。However!! If you know and love nature, see how wise and relevant it is then it can be your friend and provide the tools to build better communities and perhaps some hope for the future of our planet。
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