Search Results (6)

The surrounding area of Bubbling Well Road in early modern times, Shanghai, served as an important transportation hub connecting the western and central districts of Shanghai’s International Settlement. It also marked the beginning of a half-century trend of profit-oriented private gardens. The development process from rural outskirts to bustling commercial areas is exemplified by the area of Bubbling Well Road, making it significant for the study of urban transformation in early modern times in Shanghai. In this work, private gardens in the vicinity of Bubbling Well Road are examined as hierarchical elements of urban subdivision using the layering approach of the Historic Urban Landscape. Based on summarizing the trajectory of different types of private gardens under urbanization, typical time nodes were extracted and then horizontally correlated with the process of urbanization to elucidate the hierarchical logic underlying the symbiotic interaction between private gardens and cities. The results show that private gardens have created new hot spots and gathered a lot of popularity for the Jing’an Temple area, prompting this area to gradually evolve from a traditional town to a “backyard garden” of Concession dominated by the entertainment industry. Through the rapid development of the modern entertainment, commerce, and real estate industries, the Jing’an Temple area successfully embraced the trend of developing Concession to the West while achieving transformations in business models and urban style. Finally, with the assistance of the transitional entertainment space, such as profit-oriented gardens, the Jing’an Temple area has successfully undergone a transformation into a modern entertainment industry hub and solidified its commercial status as the “consumption circle” of Shanghai. We systematically investigated the significance of the urban subdivision layer in relation to the temporal changes in the urban environmental structure and the evolution of spatial organization patterns at the macro level; this helps deepen the historical urban landscape approach from an ideological framework level to the practical level. Full article

In the present study, we used the axis model in the spatial syntax approach to analyze the evolution of the water system in Suzhou, China, from the 13th to the 20th centuries and its relationship with the distribution of gardens in the city. The distribution of the authoritative mainstream gardens appeared to be directly affected by the water system, and the gardens located in the areas with high water integration in each period were well preserved. From the 13th to the 17th centuries, gardens in areas with high water integration were all owned by the government and the class with social authority. This was consistent with the patterns for the hierarchical distribution of traditional urban space in China. However, in the 19th century, the gardens in areas with high water integration were owned by the class with social authority and the merchant class, reflecting characteristics different from the traditional pattern. The temple gardens in commercial areas with high water system integration were well preserved. Given the disruption of the surrounding water system, their original isolation from the water system was averted, turning them into public areas for social and public activities. In the 13th and 17th centuries, gardens located in areas with high and low water system integration took advantage of the surrounding water systems for landscaping, demonstrating the gardening principle according to local conditions. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the water system decreased sharply in many areas, and gardens built in areas with high water system integration were no longer thus situated. Traditional techniques for diverting water into gardens gradually disappeared. This study revealed that the preservation of gardens in Suzhou was largely due to the pattern of their distribution in the urban structure, and the gardens preserved to date have benefited from their location relative to the urban spatial structure of the 19th century. Private gardens, which embody the elegant taste of the literati, strongly resisted the aesthetic invasion from commercialization, however, and were also developed and preserved. Their social and spatial attributes were transformed by commercialization, presenting a contradictory yet complementary relationship between traditional garden culture and commercial development in Suzhou. Full article

The Song dynasty (960–1279) was the peak of fengshui development in China. During this period, fengshui books proliferated, and geomantic techniques spread rapidly. Thus, the population was generally inclined to consider the influence of architecture on the fate of individuals or families from a fengshui perspective. In addition to writing books on fengshui, many Buddhist monks and Daoist masters also practiced the location selection and spatial planning of Buddhist and Daoist temples, houses, and tombs. This paper first collates the fengshui books written by Buddhist monks and Daoists during the Song dynasty and then analyzes their spatial planning concepts according to the geomancy theory. Secondly, taking into account specific cases of Buddhist and Daoist temples, garden buildings, and residential tombs, it elaborates on the reasons and purposes behind the Buddhist monks’ and Daoists’ use of the geomancy theory. Lastly, the changes in the function of site selection in the urban landscape reflect the interaction between Buddhism, Daoism, and fengshui during the Song dynasty. An awareness of the historical origins of religious tradition is helpful in our understanding of fengshui architectural heritage in general. Full article

At present, people’s growing need for a beautiful ecological environment needs to be met. As a high-quality ecological product, greenways help improve the living environment and promote green and coordinated development. How to scientifically and rationally plan greenway routes and expand the green ecological network has become an important issue for the sustainable development of high-density built-up areas. Therefore, this study determines the suitability evaluation system of urban greenway alignment selection based on spatial constructiveness, greenway accessibility, resource attractiveness and public demand through factor analysis. Taking Xixi Wetland to South Lake in Yuhang District as an example, combining urban multi-source data and GIS spatial analysis methods, all routes suitable for greenway construction in the study area were determined, and four excellent greenway routes were initially identified through manual correction. Subsequently, the PSO-BP neural network model was trained using 172 greenway samples to obtain a greenway alignment suitability evaluation model with an accuracy of more than 96%, which was used for subsequent greenway alignment optimization. The above four preliminary greenway routes are substituted into the PSO-BP model to obtain the optimal greenway routes in the study area. The results show that there are 17 indicators in 4 levels and 8 dimensions in the urban greenway route selection potential model, among which two indicators, public cycling and running demand, have a greater weight and should be highly considered in the route selection assessment. The optimal planned route for the greenway start from Guangfu Temple entrance of Xixi Wetland, follow the roadside green belt and Yuhangtang River greenway to South Lake. The study obtained the best planning route for the greenway from Xixi Wetland to South Lake in Yuhang District, which is a new practice of landscape garden planning and design supported by multisource data and new technologies, with a view to providing a reference for the preferential selection of urban greenway routes in similar high-density built-up areas. Full article

This study was based on the perspectives of tourists, with data obtained through a questionnaire survey of users of the Kaiyuan Temple Scenic Area in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China. Through statistical evaluation and principal component analysis, the data collected from 351 questionnaires were analyzed, and five common factors affecting tourists’ perceptions were obtained: spatial structure, functional structure, utility plants, heritage characteristics and sensory characteristics. Through data analysis and research, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) most tourists have high expectations in terms of the overall layout of the temple garden plant landscape; (2) they like eye-catching and interesting plants and comfortable spaces for recreation and leisure; (3) they pay attention to the health-giving properties of plants; (4) tourists like it when the temple garden plant landscape includes a diverse range of plant forms while maintaining distinctive regional characteristics; and (5) tourists find bright flowers and aromatic plants relaxing and mood-enhancing, functioning to promote interaction between the temple landscape and tourists. The findings of the study can therefore be used as theoretical guidance for the design of urban temple garden plant landscape construction that meets the needs of tourists. Full article

The Second Temple period is considered both a pinnacle and a low point in the history of Jerusalem. One manifestation of the sharp fluctuations in Jerusalem’s status is its flora and ecology. The current study aims to address the historical events and the Talmudic traditions concerning the flora and landscape of Jerusalem. In the city’s zenith, the Jewish sages introduced special ecological regulations pertaining to its overall urban landscape. One of them was a prohibition against growing plants within the city in order to prevent undesirable odors or litter and thus maintain the city’s respectable image. The prohibition against growing plants within the city did not apply to rose gardens, maybe because of ecological reasons, i.e., their contribution to aesthetics and to improving bad odors in a crowded city. In the city’s decline, its agricultural crops and natural vegetation were destroyed when the beleaguered inhabitants were defeated by Titus’ army. One Talmudic tradition voices hope for the rehabilitation of the flora (“shitim”) around the city of Jerusalem. Haggadic-Talmudic tradition tries to endow Jerusalem with a metaphysical uniqueness by describing fantastic plants that allegedly grew in it in the past but disappeared as a result of its destruction. Full article