古代水利基础设施比较研究对新兴城市的意义

Comparing Ancient Water Infrastructure for New Cities

在新兴城市发展水利基础设施时,对其他城市先前的水利模式和运行效果进行比较具有借鉴意义。本文由中国古代城市水利系统与南亚、北美古代水利基础设施的比较研究受到启发,每一个案例皆包含丰富的考古、历史和地理佐证;然而21世纪的新型城市化却甚少从中汲取经验以作参考。其中,正面案例包括长期强调的城市选址、流域保护、溪流恢复、漫滩管理和灾后重建等工作。失败案例则包括水源枯竭、退化、灾害和破坏性冲突等,在某些情况下,这些失败的基础设施正是导致城市被遗弃的原因之一。本文提出六项原则,依此说明对古代水城市主义的比较研究对当代城市景观设计挑战的重要意义。

When developing water infrastructure for new cities, it is useful to compare the water patterns and performance of distant cities in earlier times. This paper takes its inspiration from research on ancient urban water systems in China which it compares with ancient water infrastructure in South Asia and North America. In each case, there is a wealth of archaeological, historical, and geographical evidence, which is only occasionally drawn upon to inform new urbanization in the 21 st century. Positive examples include the enduring emphasis on urban siting, watershed protection, stream restoration, floodplain management, and post-disaster reconstruction. Infrastructure failures include water depletion, degradation, disasters, and destructive conflict that have in some cases contributed to the abandonment of cities. The paper offers six principles by which comparative study of ancient water urbanism can have relevance for contemporary urban landscape design challenges.