The New Urban Agenda approved at Habitat III – The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in 2016, promises to achieve the urban transition toward sustainability in response to future ...The New Urban Agenda approved at Habitat III – The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in 2016, promises to achieve the urban transition toward sustainability in response to future challenges facing cities worldwide. In the current context of new urbanization in China, urban development is experiencing a transition from incremental development to regeneration. In order to realize people-oriented objectives, planners need to gain scientific understanding of urban development and grasp the basic concepts of urban design and value orientation, so that they can shape spaces that meet diverse needs, achieve social inclusion and enhance the quality of urban life. The purpose of this paper is to reiterate the importance of studying urban development from the "society-space" perspective and the concern about its values in urban design. The paper analyzes and discusses the characteristics of urban development and changes in social needs that appear in the practice of urban design from the perspective of society-space relationship. In addition, it emphasizes the spatial-temporal characteristics and value orientation in the development of urban design theory and practice. Considering China's current urban background, the paper also argues that the current transformation of urban design practice needs to be guided by theories on human settlements and reinforce three important aspects of urban design characteristics and values: seeking truth from science, seeking kindness in humanities, and seeking beauty through art.展开更多
文摘The New Urban Agenda approved at Habitat III – The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in 2016, promises to achieve the urban transition toward sustainability in response to future challenges facing cities worldwide. In the current context of new urbanization in China, urban development is experiencing a transition from incremental development to regeneration. In order to realize people-oriented objectives, planners need to gain scientific understanding of urban development and grasp the basic concepts of urban design and value orientation, so that they can shape spaces that meet diverse needs, achieve social inclusion and enhance the quality of urban life. The purpose of this paper is to reiterate the importance of studying urban development from the "society-space" perspective and the concern about its values in urban design. The paper analyzes and discusses the characteristics of urban development and changes in social needs that appear in the practice of urban design from the perspective of society-space relationship. In addition, it emphasizes the spatial-temporal characteristics and value orientation in the development of urban design theory and practice. Considering China's current urban background, the paper also argues that the current transformation of urban design practice needs to be guided by theories on human settlements and reinforce three important aspects of urban design characteristics and values: seeking truth from science, seeking kindness in humanities, and seeking beauty through art.