Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemScalar politics and the planning of high-speed rail stations in Wuhan, China( 2020)High-speed rail (HSR) stations are nodes and places that involve multi-sector and multi-scalar decision-making in their planning and development. Nevertheless, the current literature has focused much on the inter-sector interplays but is lopsided by a lack of understanding of the multi-scalar interactions. It leaves several theoretical gaps in the study of scalar politics and empirical gaps in interrogating how scalar politics have unfolded around HSR station planning and development. A scale-sensitive analytical framework and empirical evidence are needed to develop a ‘balanced theorisation’ of the interlocking relationships between HSR station area planning, development and the scalar structure as well as the inter-scalar interactions. This research seeks to address the theoretical and empirical research gaps by exploring the multi-scalar decision-making in the planning and development of HSR stations in China, where the relationships between multilevel governments have been transformed profoundly and the HSR network has been built rapidly. The thesis uses a scale-sensitive framework to investigate inter-scalar interactions among multilevel governments and authorities, especially concerning the strategies and policies crossing the rigid and inherited territorial scale of governments. Three inter-related questions are in focus: (a) what kinds of institutional/policy settings are responsible for the complicated relationships alternating between confliction and cooperation among the various stakeholders in decision-making associated with HSR station planning and development? (b) how do stakeholders manage their resources, opportunities, and interests for cooperation with and competition against each other in the multi-scalar setting? (c) what planning outcomes are observed, and to what extent have the inter-scalar interactions impacted the existing scalar structure? The research is conducted in the context of metropolitan Wuhan, where rapid changes in the urban built-up area, metropolitan boundary, government jurisdictions and responsibilities are prominent. Three HSR stations in Wuhan are used as case studies to probe into the decision-making processes. Conceptually, the research draws on insights from the existing literature about HSR planning, multi-level governance and scalar theories in planning, including indigenous Chinese governance concepts to which many Western ideas about scale are applied. The analyses focused on both primary and secondary information, including face-to-face interview data gathered from key informants selected from multilevel governments, planning institutions, universities, and the private sector, field reconnaissance data (observation notes and field photographs), planning and policy documents, minutes of meetings, maps, published works, and press articles. The research findings reveal that the planning and development of the three case study HSR stations are products of scalar politics centred on Wuhan. The scalar structure does not only define the scalar division of resources, responsibilities and power among multi-scalar actors but also raises different expectations towards the station projects. Multi-scalar actors deploy different strategies (competition, cooperation, or inactions) to effectively manipulate the discursive and material dimensions of scale in pursuit of their place-dependent interests. The interactions and inactions between them finally lead to the planning and development outcomes (i.e., site selection, land use planning and transport connections). The fast-evolving nature of the scalar structure in the HSR planning regime results in both inter-scalar tensions and cooperation opportunities between stakeholders in the multi-scalar context. Not only the tensions but also the shared interests between them can lead to inter-scalar interactions, which shape the planning and development outcome and further trigger scalar restructuring. Unlike the intensive interplay that unfolded between multi-scalar governments in site selection where overlaps of institutional responsibilities exist, the governments chose not to engage with each other in the integrated development proposal but cooperated in intraurban transport connections. The out-of-date institutions, or the lack thereof, combined with the lack of appropriate incentives, hampered the implementation of integrated station area planning and development. Strong government hands at multiple scales have shaped HSR station area planning and development in China. In contrast, the absence of non-state sector participation, including that from the civil society, in station site selection and station area development, is remarkable. The de facto roles of government agencies played out, in reality, may not accord with the de jure roles defined by their institutional mandate. It is not only because of the outdated institutions (or the lack thereof) but also the institutional overlaps between multi-scalar actors. Within the state sector, the reshuffle of responsibilities, power and resources among institutions at different scales of government over the past couple of decades has provided opportunities for negotiated arrangements either to complement or to replace legalistic, hierarchical institutional relationships. However, the inertia of sectoral behaviour to protect their own interests undermines those integration opportunities.
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ItemPower Relations in Urban Consolidation: Case Study of three Residential Redevelopment Projects in Shenzhen, China( 2019)In 2004, the Chinese Central Government introduced the urban consolidation (Cun Liang Gui Hua) policy, aiming at a change in development approaches from urban expansion in periphery areas to intensification in built-up urban areas. The rationale behind is to address the severe problems caused by rapid urbanization, such as land use inefficiency, environment deterioration, and increasing local debts. Through the promulgation of stringent limitation on rural land acquisition in the mid-2000s, the new policy enhanced urban redevelopment, especially in mega-cities facing acute land scarcity in their established areas. The implementation of the urban consolidation policy has been accompanied by further policy additions, which are introduced to balance the power distribution among the stakeholders, and accordingly lead to changes in procedures and mechanisms. Building upon Giddens’ structuration theory, Foucault’s approach to power and Ostrom’s institutional analysis and development framework, this research develops a power arena framework to examine the power relations among the stakeholders in urban consolidation. Case studies of three dilapidated residential areas in Luohu and Futian districts, Shenzhen are selected to develop and test the framework. Data are collected from semi-structured interviews and site observations, supplemented by information gathered from newspapers and social media. The main findings show that the new policy and its associated institutional amendment empowered the individual property owners to participate in the decision making process and the mounting community power to some extent constrained the power of the local government. However, the local government is still capable of manipulating all the other stakeholders thus plays a dominant role in the various power relations. The expectations on a transformation towards collaborative institutions have not fully achieved, especially in situations where government intervention was excluded. The distribution of power among stakeholders is neither flat nor random but hierarchical in urban consolidation. The institutional arrangements place the involved actors to the various positions in the power hierarchy at the top of which the state power sits. China’s institutional reform seems not aiming at establishing a participatory governance system to pacify social resistance and smooth the way of urban redevelopment. Rather, the reform ultimately contributes to enhancing state power over urban land and development. The findings are theoretically and practically significant. They contribute to understanding the complex power relations underlying urban development and explaining urban governance influenced by changing planning policies.
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ItemThe effects of employment decentralisation on travel behaviour and welfare: a study applying the capabilities approach( 2018)This thesis examines how individuals’ travel behaviour and households’ travel welfare changed in response to the policy of government-led job decentralisation to new towns in China. These decentralisation policies are often referred to as government job relocation (GJR) programs and currently being implemented in cities across China. The GJR policy is characterised by the relocation of local government offices from the central city to new towns in the urban fringe. The GJR policy has been widely adopted as a key strategy to stimulate population and employment decentralisation to new towns in China. However, at present little is known about the transportation outcomes of the GJR policy. More specifically, at the individual level, it is unclear how workers’ commuting behaviour changed after their jobs were relocated to new towns. At the household level, it is yet to understand in which ways and to what extent the policy intervention of job resettlement affected workers’ household travel welfare. This research aims to enhance the current understanding about the effects of employment decentralisation on commuter behaviour and household welfare, by conducting a case study of the GJR policy implemented in Kunming, China. In this study, two main research questions are addressed: 1) What changes occurred in individuals’ commuting behaviour after their jobs were relocated to a peri-urban new town? and 2) How did household travel welfare shift in response to the policy intervention of job resettlement? Through integrating key concepts of the Sen-Nussbaum Capabilities Approach, this thesis develops two innovative modelling frameworks to measure the effects of Kunming’s GJR policy on workers’ commuting choice behaviour and their household travel welfare. First, the study proposes a discrete choice modelling framework that incorporates the concept of having capability to choose (having real freedom to choose) and variations in values (the importance placed on different aspects of travel activities) into the analysis of workers’ commuting mode choice behaviour after job resettlement. Second, the study proposes a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) structure that defines and evaluates travel welfare in the space of capabilities and functionings related to travel activities. Travel capabilities refer to having real opportunities or freedom to achieve valuable doings and beings in people’s travel activities. Travel functionings can be understood as the selected doings and beings that people have reason to value for their travel activities. In other words, travel functionings are the active realisation of one or more travel capabilities. Accordingly, longitudinal survey data were collected and analysed. At the individual level, this study suggests that the GJR policy results in a substantial shift to car commuting and lowered capabilities to choose sustainable transportation modes. In addition, choice modelling results indicate that there are likely two latent segments underlying employees’ mode choice behaviour after job resettlement. This suggests that individuals are likely to respond differently to the GJR policy intervention when making commuting mode choice. Moreover, estimation results show that perceived capabilities to choose different transportation modes are not only important factors to characterise the behavioural meanings of the latent classes in employees’ mode choice behaviour, but also significant predictors to explain variations in the choice behaviour across different classes. The first latent class is characterised by new town co-locators who are more inclined to move housing to the new town after job resettlement, insensitive to travel time but value their capabilities to choose car and active transport. The second class is featured by city dwellers who have greater tendency of living in the central city after job resettlement and are sensitive to travel time and car availability. At the household level, this study finds that the GJR policy has direct, negative effects on all hypothesised dimensions of household travel welfare. These include the quality of commuting experiences of each wage earner in the affected households and the quality of travel experiences on household non-work trips. In contrary to the initial hypothesis, the hypothesised indirect causal link via residential location choice (mediator) is not supported by the sample data. This indicates that the magnitude of the GJR policy on household travel welfare is unlikely to be mediated by adjusting where to live after government jobs were moved to the new town. These results are not expected by classic location choice theories. Key results from this study offer three important implications for transportation planning and research. First, this study suggests that more tailored supporting policies are needed to ensure that job decentralisation can generate the expected transportation outcomes, such as to shift car commuting towards more sustainable transportation modes, shorten travel time and reduce travel demand. Second, in relation to mode choice analysis, the significance of capabilities indicators revealed in this study sheds light on the need to place an explicit emphasis on individuals’ freedom of modal choice, rather than relying on the conventional assumption that all individuals have full access to all alternatives in the a priori choice set. Third, this study demonstrates that while the Capabilities Approach is predominantly applied to measure welfare outcomes of public policies outside the urban planning domain, it does offer important insights for transportation researchers into developing enhanced ways to measure travel welfare outcomes of urban policies. Upon discussing main limitations of the research, this study provides several recommendations for future applications of the proposed modelling frameworks.
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ItemRisk allocation in public private partnerships: a principal agent approach( 2015)This research examined risk allocation in public private partnership (PPP) projects in the China, particularly in the water sector. The primary objective of this study was to develop a framework for efficient risk allocation so that local governments implementing PPPs can make an informed decision on how the risks can be apportioned between the public and the private sector to achieve an efficient outcome for both the parties. This dissertation analysed risk and their allocation from the theoretical lens of the principal agent theory (PAT) where local governments implementing the PPP were taken to be the principals and the project companies were taken as the agents. Moreover, efficient risk allocation was defined as a situation where principal agent problems related to the lack of information for the government as well as opportunistic behaviour of both parties are minimal and consequently resulting in a win-win balance for the government and the private sector. The main research questions addressed were: (i) what are the risks in PPP water projects; (ii) how are these risks allocated and (iii) how can these risks be allocated more efficiently. To answer the research questions, 8 research objectives were formulated. Primary data for this study was collected from PPP consultants via 32 structured questionnaire surveys and 13 semi-structured interviews. In addition, 2 PPP contracts were also analysed. The data obtained from the questionnaire surveys were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics, while the data from the interviews and the PPP contracts were analysed using qualitative methods. Investigation into risks in PPP water projects revealed risks that are significant for local governments. The stages at which these risks manifest during the PPP lifecycle and the relationship between risks were also analysed. The results showed that the most significant risks comprise of both external risks and project risks during the construction and operation stages and many of these risks are interrelated. Moreover, it was also found that these risks are strongly linked to principal agent problems. Examination of risk allocation in PPP water projects disclosed the features of risk allocation mechanisms in China. The findings demonstrated that the risks are not allocated efficiently and the key reasons identified were: (i) lack of local government understanding, (ii) too much risk transfer to the private sector and (iii) lack of measures to identify and assess principal agent problems. It was further revealed that governments taking on more external as well as project risks could lead to a more efficient allocation and reduce principal agent problems. In order to determine how risk should be allocated in PPPs, two approaches were taken. The first approach established efficient risk allocation, i.e. which party should take what risk and the second demonstrates efficient risk transfer, i.e. how risks can be efficiently allocated and transferred. Key parameters were identified for both approaches by reviewing the risk management literature and the principal agent theory. The parameters identified for efficient risk allocation were (i) control; (ii) information and (iii) incentives. The association between these parameters and their association with efficient risk allocation were statistically tested using Chi square tests. The results were significant revealing strong associations between the variables which implied that these parameters are necessary in determining efficient risk allocation. To demonstrate efficient risk transfer, the parameters (i) competition; (ii) monitoring and (iii) incentives were applied in two case studies. The findings demonstrated how these parameters are employed successfully in the allocation and transfer of significant risks. The findings illustrated that competition limits the problems related to ex-ante information and determines the private sectors ability to bear risks. Monitoring was shown to reduce ex-post information asymmetry and prevent moral hazard problems. The findings also demonstrated the role of incentives to ensure that the risks are allocated to the right party and that they are efficiently managed. Finally, the parameters for efficient risk allocation and transfer were used to develop a risk allocation framework for PPP projects in China. The results of this study provided empirical evidence to support the validity of the framework.
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ItemThe provision of affordable housing in a transitional economy: evidence from Nanjing, China( 2013)China’s economic reform since 1978 has triggered profound institutional changes and organizational transformations, which has also led to a reform on the housing provision. Affordable housing reform is a key component of the Chinese housing reform, targeting the low income population. Its evolvement was shaped by actors with different goals and driven forces, rules and regulations as well as various forms of interactions and inter-relationships. This research explores the appearance, development and transformation of affordable housing provision in China. Using case study approach to Nanjing, a second-tier Chinese city, data is collected from field work and semi-structured interviews. A government-market analytical framework is developed to guide the investigation of affordable housing projects in Nanjing 2000-2010. This research consists of two core parts, which are the government sector and the market sector. Each part contains two levels of analysis, exploring the role and performance of the actor in the government and market sector. This thesis finds that both the government and developers are key players in affordable housing provision. The government, both at the central and local levels, carefully balance the socio-political goals and economic development ambitions in affordable housing provision. The delicate balance directly influences and reflects on delivery approach, policies designing, geographic distribution and physical forms of affordable housing provision in practice. The market, as an emerging institution, impacts upon affordable housing provision in terms of formation and interests of property developers. The state and market interact and have influence on each other’s performances and operations. The findings reveal contrasting interest and dynamic behaviour among participants in affordable housing projects. This research concludes that affordable housing provision in China shows unique state-market interplay. It reflects that the market is an emerging institution in affordable housing provision. However, in a transitional context, the market is still upon a strong impaction from the government sector, which is especially significant in affordable housing provision.
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ItemEco-services for urban sustainability in the Yangtze River Delta of China: strategies for physical form and planning( 2012)This research considers the provision of eco-services in the urban development process, demonstrating that ecological degradation in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) of China has resulted from environmentally insensitive planning and design. This research sets out to achieve three objectives – to clarify the impacts of physical form on the provision of eco-services, to propose a method of quantifying eco-services, and to explain the institutional and procedural arrangements of Chinese planning, with respect to the delivery of eco-services. The research investigates the case of Lingang New City, correlating planning and design processes with formal outcomes using a GIS-based Eco-service Evaluation Model to clarify the ways in which the planning system facilitates and impedes eco-services delivery. The research presents a GIS-based evaluation model, the GEEM, to measure physical form impacts on the provision of eco-services. The GEEM is built upon GIS modeling and spatial analysis within a raster-based environment. It is tested by evaluating the case of Lingang New City. It provides maps and evidence to assist decision-making. At Lingang, the design traditions of indigenous urban and landscape forms, the desire for modernity, and approaches based upon modern engineering impeded contributions to eco-services. The lack of conservation processes, including the identification of ecological resources, was a major weakness in planning that prevented the provision of eco-services. Guidelines for planning and design that support effective eco-services are proposed for the YRD as a result of this analysis. In terms of strategies to planning for the delivery of eco-services, this research suggests that three issues merit more attention. The first concerns the relations between levels of government and, in particular, the position of the Central Government of China and the increasing importance of regional planning. The second issue is concerned with determining the best allocation of decisive powers, versus wider inclusion in decision-making processes, arguing for the particular importance of ecological and environmental expertise in ‘Chancellor’s Will’ forms of decision-making. The final issue concerns the values that direct the operations of the planning system, arguing for increased best practice guidelines and professional ideals for ecological innovation.
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ItemLocalization patterns amongst foreign enterprises active in the Chinese construction industry( 2012)The successful globalization of enterprises is predicated on them finding the right balance between retaining the core competitive advantages of home-grown strengths while integrating the best of locally found resources and competitive circumstances to leverage those core competencies to maximum effect. Despite the great academic interest that exists in this research area, no comprehensive investigation has been yet attempted to profile the localization practices of enterprises in a foreign context. In this study this deficit is addressed with an investigation of the degree to which foreign firms active in the Chinese construction industry have adapted their business activities in response to local circumstances. Five localization parameters are considered. These are 1) Client Base, 2) Human Resources, 3) Factor Inputs, 4) Value Chain, and 5) New Capability Acquisition. Sixty foreign firms active within the Chinese construction industry were investigated. Broadly, Client Base and Human Resources prove to be highly localized, but with important exceptions, while New Capability Acquisition hardly at all. Factor Inputs localization varies by input type and industry, while Value Chain localization is polarized. Cluster analysis techniques were used to examine localization linkages and to identify generic localization patterns. Five major patterns of foreign firm localization and five minor patterns were generated. Evident within the ten localization cluster patterns are clear and strong trends suggestive of the central importance of enterprise ‘knowledge capabilities’ in determining international business strategies. Environmental factors limiting the boundaries of localization possibilities were also explored, as were the implications of the findings on shaping current understanding of the phenomenon of localization. The localization patterns uncovered offer important insights to construction industry practitioners, as well as significant data against which researchers may explore the validity of extant theories of localization.
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ItemInternational practice in landscape architecture: engaging with the characteristics of place: a study of Australian Practices in China( 2010)This thesis explores international practice in landscape architecture, focusing on the provision of services from Australia to China during China’s contemporary urbanisation and Australian landscape architects’ approaches to place. What are the characteristics of Australian landscape architectural practice internationally and specifically, in China? How do Australian landscape architects engage with the characteristics of place when they practice there? Central to this investigation is the hypothesis that landscape architects use their disciplinary-specific skills to gain local understanding and act as consensus builders across cultures and multidisciplinary teams to sustain the characteristics of place during development. This hypothesis is tested through a survey with landscape architectural businesses that were registered with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects; a review of key texts about China as a site of demand for international landscape architectural services; and a case study of the planning and design of the Li Lake area in China in which Australian landscape architects played key roles. Findings from the survey reveal that between 1995 and 2007, nearly half of the responding Australian landscape architectural firms practiced internationally, and more than three quarters of the firms practicing internationally practiced in China. Their work in China presented a trajectory from pre-design services provided principally offshore; schematic design provided progressively from offshore to onshore; and design development and construction supervision provided on-shore and locally. A principal reason for their practice in China is to engage more fully in the contemporary global environmental challenges that its urbanisation presents. Findings from the review of China as a site of international design practice reveal that in the late 1990s, landscape architecture was recognised as necessary there for urban residential development. Recently, it has been associated with the planning and design of broader urban areas. The growth of international landscape architectural practice there has paralleled both increasing demands for more environmentally and culturally sensitive urban planning and the institutionalisation of the profession of landscape architecture nationally, a process that extended from 1998 to 2006. The case study findings reveal that the main ways Australian landscape architects gain knowledge of place include, first, off-site methods (through e-communication with clients and previous experience), second, on-site methods (through intensive site investigation and engagement with key local stakeholders such as clients and experts) and, third, the study of materials provided by them. The key characteristics of the area they identify as a basis for their designs can be classified into three major categories: visually prominent local elements of the landscape; the more obvious aspects of local history; and the typical outdoor activities of the region specifically and China more generally. During their practice in China, Australian landscape architects had difficulty in gaining implicit knowledge of place because their direct interaction with the local community and practitioners was restricted by the commissioning process, especially during the planning phase. This thesis argues that international landscape architectural practice is a means of exchanging strategies for environmental challenges across cultures. In this respect, involving public participation and collaboration between landscape architects working locally and internationally and between international practitioners and local researchers could be regarded as crucial for cross-fertilisation through practice. This research deepens the understanding of the practice of landscape architecture internationally and ways to exchange knowledge across cultures through planning and design practice.