UPAT Shantou: Organic Regeneration of the Historic Downtown of Shantou, 10-16 March 2013

Between 10 and 16 March, an ISOCARP Urban Planning Advisory Team (UPAT) workshop will be held in Shantou (China). For this second UPAT workshop in China, Vice President UPATs Martin Dubbeling was able to select a large team with different nationalities and expertise. Team Leader Amos Brandeis from Israel will be assisted by UPAT Rapporteur Markus Appenzeller from Germany/The Netherlands, Bijendra Jain from India, Michael West from the USA/Saudi Arabia, Guy Perry from France/Poland, Yana Golubeva from Belarus, Brechtje Spreeuwers from the Netherlands/China and Sofia Fernandes from Portugal. This team was selected out of a little less than 30 excellent applications from the ISOCARP membership.

This UPAT workshop is hosted by the Shantou Planning Bureau and the Institute of Urban Planning and Design of the Nanjing University. These institutions were awarded with the ISOCARP Award for Excellence for the integrated strategy and the focus on sustainability and organic transformation as proposed in The Shantou Strategic Development Plan. The task of the Shantou UPAT Team is to assist the Shantou Planning Bureau and the Institute of Urban Planning and Design of the Nanjing University with the organic regeneration of the historic and downtown of Shantou. The UPAT Team is invited to suggest practical visions, designs, implementing tools and steps for the built¬‐up central city, with the historic downtown area as an “anchor”. The City of Shantou has adopted a comprehensive development strategy and spatial plan and is now seeking practical concepts, designs and solutions for specific sites and projects.

The results of the UPAT workshop will be used as one of the planning products for the follow-up of the Shantou Strategic Development Plan, the Shantou Master Plan. The results of the UPAT workshop will be presented and discussed at the international seminar "New Reform, New Planning, New Urbanisation" at the Nanjing University, April 4-7. This seminar will focus on the necessary paradigm shift of planning in the Chinese new reform epoch and on the way this shift of planning should be applied in the Shantou Master Plan.