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July 9, 2002
UNM PLANNING PROFESSOR AIDS CHINESE IN AREA REVITALIZATION
Ric Richardson, associate professor of Community and Regional Planning
in the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, recently
returned from Hong Kong and China where he was working on the Changdi
Urban and Environmental Design Charrette. A "charrette" is the
intensive design process over a limited period of time.
Richardson was one of more than 90 participants from China, Europe and
North America to work on the design and redevelopment of a commercial
and residential area adjacent to the old city center of Guangzhou.
"The Changdi project in Gunagzhou [old Canton] was fascinating because
it focused on a neighborhood of about 55,000 residents is a historic part
of the city. The work promises to increase community involvement and heighten
the opportunities for gradual redevelopment without relocating or displacing
the residents," says Richardson.
Preceding the charrette, Richardson moderated a symposium where they discussed
community involvement and strategies for urban revitalization. He was
also a team leader and facilitator of one of six multi-disciplinary teams
to propose strategies for revitalizing the waterfront neighborhood along
the Pearl River Delta. Richardson is presently working with colleagues
at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on the final report to the Gunagzhou
City Planning Bureau and Municipal Government.
Richardson has had a long relationship with China and Chinese University
of Hong Kong. From 1976 to 1977, with a fellowship from the Henry Luce
Foundation, he lived at the Chinese University and worked on the design
and development of Sha Tin New Town just outside Hong Kong. Together with
colleagues from MIT and Tsinghua University, in Beijing, China, he led
urban design studios in 1985, 1987 and 1989. During the spring semester
in 1995, he was a visiting professor and research scholar in the Department
of Architecture at the Chinese University under a grant from the Asian
Cultural Council.
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