F

DREAM SURVEY

606

607

A6 .indd 2-3

2007.1.22 12:24:23 AM

YOU

A6 .indd 4-5

2007.1.22 12:24:26 AM

The harmonious city must first be planned by experts who understand the science
of urbanism. They work out their plans in total freedom ... once their plans are
formulated they must be implemented without oppositions.
Le Corbusier
Perhaps the most powerful way of improving the fit of our environment, is to put
the control of it in the hands of its immediate users, who have the stake and the
knowledge to make it function well. If users are in control ... then a good match is
more likely.
Kevin Lynch

Between Le Corbusiers top-down and Lynchs bottom-up visions of

planning one would imagine all possible planning strategies are covered.
In the reality of China, however, neither the designers nor the users,
but two other parties grosso modo define the outcome of the urban
environment: the state and the market. This booklet raises questions
about the process of real-estate development in China and its effect on
the city.
In turn, we ask what you, the user, want your city to be. As consumer, as
knowledge producer, as the new intelligentsia, it is the urban individual
now taking center stage and pushing the envelope of Chinas boom
development. The time is ripe to listen to what a new generation of
citizens has to say. Enjoy a selection of anonymous dreams for the future
of the city posted on DCFs online survey.
In the third part we invite designers and urban specialists across the
globe to contribute to the imagination of the future Chinese city.

Dynamic City Foundation

A6 .indd 6-7

2007.1.22 12:24:29 AM

Democratic design 1.0 the loop model

1.0

Is the city yours, or mine, everybodys, or anybodys? If the city is more than a mere
byproduct of our urge to coalesce and to build, if we can influence its form and evolve
beyond the generic, beyond pre-existing models, someonemaybe all of usshould
consider what it could ultimately be.

Performance: It is obvious there is a price to pay for urbanization at

hyper-speed. At every level of society bulldozers and sledge hammers
are clearing the way for the modern. From CBD to suburban slum,
from factory to village we are surrounded by the ceaseless efforts of
contractors and their army1 of construction workers. They in turn are
fed libraries of drawings produced by over 100.000 designers, planners,
engineers, market consultants and architects2 who are hired by a growing
number of developers, coordinated by an array of design institutes
and kept in check by several government bodies and ministries. The
efficiency of Chinas urbanization industry is astonishing. To achieve
such efficiency the architecture itself, the buildings we live in, the new
streets and shops, have inevitably adapted. It has made the Chinese cities
under construction today and finished tomorrow into slick cities; light
in concept and material, sophisticated in their ease to be drafted and
assembled. The price we pay is performance.
Its obvious the city cant ever be solved. Slickness may be fast to
construct, but it comes with countless glitches. Its a national sport (as
in any country) to complain about the city: its too big, too polluted, too
dense, too expensive, too harsh, too congested; or its still too small, with
no work, no space, no green, no facilities, no community, no roads. What
to complain about is different for all of us. Car owners and construction
workers most likely have conflicting ideas about what the city should be
like. The list of opposing needs and interests to address is endless. So
while the city cant be solved, the question remains: can it be steered?

A6 .indd 8-9

100000
2

2007.1.22 12:24:32 AM

Choice: The absolute number of people involved in Chinas reconstruction

is staggering; the number of designers and decision makers is minimal.
So who decides whats good for you as a citizen? And do they know what
you want?
No longer do we live in rows and rows of indistinguishable blocks. On
offer today are all sorts of apartment towers and villas in different sizes
and colors. The market knows what it wants to build, and it decides
based on what sells. This is trial and error; as demand levels out and
competition stabilizes, the assortment on offer should broaden and the
city will evolve. And this is happeningsustainable housing is slowly
more en vogue, and tailor-made local projects are on the rise over copypaste solutions. Still, in reality the tens of thousands of residential
projects scattered across China follow very similar design principles.
The level of luxury may differ, but the way they function, their living
environment, and particularly the urban context they produce are all but
identical. Chinese cities are all becoming the same.
Urban development has progressed and acceleratedarguably beyond
the desired speed. The majority of buildings for 2020 have today been
realized. In order to produce better performing buildings and cities that
keep pace with the blossoming urban class the development process
itself will need to become more sophisticated. This involves a more
intense dialogue between the state, developers, designers and users; a
continuous loop of information will be necessary.
Developers: In this highly aggressive market, innovation is a dangerous
luxury eighty eight of the top one hundred of Chinese real estate
companies have been taken over3 since 1994. Understandably developers
have been walking a tight-rope, careful not to stray from the success
formula of previous projects. From a commercial standpoint, the realestate industry has indeed become so refined its hard to imagine there is
room for any new paradigms. A resilient misconception that innovation

A6 .indd 10-11

2007.1.22 12:24:36 AM

in design always means added costsnot only in direct costs, but in

more complicated architecturepervades. The developer knows these
sort of considerations will be beyond the carefully calculated budget
of new inhabitants. But there is of course innovation all around us. A
Beijing company has recently produced a panel system that allows an
entire house to be built in less than five hours. This is an amazing novelty
that may further accelerate Chinas building boom. For the most part,
however, explorations on how we can live, and what the user might need
tomorrow, remain scarce.

Developers in China, with an unusually strong input from market

consultants, try to map what people want and can afford. Unfortunately
simply listening to home-owners with surveys is not a profound basis
for innovation. And the improvements are restricted to the level of the
building or the (gated) community; the city as a whole, as a product of
thousands of connected real-estate projects, is not addressed.
Designer: If we believe Le Corbusier the harmonious city is just around
the corner, if only the visionary architect could have his way. Ironically
China has by and large been constructing a Le Corbusian landscape,
complete with repeating apartment towers, flyovers and mega-projects,
but without involving many architects.
At this moment, at this speed in Chinas history the role of the designer
is still dismal. Based on output Harvard researchers have argued the
efficiency of the Chinese architect is 500 times that of his American
counterpart4 ; though on the rise, his role in the design and decision
making process should be reduced by a similar amount. The tug of war
over a proposal between architects and developers is a crucial game at
the heart of the development process that should crystallize the outcome
of any design. Both parties should meet as equals to interpret the needs
of the user, and struggling to explore the limits. In China however, the
designer as an interpreter of user needs simply does not yet exist.

A6 .indd 12-13

2020

199410088

2007.1.22 12:24:40 AM

Government: The city is a mediated space. Its density, the proximity of its
citizens to each other, the ease to interact, is the key to its success. This
proximity should be voluntary and produce equal opportunity for all
citizens to explore their lives. This proximity however is also undesired;
more space is more comfortable. To optimize the city as a mediated
space the input of the state is needed. Chinas anticipated urban mix cant
grow freely. Planning policies cant be both flexible and restrictive enough
to let the city grow without spatial planning or design. The state should
balance the demands of individuals and companies against the common
good and envisage some form of coherency that captures the common
good. In this centrally planned economy an overarching vision should, at
least on paper, be able to be implemented more effectively than anywhere
else. Long-term regional planning should have an actual spatial impact,
beyond assigning economic and development zonesnotably on land
use efficiency. The large, generally successful state-owned developing
companies are a unique means to supplement an architectural landscape
solely produced by the marketnotably the introduction of small scale
projects. State-run projects are realized with higher quality and faster
than any other; they can and should push the entire industry towards
more strategic proposals and accepting slower or longer-term revenues.

User: That leaves you and me. As users of space, we really dont know
what we want. We simply choose from whats on offer; the house we can
afford, the neighborhood with a decent school, the city with a friendly
face. But you, the individual will have to start to participate if you want
anything more than whats on offer.
In China individuality is a young concept, but nothing less than an urban
renaissance has been sparked by you the individual and by the millions of
new citizens and first generation metropolitans. You are moving to the
cities and you are rebuilding your villages. You are driving the economy; you
are buying the cars, building the apartment towers, operating the conveyer
belts and buying the villas. That makes you the new leaders of China.

A6 .indd 14-15

500

2007.1.22 12:24:43 AM

Dynamic city: So what do you want? Slow cities, such as the capitals of
Scandinavia rank high on the world list of favorite cities to live in.
Evolving block by block, year by year they have been able to mediate the
different desires of their citizens over time. These cities resemble the
environments described in our survey, but they hardly present a feasible
option for Chinas burgeoning new centers, and copying the style of
their facades wont help much either. Another approach is hands-on user
participation of the kind we have tried in Europe in the early seventies.
This was truly democratic design, but it proved horrendously slow and
subsequently failed.
Construction in China will not slow down soon. The paper-thin features
typical of the new neighborhoods and development zones will not evolve
overnight. The next phase of Chinas modernization efforts requires
the refinement of the development process itself. An open dialogue
about the future of the city is needed that involves all parties: a loop of
information between policy makers, developers designers and, new to the
equation, citizens. The theme of the 2010 Shanghai Expo is appropriately
called: Better City, Better Life! For the one billion Chinese soon living in
cities the correlation between the quality of the urban environment and
the quality of their life will be evident.

This dialogue will undoubtedly slow things down. It will thicken the
process; give layers and layers of detail to slick cities. It will give control
to all those who partake in the city. Above all, operating as a single force
we might gain control to steer the city in a distinct direction.

This direction must be distinct, but will always be unclear. What you, the
citizens will need or might want tomorrow is uncertain. The city must be
able to respond to this uncertainty. Proposals for a context as dynamic as
China must be able to grow and evolve after completionif only so as
not to impede their own development. The city must be able to adapt by
anticipating the reality of constant change, acknowledged at every level

A6 .indd 16-17

2007.1.22 12:24:47 AM

by all parties. This is the dynamic city; the result of a dynamic process,
based on research dialogue and foresight.

2010
10

Neville Mars

_____________________

_____________________

1 .Total number of officially registered staff in construction companies in 2005 was 26.999.249 people. ~ China Statistical Yearbook (2006)
2 . In 2005 China had 30.400 officially registered architects. CSB 2006
3 . Institute of real estate studies, Tsinghua University (2006)
4 . Harvard Project on the City I, The Great Leap Forward, pp. 158-162

1.
2.
3.
4.

A6 .indd 18-19

200526,999,249~2006
200530,400~2006
2006
I, p.158,160,162

2007.1.22 12:24:50 AM

ME, WE!
Muhammad Ali, 1987

A6 .indd 20-21

, !

, 1987

2007.1.22 12:24:53 AM

Democratic Design 2.0: user-comments

In 2005 I went to a conference on the future of cities. The second
session was a kind of spot-the-difference diptych, presenting on the left
Roger Madelins development for Kings Cross, London, and on the right
Terry Farrells masterplan for Kowloon station, Hong Kong. Spotting the
difference wasnt so hard. When Farrell completed his designs in 1992
the entire site was underwater. By 1998 it was finished: 10 hectares of
landfill, a major transportation hub, several thousand new homes, and a
business district complete with fancy hotels and showcase towers. Over
a similar period of time Madelin had just been stuck in planning offices.
Hed conducted surveys, disseminated plans, met with local groups,
talked to the council, plunged through money . He estimated that
by 2010 hed be US$160 million into the project and not so much as a
brick raised on site. As I write this, hes being taken to judicial review by
a group of disaffected residents. The difference between Terry Farrells
and Roger Madelins experience is, of course, consultation.
Traditionally consultation is something developers grudgingly accept,
rather as the halter a mature democracy will oblige them to wear
around their necks. It slows things down, costs money, and can severely
impede delivery. Less consultation, therefore, facilitates quicker growth.
It can be argued that if this means the city is making more money, then
the inhabitants as a whole stand to benefit. All you sacrifice is the luxury
of giving an anti-change nosy minority the chance to whinny and stall.
In China its becoming an urban clich to have a group of agonized
foreign theorists standing on the sidelines wringing their hands (about
control, coordination, speed and harshness of change, etc.) while
undeterred and highly successful developments plough right past them.
The trouble is that within the Chinese context, the scale and pressure of
urbanization is completely mismatched to western notions of sensitive
development. In fact, the entire western rhetoric of preserving a sense

A6 .indd 22-23

2.0

2005
Roger MadelinKing Cross
Terry Farrell
1992Farrell
199810

Madelin

201016
Terry FarrellRoger
Madelin

2007.1.22 12:24:56 AM

of place, and offering well-thought out responses to the existing urban

fabric becomes nonsensical when presented with the reality of a new
city nation. I wanted somehow to take the consultation debate to another
level: not just individual proposals and local residents, but people across
China, and the concept of rapid change. It seemed that consultation
approaches all too easily became locked in arguments about the facade
of a single residential block, and missed the big questions like, What do
you think a city should be? and, How do you want to get around?

The root cause of consultation reluctance may be a dated idea of too

many cooks spoiling the broththat whenever you get large numbers
of people having their say on a project, it becomes very inefficient. But
computers have changed all that, and with the internet blowing open the
doors, its becoming apparent that the knowledge of a very large group
of peopleif effectively harnessedis actually the most powerful
resource in the world. Two brief examples. In 1998 the founders of
Google realized that if they wrote a search engine which followed the
way people used the internet, it would be much more intelligent than
any of the search algorithms they themselves could write. Then in
2001 Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) again refocused content-creation from
experts to users, and allowed the people who wanted the articles,
to build them for themselves. In the space of a few years it has become
the most up-to-date and widely reviewed knowledge base available. Far
from being a latter-stage burden, consultation becomes the fundamental
concept. So why not try to apply this to urban design? What would a
wikicity look likea city which was being continuously rethought and
refined by all the people passing through?

1998 Google

china-at-home.org is a first stage in our attempt to build a wikicity; a tool

specially aimed at the general user. Its an online survey which asks basic
data about peoples lives and dreams and the places where they live. Its a
start to look at things from the bottom up. We set up china-at-home.org
in January 2006 and its been taking entries ever since. Weve left blank

www.china-at-home.org

A6 .indd 24-25

2001
wikepedia.org

Wikpiedia

china-at-home.org

2006china-at-home.org

2007.1.22 12:25:00 AM

pages in this book because more content is yet to come. Its for you to
write. Scribble it down, waiting on the bus or stuck in traffic, or if you
have a bright idea looking over the city from your apartment; then upload
it to the survey: www.china-at-home.org

www.china-at-home.org

35

Cake-eaters delight - a first review of www.china-at-home.org

The first thing to say about the data we have
so far is that it is by no means representative
of China (nor is it about to become so with
current levels of internet accessibility). The
majority of responses are from city-dwelling
university-educated under-35 year-olds. This
was not the objective. Instead we aim to
snatch a flyby image of the future
and the new Chinesepictures of
tomorrow glimpsed by racing
through the quarters of today.

2020
:
2020

Reading through responses we are struck by the cool confidence China

has in the midst of massive change. There is a sense that China is on the
right trackthat there are problems and opportunities for improvement,
but these will be met and progress will continue. Peoples dreams of
2020 tend to express a positive outlook with strong valuesas one
dreamer puts it: good environment, good order, citizens quality of life
improving. There is a hint that by 2020 people expect to be under less
pressure; that perhaps by then China will have caught up with the west
and development need no longer be so rapid nor so fervent (I expect
fresh air with European feelings; even Beijing will become the place
where the likes of David Beckham and Britney Spears will want to be
seen). But for now the course is forward. When asked specifically if they
like the changes that are taking placechanges which are rocking minds

A6 .indd 26-27

2020
,

2007.1.22 12:25:03 AM

and economies across the worldmost people breathtakingly answer, We

like them so so.
On the other hand, questions about peoples personal
lives evoke much more passionate responses. Strong
shifts are visible in how people see their family
situation developing, with significant increases in
peoples aspirations for partners and children by 2020.
Parents fare less well: under half the people currently
living with their parents anticipate that this will still
be the case in the future, and one third go so far as to
relegate their parents to another part of China.
The personal car makes a strong appearance. Even though 66% of
people rate the current traffic situation as bad or very bad, 73% expect
to own a car in 2020. 41% of those who now travel by non-car methods
hope soon to be driving, while those presently in cars insist they will keep
on using them. And while the implications of this massive shift toward
motorization are terrifyingly apparent at the macro level, they seem not
to be felt by individuals. Stunningly over half the pro-car respondents
think roads in China should either stay the same or get smaller. This at
the same time as believing journeys to work should take less than 30
minutes, and that the future of the environment is very important.

66%
73%2020
41%

202021%

There is equally little sense of necessary payoff when it comes to space

for all these cars. It has been estimated that if current car-purchasing
trends continue through to 2020, the area required just to park them
would consume 21% of Beijing. And yet the same people who are
looking to buy cars are complaining of insufficient public and green
space in their cities.
This view of the new Chinese as people who insist they will both
have their cake and eat iti.e. reap benefits without having to suffer

A6 .indd 28-29

50

2007.1.22 12:25:07 AM

consequencescarries all the way through the survey. It expresses

perhaps the massive sense of optimism people feel about improving
their own lives, while simultaneously rejecting the idea that any of this
will impact negatively on the general situation. Why would an individual
s dream damage the environment they so want to be clean and nice? Is
there an implicit contradiction here, or will the Chinese future be able to
deliver on every front?
In the case of the built form, the answer is perhaps yes, if you look at
it in the right way. The responses seem to express no sense of conflict
between new build and oldbetween hutongs and skyscrapers, or
historical and modern feel. There is no division among respondents to
suggest a camp of traditionalists, who are pro-hutong and anti-change,
or modernists who are pro-high-rise and pro-change. Those who
would like to live in a 50+ story building tend to support the hutongs.
Not only this, but over half of them rate having an old feel to their
future home as either important or very important. How can this be?
The answer is that the qualities required for an old feel can successfully
be combined with super-tall towers. The slice is taken, the cake remains !

85%

85%

90%
6%

40%
11%

Again the responses come out strongly in favor of living in a lively busy
neighborhood as well as prioritizing peace and quiet. 85% of those
who want one, want both.

And there is an almost absolute refusal to countenance any conflict

between the environment and the economy. Concern over the
environment is extremely strong, with 85% of people (the highest level
of consent for any question) deeming this issue to be very important
to the future of China. However, this does not mean that fiscal matters
may be allowed to slip. Over 90% of people who rate the environment
as important or very important say the same of the economy. Only 6%
give significant priority to one over the other.

A6 .indd 30-31

2007.1.22 12:25:10 AM

On more private matters, people are equally defiant. Asked to rate one
by one the importance of making money, of children, of their love lives,
of their friends, of having fun, and of music, art and books, 40% answer
that all are either important or very important; with 11% sticking
tenaciously to very important right the way across the board. And why
notwhy compromise?

Adrian Hornsby

But what do such high quality of life expectations mean for urban
design? Well firstly, that if the current boom in urbanization can find
no more creative expressions, future urban frustration will run riot. You
dont have to engage with the idea of city masterplanning to say that you
want to have fun, but to have fun in a city you have to be able to move
through it smoothly, find people and places you like easily, and discover
sophisticated user-orientated environments at every turn.
Increasingly it seems that if Chinese cities are to fulfill the desires of
their citizens, they will need to outperform any urban realm seen to date.
They will need to facilitate intrinsically conflicting needs. While growing
larger in terms of footprint, with more green and better services, they
must also become smaller in terms of travel-time and neighborhood
feel. They will need to refute the paradox, and serve what can only be
described as a burgeoning community of individuals.

Adrian Hornsby

A6 .indd 32-33

2007.1.22 12:25:13 AM

1 Where were you born

Village (less than 20,000 people): 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Town (less than 100,000 people): 13% - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
City (less than 1 million people): 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Big city (1 million-10 million people): 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Mega-city (more than 10 million people): 20% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

2 Where do you live now

Village (less than 20,000 people): 1% - *
Town (less than 100,000 people): 4% - - - - *
City (less than 1 million people): 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Big city (1 million-10 million people): 17%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Mega-city (more than 10 million people): 60%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

3 Do you live in the

centre: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
near the centre: 51% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
suburb: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
satellite town: 3% - - - *
countryside: 1% - *

4 Do you like your city

1 (not at all): 3% - - - *
2 (not much): 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3 (it's okay): 45% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4 (yes, it's nice): 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (yes, it's great): 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

5 Where would you like to live in 2020

Village (less than 20,000 people): 8% - - - - - - - - *
Town (less than 100,000 people): 8% - - - - - - - - *
City (less than 1 million people): 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Big city (1 million-10 million people): 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Mega-city (more than 10 million people): 43% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

6 In the
centre: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
near the centre: 36% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
suburb: 33% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
satellite town: 5% - - - - - *
countryside: 8% - - - - - - - - *

7 What kind of building did you grow up in

apartment block: 13% - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
dormitory building: 39% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
ping fang /small house: 34% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
villa:3% - - - *
other: 9% - - - - - - - - - *

8 What kind of building do you live in now

apartment block: 41% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
dormitory building: 41% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
pingfang / small house: 8% - - - - - - - - *
villa: 3% - - - *
other: 8% - - - - - - - - *

A6 .indd 34-35

9 Are you happy with your current home

1 (not happy): 5% - - - - - *
2: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 39% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 28% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (very happy):18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

10 Who lives there with you (check as many as you like)

parents: 29% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
friends: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
partner: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
children: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
just you: 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

11 How many people altogether

1-2: 66% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3-5: 33% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
more than 5: 2% - - *

12 What kind of building do you want to live in in 2020

apartment block: 36% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
dormitory building: 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
ping fang /small house: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
villa: 28% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
other: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *

13 Who will live there with you (check as many as you like)
parents: 28% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
friends: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
partner: 53% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
children: 56% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
just you: 8% - - - - - - - - *

14 How many people altogether

1-2: 31% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3-5: 62% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
more than 5: 8% - - - - - - - - *
15 In 2020 will you be living in your home city town village
yes: 32% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 68% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

16 In 2020 where will your parents live

with you: 23% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
nearby: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
in the same city: 19% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
in another part of China: 32% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

17 How do you get to school work

walk: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
bicycle: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *
bus: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
subway: 16% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
car: 13% - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
taxi: 9% - - - - - - - - - *

2007.1.22 12:25:17 AM

18 How long does it take

less than 30 mins: 59% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
1 hour: 34% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
90 mins: 5% - - - - - *
2 hours: 2% - - *

19 Do you think the transport is

1 (very bad): 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 39% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (very good): 5% - - - - - *

20 Do you think the traffic is

1 (very bad): 41% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 25%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 25%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 7%- - - - - - - *
5 (very good): 3%- - - *

21 In 2020 how will you get to school work

walk: 14%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
bicycle: 13%- - - - - - - - - - - - - *
bus: 7% - - - - - - - *
subway: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
car: 45%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
taxi: 3%- - - *

22 How long will it take

less than 30 mins: 69%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
1 hour: 28%- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
90 mins: 3% - - - *
more than 2 hours: 1% - *

23 Will you own a car in 2020

yes: 73% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

24 Do you think the roads around where you live need to

get bigger: 46% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
stay the same: 42% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
get smaller: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *

25 Do you think the city is well connected

1 (no, not at all): 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (yes, very well): 2% - - *

26 Do you like big cities

1 (not at all):5% - - - - - *
2: 16% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 23% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (lots and lots): 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

A6 .indd 36-37

27 Do you think that there is enough green space

yes: 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 60% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
not sure: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

28 Do you think that there is enough public space

yes: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 69% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
not sure: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *

29 Would you be happy living in a building with (check as many as you like)
1 storey: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 storeys: 39% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
10 storeys: 35% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
30 storeys: 23% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
50 storeys: 7% - - - - - - - *
more than 50 storeys: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

30 Do you like the way in which where you live is changing

1 (not at all): 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 36% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 16% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5 (lots and lots): 8% - - - - - - - - *

31 Where do you spend most time with your friends

at home: 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
in malls or shopping areas: 19% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
in restaurants, bars, or clubs: 34% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
in public places (parks, museums etc.): 8% - - - - - - - - *
in internet cafes: 3% - - - *
other: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home big rooms space

1: 6% - - - - - - *
2: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
3: 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 38% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home modern feel

1: 11% - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
3: 35% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home old feel history

1: 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *

2007.1.22 12:25:21 AM

32 How important in future home garden

1: 4% - - - - *
2: 5% - - - - - *
3: 20% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 32% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 38% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home close to centre

1: 8% - - - - - - - - *
2: 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 29% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 23% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home lively busy neighbourhood

1: 6% - - - - - - *
2: 5% - - - - - *
3: 20% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 31% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

32 How important in future home peace and quiet

1: 2% - - *
2: 3% - - - *
3: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 60% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China car

1: 8% - - - - - - - - *
2: 4% - - - - *
3: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 40% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China train

1: 4% - - - - *
2: 7% - - - - - - - *
3: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 32% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 33% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China hutong

1: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 33% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China skyscraper

1: 8% - - - - - - - - *
2: 17% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 29% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 20% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

A6 .indd 38-39

33 How important in China park

1: 3% - - - *
2: 4% - - - - *
3: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
4: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 60% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China mall

1: 6% - - - - - - *
2: 4% - - - - *
3: 21% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 26% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 42% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China Starbucks

1: 34% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 11% - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 31% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 13% - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China communism

1: 40% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
2: 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
3: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China the economy

1: 2% - - *
3: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 29% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 60% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China culture

1: 2% - - *
2: 1% - *
3: 7% - - - - - - - *
4: 17% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 74% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

33 How important in China the environment

1: 3% - - - *
2: 2% - - *
3: 5% - - - - - *
4: 4% - - - - *
5: 85% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

34 how important to you making money

1: 4% - - - - *
2: 4% - - - - *
3: 24% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 30% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

2007.1.22 12:25:25 AM

34 how important to you children

1: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
2: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
3: 13% - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 18% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 51% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

34 how important to you love life

1: 4% - - - - *
2: 3% - - - *
3: 11% - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 55% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

34 how important to you friends

1: 2% - - *
2: 1% - *
3: 8% - - - - - - - - *
4: 35% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 55% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

34 how important to you having fun

1: 4% - - - - *
2: 2% - - *
3: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 32% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 48% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

38 Have you been to university

yes: 92% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 8% - - - - - - - - *

39 What is your current occupation

student: 28% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
manual worker (low skill): 1% - *
manual worker (high skill): 1% - *
office worker (secretarial/administrative): 5% - - - - - *
office worker (professional): 22% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
office worker (lower management): 11% - - - - - - - - - - - *
office worker (upper management): 7% - - - - - - - *
other: 25% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

40 What do did your parents do

manual worker (low skill): 15% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
manual worker (high skill): 6% - - - - - - *
office worker (secretarial/administrative): 4% - - - - *
office worker (professional): 7% - - - - - - - *
office worker (lower management): 5% - - - - - *
office worker (upper management): 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
other: 36% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

34 how important to you music art books

1: 3% - - - *
2: 3% - - - *
3: 10% - - - - - - - - - - *
4: 27% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
5: 58% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

35 Have you travelled outside China

yes: 56% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
no: 44% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

36 Where do you most want to go

Europe: 45% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
America: 14% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Canada: 6% - - - - - - *
Australia: 4% - - - - *
India: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
travel in China: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
other: 12% - - - - - - - - - - - - *

37 What is your age

0-15: 2%-- *
15-25: 39% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
25-35: 48% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
35-50: 9% - - - - - - - - - *
50-65: 2% - - *

A6 .indd 40-41

2007.1.22 12:25:29 AM

rampant consumerism, will only plague us Chinese citizens. So all we have to dream for is a nice
place to live in. Negative yes, but honest. So sell me your development with rendered comfort,
traditional Chinese serenity, and large fence to keep the negative energy outside. Sorry Dynamic
City, I couldnt think of a dream.
works at home, no longer needs to gather in one office building. We can save both the resources
and the time, and we also can allocate our time freely to improve efficiency and relieve traffic
congestion.

......

Holding down a good job to make some money. Youre nothing in china without it. Just a vulnerable mine
worker, waiting for the next explosion. Forget the middle class and join me in my deluxe villa in the sky (or a
Western born Chinese man thinking for a future China in all too gloomy ways.)
My dream for 2020 is to have my own apartment in a tower, with western accommodations. I
would like to fit it out with all western furniture. I tend to go for decadence to state my financial
position in life. As for life in the city, it will depend more on shopping public places and how to
decorate your own apartment. Most of public city life will be replaced by the fear of provincial
unrest gone wild in our cities. And the pollution awaiting our weakened lungs outside. So the
interior of our buildings will be what remains of our city life, or how to fit out your apartment;
this will be the new shopping. Oops, thats my negativity creating a protective cocoon or just a
nightmare.
But my true dream is too idealistic and altruistic to be true, green spaces, lively public life, and
environmental standards. But lets be honest, this capitalist/communist hybrid has yet to bring
good things to the average Chinese citizen. Political unrest, an unhealthy environment, and

A6 .indd 42-43

The city maybe more modernized, but the living environment may not have changed much, my
lifestyle wont either. I hope China can develop more, more balanced, paying more attention to
ecology. I dream to have a nice family, lovely kids, a family that cares about each other, and my
own comfortable home.

travel business
I hope I can live in a beautiful village with nice surroundings, convenient transportation. I also
hope I have more free time to travel and see the undeveloped places.

2007.1.22 12:25:33 AM

also have a walk or picnic on the sand with some friend along the canal, and why not swim there
and have a shower after. There will be no advertisement, not any visual pollution on front of the
buildings; architecture alone could express herself and her beauty and colors...

I think I will try some charity work around 2020

In 2020, my life could be more or less similar, but my kids would have grown up, so I can have
more time for traveling around and contribute my service to people who need help (like non-profit
organization...). In 2020, I would like to see China have set up more charity organizations to help
people who need it, such as the disables, low income families, poor kids, for education etc...

Architect and planner

I would like to live in a city without cars and with various kinds of public transportations: bus,
subway, train... cheap, fast, comfortable and clean ones. They also have to be available at night. It
will take less than 5 minutes by foot to be connected to every station... The roads will be smaller
and designated for walking and soft, ecological transportations, like bikes and roller blades.
We could find different kind of places to relax, have a walk or do some sports without paying.
There will be no entrance, no guards to shake, and we can find people everywhere, outside,
inside buildings, on the roof of buildings to enjoy the city from the top... it will be open to
everybody. And green, green everywhere, along the streets, on the walls, and the roofs... We could

A6 .indd 44-45

Consultation work about design or research

Good urban environment, less pollution, moderate rain with adequate sunshine; open cultural
environment which will accept varies cultures; more media participants; easier face-to-face
interpersonal communication; A convenient, colorful, and rich material life with excellent traffic
conditions; better work, more leisure time; many people will be able to explore their amateur
creativity.

2007.1.22 12:25:36 AM

Company employee (professional)

I hope I can live an easy life in 2020. There would less pressure from my job so that each year I
could have two or three weeks to travel. The transportation is more convenient. The living quality
for citizens would improve a lot. We have a normal life.
I have a dream that I am healthy and in the company of a lot of friends and I dont have to worry
about earning money.

Teacher, artist
A dream is only a dream. According to the situation now, a dream would remove you only
be further away, so youd better stop dreaming.

Work which could make enough money, and offer an easy life.
Self-employed: writer, graphic designer, fashion related design. Or some other professional work.
We are more more mobile than now, using a mobile office, I only need to go to the office when
a face to face meeting is required. I hope the city could be greener than now it is. I could leave
alone or with my friends, and no longer live in big modern building, things could be offered by
high tech. but not that cold. All the surrounding things could keep the old style (maybe with new
ideas), downtown will be more and more like a functional place, not for living but only for
social things. At night, it will just turn off
More and more people will just move out to the uptown inside of downtown. Tubs will be the
major transportation in city.

self-employed
I will have an easy life, active and cozy. There would be less tall buildings, less private cars, and
convenient transportations. I hope I will be very free and sometimes working for others to earn
extra money. I will have much spare time so that I can travel around the world.

A6 .indd 46-47

2007.1.22 12:25:40 AM

similarly creative work

I wish I could still be very energetic and creative with many new and fresh ideas. I could have
a big studio space to work and live separately but very nearby. Also I could have a flat close by
for my parents. I wish I could have a garden and green where I live and work. I wish Beijing
will have a fully functioning subway system covering every corner at not-more than 10 minutes
walk-distance, so I dont need to drive around and be stuck in traffic jam. The streets can have
many neighborhoods with shops, cafes, small businesses and services for living. The city can be
enjoyed just by walking & biking. There more cinemas with good movies.

In electronics or technical work

More green in the surroundings, well-developed road network. I would buy my parents an
apartment. Work hard, live intense.

A6 .indd 48-49

High position officer

I wish China in 2020 has more cities open to the outside world. The planning of megacities should keep pace with the growth of the cities, reducing traffic jams, and increasing
green areas, and decreasing pollution. I hope I could live in a fashionably apartment, with
spacious rooms and enough sunshine and a big kitchen. Wishing the cable television could
be more internationalized, at least could receive some important programs from European or
American TV stations. The International Exhibition Center needs to be expanded, because there
should be much more exhibitions than there are now. Today some conferences are influenced by
the weather and pollution. I hope in 2020 scientific developments can control the pollution more
effectively. Of course English education should become more popular, so that China could totally
open up to the outside world. I wish the speed of importing movies could be faster and the themes
cover various aspects. And the fight against piracy is a long-term effort; so could the price of the
movie ticket decrease a little bit?

High position in the company

Have a car, a house. Various lifestyles. Enough food and clothes.

2007.1.22 12:25:43 AM

I am learning urban planning in Canada. I hope I would back to China in 2020 and become part of a newgeneration of designers.
I hope in China in 2020 everybody would have their own house to live in and there are fewer
differences between cities and villages. Government administration would be public and
transparent. The different levels for public education will be clear. It would be a city with
advanced public facilities and convenient transportation and excellent welfare system and medical
care. I also hope I can live in a tall building or villa in the village. The living model of high-level
and high-density or high-level and low-density is not suitable for China. The only way both
to solve the housing problem and maintain certain living condition is an appropriate combination
of building height with intensive land use. The traditional culture of neighborhood and
community should be brought to a great height of development. I am looking forward to
living in a big cozy and harmonious community with good environment together with all my
family members and relatives. Everyone, no mater in the city or the village, has a stable job,
reasonable salary, excellent social security and a very optimistic mind.

I wish I knew; something related to the cultural industries.

China will have surpassed the west in environmental innovations, transportation efficacy
and urban planning schemes that accommodate a dense urban population and middlelow income earners. There will be more freedom of speech and more education for all, and the
countryside as a peaceful alternative to city living will be preferred and protected. Of course, the
countryside will have new economic options to keep people there, and will be respected for its
unique way of life. No one will want cars! We will all work from home via the internet and
virtual offices!

international business man

In my dream, I hope I can earn all the money I want and then live in a modern city like Shenzhen,
Qinhuangdao and so on. I wish I could live in a place which is beautiful, quiet and peaceful. And
the city becomes more and more comfortable!

A6 .indd 50-51

2007.1.22 12:25:47 AM

would be much better than now, the main transportation modes are subways and buses, cyclists
have their own bicycle lane; that should be much safer. The degree of civilization of drivers
would increase a lot, just as in western countries. Pedestrians would have the priority when
crossing the road and no illegal vendors on the streets.

In 2020 I want to have a position in an accounting department of a big corporation and I would become a
registered accountant.
In 2020, I hope I would have a private car, I could take my family out for fun, and Id use it for
work too. My kids would study close to our home. There is a good environment, with harmony,
the quality of citizens is increasing. The city is clean with fresh air, and it becomes completely
utopian. I dream to have a happy home, a healthy body, a xiaokang / well-off economy, and I
reach my own goals.

......
A leader in a medium level cooperation with enough income for my familys livelihood and leisure
One or two private cars, living in a suburb 10 minutes driving from to the center. The residential
society would have some grass lands, guards etc. the apartment doesnt need to be very big or a
lot of rooms; this would be too difficult to tidy. The city would have improved a lot.
Besides the traditional buildings, all other low buildings would be torn down. The traffic

A6 .indd 52-53

I hope China will develop into a country in which more people can have a share of the resources
it has, where less energy is wasted and ways are found to curb the growing pollution. I hope the
economic growth of China will not continue to cut into the rich physical culture and heritage, so
as to leave something for our children they can be proud of. I really hope I can still be part of that,
and that I can enjoy the beautiful country it will be.

2007.1.22 12:25:50 AM

their own bicycle lane; that should be much safer. The degree of civilization of drivers would
increase a lot, just as in western countries. Pedestrians would have the priority when crossing the
road and no illegal vendors on the streets.

Teacher

A leader in a medium level cooperation with enough income for my familys livelihood and leisure
One or two private cars, living in a suburb 10 minutes driving from to the center. The residential
society would have some grass lands, guards etc. the apartment doesnt need to be very big or a
lot of rooms; this would be too difficult to tidy. The city would have improved a lot.
Besides the traditional buildings, all other low buildings would be torn down. The traffic would
be much better than now, the main transportation modes are subways and buses, cyclists have

A6 .indd 54-55

Lawyer

In 2020, China must be more urbanized. My life would not change a lot because of my
occupation. Teacher is a quite stable job. I expect everything will be better, especially the
traffic problem could be improved a lot, and the subways should extend in all directions. And
there should be more green; I hope to breathe more pure fresh air. Drinking water will be much
cleaner. I expect the buildings are more beautiful, the quantity of cars is much less than now. The
population density is reduced. I could go through the city by bike.

Im not too busy earning money, but realizing my dream and promoting to set up a law for animal
protection. Playing the piano, cooking in my spare time. Enjoying the life with my wife and
traveling. I have a big enough villa; so my parents could move in to live with us as well.

2007.1.22 12:25:54 AM

Disneyland in HK.
Buses will be made better. And having a car is just like having a nice suite to wear for the day.
Expensive sports such as golf and surfing will become more affordable. Hopefully, we have more
sense of the environment and a lot of green projects will be carried out. What is badly polluted
now will get a lot of attention from the crowd and people will become more willing to resume its
original look. In the end, in the year 2020, China will be still blessed with peace and the US won
t be as aggressive or greedy to invade any other countries.

Ill run my own company

Ill have my own company; a 80 m2 apartment with 3 bedrooms, which is near my parents home
and its convenient to take care of them; is far from the center, surrounded by beautiful vegetation;
the education for my children is better and the tuition for schooling is less. The medical care is
improved and cheaper. Society is stable, and the economy is growing steadily. The gab between
rich and poor is getting smaller. People are wealthy and living and working conditions in the rural
areas have much improved. The distance between city and village is smaller and smaller.

manager? probably.
I hope by then we only work 4.5 days, 7hrs a day. If we are lucky, we may still have enough
oil and no energy shortage. In 2020, China will be economically stronger and with prosperity on
the horizon, I hope it will be much easier to go abroad for a holiday. Maybe by that time, more
countries will let us have a 3-month visit visa without much difficulty and we can get the visa on
site. Metropolitan life will become more colorful but with more stress from work; people will
look for new ways to release stress. Internet cafes are enjoying a big popularity among teenagers
now. Maybe in the future, there wont be any of them around since Internet must be more
accessible. Instead, there will likely be more theme parks such as Happy Valley in Shenzhen and

A6 .indd 56-57

Politician

In 2020 China will have banned cars and everyone will ride bicycles or take transit. All of
the skyscrapers will have farms, create their own energy and deal with their own waste.
There will be parks nearby, shopping streets, cultural centers and a continuous network of natural
systems that cross the city.

2007.1.22 12:25:58 AM

stable friends and a docile pet. I will be living in a green society with convenient transits and
lively surroundings with active neighbors. The city where I would live in is dynamic, with a
good environment, convenient traffic, stable development, good order, abundant cultural life; this
would make me feel revitalized.

Because my major is business management, I think in 2020 I would have a job in business management,
maybe a senior manager; otherwise a teacher in a high school
In 2020, I hope I would have a happy family, and everyone is healthy. Less pressure from living,
enough time for traveling. I expect the living environment would have well appointed facilities,
nice environment, fresh air and with a European feeling.

A job with enough salary for my family to have a high-quality life. It must be a meaningful job with enough
spare time, and it also could contribute to the nation
I hope China in 2020 has territorial integrity, good natural environment, a developed economy,
with powerful capacity to fuse and attract different cultures; an ordered and mature society; less
sharp distinction between the rich and the poor; the country could protect its citizens better, and
people have harmonious lives.
I would live with my wife and child, work for a meaningful job with a satisfactory salary for
my high quality life with my family, I would have enough spare time to travel with my family;

A6 .indd 58-59

It will be very organized, no noise, no smoke and very clean. I am not living in a big building, but
still keeping a courtyard in Beijing. An interesting city with street shopping. Free educated and
high welfare. I hope I will be able to do some part-time consulting, and enjoy my life for the rest
of the time.

2007.1.22 12:26:01 AM

Program Architect or media artist. Working on the living conditions of the underprivileged of society,
creating the qualities of mainstream society.
Its a kind of mix. Based on progressive traffic. The elderly population will increase, but the
space available will reduce. The lifestyle of senior citizens will diversify. Well see a cultural
renaissance.
No job, I would be better if I could retire soon
I hope in 2020 there will be blue skies, enough drinking water but not too much; no sandstorm,
no polluted air from cars; smooth traffic, comfortable, convenient, fast; it is not necessary to
have a private car. Three working days per week, the rest four days for studying, relaxing and
entertaining. There would be many big cities in 2020, so people would not gather only in one
city, and there would be no annual spring rush home problem.

A job concerning the environment

I expect the environment would be much better, green everywhere. People have happy lives. I
could do what I like. I have a small room with my family. When I have spare time, I could travel,
especially to some beautiful places in China and some European countries.

A6 .indd 60-61

Architect

The cities will have evolved to be more sensible to excessively fast development. I wish to
live in a compact city center where walking is pleasant and possible. I believe city life will be
more compact, as everybody only needs a computer with internet connection and not much more.
Therefore private space would be reduced and we can give more as open public spaces.

2007.1.22 12:26:05 AM

Architect

Lifestyle: my own studio; holiday twice each year, live with my parents.
Living environment: more trees, less cars, broader spaces. People fell bored about the lifestyle
in cities because the functionality of cities is weakened day by day. However commercial
mechanisms continuingly make more and more people pour into the cities. Due to the
problem of transportation and value orientation, the centre of city moves closely to its edge. The
repetition of urban functions at the edge of big cities will ultimately destroy the city.
My dream is to increase living space in the whole country so to fundamentally solve the
problem of the shortage of land. Pay more attention to the relationship between neighborhoods,
forms of living and working.

Professional fundraiser
Quiet and peace. Playing with the children, walking with my parents; reading in my spare time,
and doing some exercise to keep healthy, also traveling sometimes.

A6 .indd 62-63

civil servant
The economy is developing smoothly; food and clothing problems in the poverty areas could be
completely solved; environmental pollution problem could be effectively improved, air quality
would be better and better. The traffic jams could be solved as well; there would be no gridlock
on the street. The growing population is under control. The quality of the exported products
would be improved. No matter politics or economy, China would play its part in the world. And I
hope I would have my own villa, private car. And my life would be both intensive and leisurely; I
would go abroad to take some periodical refreshment courses or just for traveling.

artist

In 2020, China will be like Germany in 1938-39, just before ww2. the big shots of Zhong
Nan Hai in Beijing, will have all the power of their fantasy, to seize Taiwan and to compete
with America. This will be the start of the darkest time for humanity.

2007.1.22 12:26:08 AM

Lawyer

Artist

There would be better if we had transport without the need for cars or bicycles. Better
underground system. Shopping experience will be more integrating that the shops wont be so
concentrated on selling one thing in a huge complex. Air pollution should really improve and
water shortage could be elevated with some good managing of water distribution and pricing.
Recycling would really REALLY REALLY help!!!!!

15 years later, I expect I could join into some interesting affairs, like sell paintings, mount
paintings, make some beautiful accessories, or run a flower shop. I could go for walk with my
grandson in the park to play Taiji (Chinese kongfu). Blue sky, green land with birds and flowers,
exchange chess techniques with friends. I want to live in a lower than 6 stories building, no high
buildings around so nothing would block the sunshine. There is a row of trees in front of the
building to enjoy the shade. A sweet-smell comes from roses and clove trees. There would be no
traffic jams on the roads, so the kids could get home quickly to have a rest, an 8 hour workday,
and no overtime during the holidays; keeping healthy and energetic. Our kids kids would go
to a school with highly skilled teachers, bright classes with just 30 students, no more crowded
classes of 60 students. No dust in the playground.

Translator

In electronics or technical work

More green in the surroundings, well-developed road network. I would buy my parents an
apartment. Work hard, live intense.

A6 .indd 64-65

In 2020, I would live with my family in a not very big apartment in a well-appointed beautiful
residential area. I would go to work by public transportation; the public transportations must
be very convenient by then. No traffic jams, less than an hour to go to work or go home. More
walking streets like Wangfujing (a main walking street for shopping) in the city, no trouble from
traffic, so we can relax there. I hope I could run a small shop no matter how much profit I could
make.

2007.1.22 12:26:12 AM

cultural business
I would like to live in a suburb of Beijing, with lots of green, maybe a nice park or fields in
the area. I have a house with a garden, maybe I work from home. City life will become even
more hectic in Beijing with more skyscrapers and only young rich people living in the city who
want to go out and go shopping. I would not want to spend too much time in the big city, only
occasionally. The few parks that Beijing has will be even more crowded. There will be a better
subway station but public transport will still be lagging behind. Traffic jams may become as bad
as in Jakarta.

Designer

Designer, teacher, merchant

A free and relaxing living environment is important to me, and cities should have their own
features, they could be more active and busy. No matter living in city or town, the quality of life
should never change; people always aspire to a good living environment. My dream is to have a
happy life, keep a clear mind and a healthy life.

Management
In 2020, I should have my own company, according to my ability I could run it not too bad. My
individual material life and mental life would be much better. The apartment doesnt need to be
very big but must be very warm. My car would be the main transportation facility. I want to be an
influential man in society, and also give my family a happy life.
I could do anything that I want, promising to give my parents a comfortable life. Free life, good
social relationship and fresh air.

A6 .indd 66-67

2007.1.22 12:26:15 AM

Artist

IInternational journalist based in china

My dream has already come true. I moved to China, build my career here and this country has
accepted me and my dream. Moreover, I married a wonderful guy and we bought the house of
our dreams: with space, an outdoor area, lots of sunlight and close to lively city centre. Therefore,
I would be foolish to add more and more wishes to all the happiness we already have. If my life
would never change anymore, it would just be like now. I would already be satisfied. But hey,
we keep on dreaming...wishing our parents will stay healthy, wishing one day we can have a
baby, wishing our country keeps working with the same creativity. China will develop in the right
direction, respecting nature and its people.

Self-employed
Comfortable life with friends, vibrant human cultural environment; no wars. I want to see today
become a memorable era.

A6 .indd 68-69

An artistic lifestyle, living in a natural and harmonious environment. I dream the city would
be like a big garden and I am the bee.

Anything in art or design

A free, satisfactory income, a husband and two healthy kids; a lush clean city that keeps
developing fast; people are polite and respectful. We enjoy freedom, without compromising on
health or the economy.

Run my own company

In 2020, Beijing would be much bigger than now; the environment would be still quite polluted.
Much more cars. I would be very busy commuting between my company, my home and my kid.

2007.1.22 12:26:19 AM

bedroom on the second floor to the yard to enjoy the fresh air and do some exercise. After a
simple breakfast in the kitchen on the first floor, I go to the reading room. Check my email and
start working on-line. I go to my office to design and create my art in the afternoon. I meet friends
in the evening. During the weekend, I would take my family on a trip or visit some exhibitions
or performances, or maybe just relax. Every year I would have one month for traveling in China,
and one month traveling overseas, two months are for going on business. Half of the year I work
at home, the other half I work in an office. Public transportation in the city has developed and
so have various cultural and recreational places and facilities. Most people in this city rely on
internet for their work and their daily life and leisure and also for joining some dazzling shows.
The densest urban area is the CBD, connected by roads, railways and subways. Many people live
with their families in individual buildings in the suburbs; gardening becomes a hobby of most
people.

international business man.

In my dream, I hope I can earn all the money I want and then live in a modern city like Shenzhen,
Qinhuangdao and so on. I wish I could live in a place which is beautiful, quiet and peaceful. And
the city becomes more and more comfortable!

In art

In 2020, I live in a two-storey villa in a village; there are flowers, fruit, vegetables and trees
planted in my 600 m2 courtyard. I usually wake up in the morning and come out from my

A6 .indd 70-71

Depending on to the possibilities: 1 movie director; 2 TV show host; 3 costume designer; 4 actor
I am typing in front of my computer at 17:25 on 3rd of February, 2006, in my 150 m2 apartment.
The apartment is in a 6-storey building, in a small city in China.

2007.1.22 12:26:23 AM

Boss.

In 2020, I hope the city where I live is more beautiful, with professional shopping malls, which
offer abundant choices for shopping; enough parks and public spaces; a good education system
and good schools; smooth traffic; no pollution and the air is clean. No matter in city or village,
we could see a tidy clean appearance, and enough roads for transportation (in the rural areas). My
family is happy and the life is quiet, we educate our child with success, the life is quite well-off. I
can fully develop my own talent and continue to improve myself along the way; keeping a young
and healthy spirit.

company owner
The cities will become more and more like countries in itself.....

A6 .indd 72-73

Ill have a coffee bar, and I hope Ill have many chain stores by 2020, and I hope to promote the coffee
culture in China and the hutong lifestyle of Beijing, so people would know more about living in the hutongs
(alleys) in Beijing. I would be a familiar costumer in one of the bars.
In 2020, I hope the hutong where I grew up will not disappear, and the old siheyuan (courtyard)
still tell us its history. I like having Beijing Zhajiang Mian (home style noodle) with cold beer in
the summer; sitting in hutong and chatting with my friends, watching the kids playing around.
That kind of life would be great. It would be better if there is a place to exercise, and if we keep
some traditional things, because the times are changing so fast, some people always keep thinking
of the toys in their childhood, and also I d like hearing locals calling like have you eaten yet?
No, lets go get some together. Haha, just like that.

Boss, teacher, professional manager

I have twins, a happy family, no worries about food and clothes.

2007.1.22 12:26:26 AM

PR

Small individual workshop owner

I think I will get married and have my baby in 2020. We enjoy our happy life! I will go back
to the village where I was born and start my peaceful and quite work and life! The city in my
dreams is no longer snobbish and she will give the warmest care to everybody who comes
from very far away. In my dreams I will have a virtuous wife and a considerate lover and
some children, neither too wise nor stupid, just having their own ideas. They will work happily
and they treat each other fair and will be treated fairly. Each month I will have one or two free
weeks, and then I can go everywhere, just following my inner voice, coming from the bottom of
my heart.
I sincerely hope that then I still can bear something in my mind: self-esteem, self-healing and
independence; a clear conscience.

Something in computing
Kiss my wife before going to work, work, and play with my kids after work, sleep. Some extra
green in the garden. Get the chance to do a postgraduate.

A6 .indd 74-75

City life in Beijing will be fast and furious. People will become more aware of the
temptations of huge shopping malls and will become more demanding, and also more aware
of the grayness and blandness these giant elements grew out of. Beijing will be like a spider
s web, spread out to 7th ring road, with tightly packed skyscrapers aligning the roads.
Roads will be as congested as other South East Asian cities. I just hope that bicycles come back
in fashion, and that bicycle lanes survive!

Still working for as a news reporter, but I hope Ill be more qualified
I hope the environment would not be worse than now, and population would be smaller. Our lives
would be more like the lives of Europeans and Americans; I hope we could travel around during
a certain period every year; that I could live following my own ideas, happier and simpler.

2007.1.22 12:26:30 AM

Senior manager
I will live in a villa in China in 2020, with fresh, unpolluted air, more trees and green fields and
blue skiesEveryone just works at home, no longer needs to gather in one office building. We
can save both the resources and the time, and we also can allocate our time freely to improve
efficiency and relieve traffic congestion.

Self-employed
I can not imagine how the whole country would be. But I think in 2020, Beijing must be twice as
good as in 2008. I live in a big but not too busy city. I only hope there will be a smooth traffic
and kind neighbors.

A6 .indd 76-77

2007.1.22 12:26:33 AM

Democratic Design 3.0 BURB

The Dynamic City should include the vision and research of specialists
and designers. The DCF offers a platform for open-source collaborations
onChinese cities called BURB. (www. dynamicity.org) The format is
an online magazine where you, the urban specialist of any field can
define and create the content. Each year a topic will be tackled. BURB 1
titled The Chinese Dream a society under construction has just been
completed and can now be viewed online.

3.0BURB

BURB (www. dynamicity.org)

BURB 1

BURB 2

BURB 2: Super Satellites

We invite you to participate in BURB 2 Super Satellites and the
investigation of Chinas mushrooming semi-dependent cities.
Big questions such as what should a city be like? have after the last
urbanization surge in the west quickly faded from the debate. Today and
more than ever, China requires such questions to be asked once again.
Outside the limelight of metropolitan development hundreds of new
urban settlements are under construction or being planned. Scattered
around big urban centers they grow mostly below the public radar and
their impact remains inconspicuous. But at the scale of small capital
cities built practically overnight these satellite cities are the growth
centers of the next decade. The satellite city is Chinas urban remedy,
yet its constitution is far from finalized, its implementation is far from
foolproof.
Partly the result of planning proposals, partly of bold real-estate projects
and bewildering development zones, the viability of these new districts
remains questionable. Constructing them seems easy enough, yet their
success is not assured by sheer market force. As reforms push ahead,
relocating people and jobs will prove more and more difficult. The zones
often remain empty; the satellites become sleeping towns at best. Their

A6 .indd 78-79

BURB 2

2007.1.22 12:26:36 AM

relationship to the mothership the metropolis is ambivalent. The

satellites want to grow, compete and overtake, offering cheap space
and land, facilities and labor. Yet they remain dependent upon the local
metropolis. Planning and designing a satellite becomes the ultimate
balancing act. Positioned too far out, no mutual benefit is achieved and
the daily commute becomes unbearable the metropolis remains a
mirage on the horizon. Positioned too close, the satellite is in danger of
being swallowed up. It loses its potential attraction as a green retreat, its
allure as a safe-haven for young families, and its promise of a new city.
All ideas for the Chinese satellite from design to theory, visual or
descriptive, can now be posted.

Quinn Comendant

Neville Mars, Quinn Comendant

~ www.dynamiccity.org : info@dynamiccity.org ~

The Dynamic City Foundation (DCF) is a Beijing based non-profit urban research
and design institute. Sign-up and participate today.

A6 .indd 80-81

~ www.dynamiccity.org : info@dynamiccity.org ~

(DCF)

2007.1.22 12:26:39 AM

..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................

Write your own dream here...

...

..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................

China-At-Home.org
..........................................................................................................................
Design the future city here...

...........................................................................................................................

...

...........................................................................................................................

www.DynamicCity.org
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
Neville Mars, Adrian Hornsby

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................

A6 .indd 82-83

2007.1.22 12:26:41 AM

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

A6 .indd 84-85

2007.1.22 12:26:44 AM

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

A6 .indd 86-87

2007.1.22 12:26:47 AM

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

A6 .indd 88-89

2007.1.22 12:26:51 AM

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

A6 .indd 90-91

2007.1.22 12:26:54 AM

A6 .indd 92

2007.1.22 12:26:54 AM