ARCH5731D
Topical Study of Urbanism: Mapping Water Adaptation Learning from the Dike-Pond System in the Pearl River Delta
Target Students MArch 1, MArch 2
Course Term 2
Course Type Elective
Teacher(s)
CAI, Jiaxiu
This course positions students within the complex, multi-scalar processes shaping urban transformation in the PRD, developing an understanding of how spatial, environmental, institutional, and social factors interact across scales. It encourages students to consider how spatial thinking can operate within networks of public authorities, technical expertise, and local communities.
The course takes the Sangyuanwei Embankment System (SYW) as a historically resilient, water-adaptive territorial system. The primary site of investigation is Zuotan Village, located in the lower reach. Approaching the dike-pond system as a form of collective spatial intelligence, the course examines how interactions between landscape, infrastructure, agriculture, settlement, and governance have enabled long-term adaptation to water. Through cross-scale mapping, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and synthesis, students collectively produce an atlas that distils water-adaptive mechanisms to inform contemporary urban design and planning in the context of climate change and rapid urbanisation.
