Abstract

This study examines the evolution of the urban fabric of the Guangfunan area in the city of Guangzhou, China from 1840 onward. The initial purpose of this research is to explain the morphological process pertaining to buildings and streets of a traditional neighbourhood by tracing back the initial phase of the urban aggregate and reconstruct a theoretical model of the evolution of the tissues. The research of the study area is comprised of two scales: on the urban tissue scale, it reconstructs the morphogenesis of the street blocks of the Guangfunan area based on cartographic evidences and a field survey; on the building scale, it classifies the existing buildings into separate categories and seeks to provide a chronicle that shows the diachronic development of the existing buildings.

This research demonstrates the possibility to adapt a predominately European research tradition to a Chinese context. As one of the first applications of Italian process typology methods in China, it allows us to propose a new perspective on the issues of urban landscape management and urban conservation planning in China. This research purports not merely to provides a better understanding of the spontaneous and purposeful change of the urban tissues over time, and develop an integrated framework to understand the urban tissue at a time when contemporary Chinese cities are facing great challenges in urban conservation and regeneration. It also seeks to find the potential possibility for incorporating the theoretical research to the planning strategies and policy-making in the practical planning management.