One Country, Two (infrastructural) System
|
Thesis Statement Infrastructure contributes to the structuring of the city by determining the flow of people, information and goods. Hong Kong has a well-developed infrastructural system which allows Hong Kong function as a self-contained city and connected to before the handover in 1997. However Hong Kong as part of China now was planned to be connected to China infrastructural network by Express Rail Link(XRL) and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge which provide a point-to-point connection with high speed and efficiency. The intimacy between Hong Kong and cities like GuangZhou is greatly increased and they are destined to be merged as one unity demographically, economically and socially after decades. People travelling between south China and Hong Kong will increase after the completion of XRL while the capacity of Hong Kong original infrastructure remains almost unchanged. It is questionable to connect Hong Kong and China with a simply point-to-point connection and without considering the great differences between Hong Kong and China cities in term of population density, infrastructural network and development potential. The flux of people may ultimately paralyze the infrastructure of Hong Kong like pouring hot tea to a tiny teacup until it overflows. Furthermore, the cultural differences between two places have already causing a lot of controversies in Hong Kong society. Some voice saying Hong Kong can no longer afford the “invasion” of visitors and calling for a stop of further increase the number of cities in Individual Travelling Scheme (ITS). The repellence and tension between two places spread like a tumor which would deteriorated while the connectivity between Hong Kong and China cities increased. It is time to stop and think about what is the meaning of connecting cities with great differences with super effective high speed railway and what kind of social problems will be possibly generated. Thesis Description This thesis aimed to provide alternative options for inter-city railway connection between south China cities, particularly GuangZhou, along with the redesign/upgrade of Hong Kong Railway system(Second layer) with increased capacity and efficiency. In long term, the merging of Hong Kong and China is in a sustainable and beneficial way. The tolerance between different culture and religious will be discussed and suggesting a way to improve the intellectual exchange of infrastructure. The railway connection between Hong Kong and major cities in PRD would be documented, classified and compared (typologies, capacity, speed and span). An second layer of railway network (maybe about slowness, inefficiency and segregation) which offer buffer of speed and culture will be suggested so that the connection between Hong Kong and GuangZhou will be non-violent and comprehensive (supported by research result). The interexchange between the current infrastructural layer and the add-on one in Hong Kong will be the major focus and testing ground of this thesis. The site would be the proposed XRL station in west Kowloon. Outline of Research Research
Design method
Bibliography (Books)
Bibliography (Websites)
|
