Chengdu & XiChang in Sichuan Province Accommodate Future Growth Through Plans Created by Johnson Fain That Redirect City Growth to Allow Environmental Restoration, Urban/Nature Balance, Recreational & Tourism Development

• Plans win 2011 Urban Design Awards from California AIA

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two Chinese cities – Chengdu and XiChang in Sichuan Province – will benefit from thoughtful city planning to accommodate future growth rather than moving forward at breakneck pace with existing plans. Los Angeles-based Johnson Fain has created well balanced urban plans that redirect growth into appropriate city zones and at the same time address major environmental issues and maintain an urban/rural balance.

“We worked closely with planning officials in Chengdu and our plan was enthusiastically and unanimously endorsed by city leaders. It is rewarding to see that protection of the environment is a growing concern for Chinese leaders.”

Each plan has won a 2011 Urban Design Award from the California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

“Both Chengdu and XiChang are facing enormous growth pressures and they wisely decided to seek alternative ideas before they moved forward with their existing plans,” said William Fain, FAIA, urban design partner for the firm who led the planning. “We worked closely with planning officials in Chengdu and our plan was enthusiastically and unanimously endorsed by city leaders. It is rewarding to see that protection of the environment is a growing concern for Chinese leaders.”

In both urban plans, the Johnson Fain team realigned the path of growth to create a well planned urban zone that then allowed for protection and expansion of important environmental resources. “We proposed alternative locations for city development and allocated significant amounts of land for open space preservation and environmental resource conservation,” Fain reported. “In both cities, eco-tourism becomes a key economic driver for the future.”

In Chengdu, the Johnson Fain plan redirected the path of growth to protect the Jin Jiang River and Valley and preserve some of the country’s finest agricultural lands. In XiChang, Johnson Fain proposed ways to clean up and preserve QiongHaiLake, one of China’s most beautiful and unspoiled lakes in what is known as the Shangri-La region of SiChuan because of its stunning geography.

The Jin Jiang River Corridor Master Plan comprises a site area of 281 square kilometers including 37 square kilometers along the Jin Jiang River. A major step was relocating freeways, rail lines and other infrastructure that were planned to be built through the river valley into a more connected urban zone and transforming a planned grid of superblocks into more compact villages connected by transit. The river valley lands are being protected under a “Community Forest” designation, based on the successful model developed in the United Kingdom with special programs to protect farmland, small towns, wilderness and scenic areas.

“This plan preserves the food basket of the region where much of the quality food products are raised that contribute to SiChuan’s longstanding tradition of exceptional cuisine,” said Fain.

The Chengdu plan ties the urban and rural environments together by open space systems that follow the watershed streams and canals. Urbanites and tourists are pulled into the river valley by a network of scenic highways, train routes, boat transport and bike trails. The plan is now being implemented by the local government.

Wide Horizons, an environmentally conscious developer and a Johnson Fain client, commissioned Johnson Fain to create an urban plan for 400 square kilometers in XiChang. Historically XiChang was an important stop on the ancient southern Silk Road. The Johnson Fain master plan proposes to regain XiChang’s historic stature and fame by restoring QiongHaiLake as the city’s centerpiece. The lake, that has been polluted by industry and farming, will be cleaned by a new filter system and extensive wetlands that once lined its banks are being recreated. To improve water quality and habitat within the lake, the plan proposes to add runoff interceptions at critical junctures to reduce silt deposits and to expand the lake’s surface area to its historic size.

A bio-diversity corridor will serve as an urban development boundary and provide a major new park and waterscape for city residents. Small, low density, eco-tourism villages will be located in the lake vicinity, well away from its shoreline which will be planted with forest bands interspersed with open fields. An extensive network of pedestrian and bicycle paths inland will allow visitors to enjoy the lake, wetlands and new recreational opportunities. In order to accomplish this balance of natural and urban environment, Johnson Fain’s plan redirects city growth toward a new freeway, high speed rail and airport several kilometers from the lake.

“We recommended Lake Tahoe in California as a prototype for the future management and protection of QiongHaiLake,” noted Fain.

Since 2006 Johnson Fain’s urban planning team has won international master plan design competitions for major districts in four of China’s most important cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Based in Los Angeles, Johnson Fain is a leading architecture, planning and interiors firm. Among its current projects are the 42-story Museum Tower, a luxury residential tower now under construction in the heart of the Dallas (Texas) Arts District; an urban plan for 100 acres in downtown San Antonio, Texas; and the American Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma City.

Note: Mr. Fain travels monthly to China. If you are interested in interviewing him about how to balance planning for urban growth while restoring the environment and balancing agricultural and recreational interests, please let us know. [e-mail] or [e-mail].