‘Guangzhou: Industrial Road Project’ - Temporary Research Space event

Abstract

Using Guangzhou’s historic Industrial Road as a case study, the project investigates the transformation of everyday life and landscapes in the Chinese megacity. In the Maoist era, Industrial Road typified the emphasis on the city as a site of collectivized industrial production, with State Owned Enterprises and workers housing compounds, densely packed along the five and a half kilometres stretch of road. Today the factories along Industrial Road have either closed or are being relocated to the expanding outskirts of the city. Traditional workers housing and public spaces associated with the factories are being demolished and replaced by spaces of consumption and luxury apartment complexes. Project researchers will share their work in progress in the form of a Temporary Research Space, designed as an open public forum. Guests will be invited to view or handle some of the materials generated so far, including photographs and video of walks and interviews with project participant Mr Li, a resident of Industrial Road and former shipyard worker. John van Aitken, Jane Brake (IUD) and Dr Huizhen Du (GDUFS) will give short presentations, inviting the audience to participate in a dialogue about what is lost and gained in the process of urban change, which is shaping world cities everywhere. The Industrial Road Project is a collaboration between the Institute of Urban Dreaming (IUD), Salford UK & Dr Du, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), Guangzhou China. Manchester's Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art will host the space and the event. IUD engages in research, practice and interdisciplinary partnerships about housing and planned environments, with a commitment to spatial justice. www.iudblog.org