At 4:30 pm, Jiayuanli Pocket Park along Chuping Road in Hongshan District began to liven up.
Young people who have just finished work sit in front of the container coffee shop, elderly people on the grass are dozing off on stone benches, and parents on the grass steps are waiting for their children to finish school with their feet up. The sun has not yet set, the heat wave has receded, and a gentle breeze passes through the treetops. Some people are leaning on wooden chairs with latte holders to swipe their phones, while others are rushing to come up with plans on benches with computers. Yes, a small park transformed from a shantytown has undergone incredible changes.
Urban renewal is reflected in the interesting aspects of Jiayuan, not in the 'big' but in the 'small'.
How small is it? 4599 square meters, about half a football field. It's so small that you may not even glance at it when you pass by, and so small that you feel embarrassed to call it a 'park'. But it's just this small place, where people use it from morning till night, some stay, some consume, and some sit and daydream without doing anything.
Surrounding it saves time, opening it up is the skill
A few months ahead, this piece of land has a different face. Old shantytowns, privately cultivated vegetable fields, and piles of household waste are everywhere. Ms. Du, who lives in Poly Lafite, said truthfully, "So this place is surrounded and filled with dirt
The three words' surround 'express the habitual thinking of urban management. What if it doesn't look good? Surrounding. What if no one cares? Surrounding. I don't know what to do with it? Let's wrap it up first. Once the fence is erected, it's clear if you can't see it, and everyone is at ease. Over time, countless "enclosed" corners have emerged in the city, like wounds covered by adhesive bandages. Passers by cannot see them, but people living next to them face them every day.
The Hongshan District Urban Management Bureau has made a different choice this time: demolition.
Not only to remove fences, but also to dismantle thinking. They proposed nine words – 'Go to the wall, no boundaries, integrate the block'.
It sounds like a slogan, but when it comes to implementation, it's all tough. The wall has been dismantled, who will take care of it? How to divide the responsibility when the boundary is gone? But the effect after demolition shows one thing – ordinary people don't need so many 'no entry' measures, what they need is' please sit down '.
The more tightly enclosed space is, the more uncomfortable people feel. Conversely, the more vague, the more comfortable. There are no rigid functional zones in Jiayuan, no signs of "children's zone", "elderly zone", or "no trampling". Slopes have replaced walls, green plants have replaced railings, lawns can be stepped on, steps can be sat on, and coffee can be served outdoors. The color scheme of the park pavement is consistent with that of the nearby businesses, and there is almost no sense of separation from indoors to outdoors – you walk in as you enter, only to find yourself in the park.
This is what urban public spaces should be like: making people unconsciously enter, rather than being invited in.
Can a park survive,
It depends on whether it has the ability to generate blood
Another unique feature of Jiayuan is that it actually has "commerce".
Container boxes transformed into "Gudu Coffee" and "Curry Gourmet House" are scattered among the green hills, surrounded by bakeries, theaters, and science and technology innovation centers, forming a small commercial settlement. On weekday afternoons, young people sitting in the coffee shop with code words, delivery drivers passing by, office workers working outdoors with computers, and mothers pushing strollers resting under the shade of trees.
Many people's first reaction when they hear 'there are businesses in the park' is to frown. But upon careful consideration, how can a park without commerce survive?
Relying on financial appropriations for maintenance, money will always be spent one day; Through conscious maintenance, there will always be people who do not follow the rules. Jiayuan uses a model of developer construction and financial maintenance in the later stage, with container commerce and street level businesses linked together, which not only attracts popularity but also creates income. The outdoor dining area connects with the rest and leisure area of the post station, forming a semi enclosed social space – in other words, it provides you with a place to sit, something to drink, and something to come back to after drinking.
Li Dandan, Deputy General Manager of Huazhong Science Ecological City, said that at the beginning of the design of Pocket Park, a design concept was determined: it is an outdoor office for office workers during the day, a natural photography studio for grandparents in the afternoon, and a place for the whole family to take a walk at night. Space management based on age division ensures that a small park remains popular from morning till night. Popularity is the key to vitality.
Behind this is a simple urban renewal logic: relying solely on "beauty" cannot retain people, we must make this place "useful".
The dumbest kung fu is often the most effective
In the early stage of the renovation, the staff of Poly Blue Ocean County Community did a "stupid" thing.
They held bundles of flowers and knocked on the doors of residents door to door along Chuping Road. Hello, we are working on the renovation of Pocket Park and would like to hear your thoughts. "There is no survey questionnaire or phone interview, just a flower, a smiling face, and a" you say ".
Thousands of residents left like this. Some people want a leisure area, some want a parent-child space, some suggest setting up a market, and some say as long as I can come downstairs and sit down. The staff took note of every request, which later became a tangible function in Jiayuan.
Is this method stupid? Stupid. I spent a lot of time walking, broke my leg, and rubbed my mouth. But does this method work? It works. Because when residents realize that 'the stool I mentioned before has really been installed' and 'the swing I mentioned has really been installed', their emotions towards this park change – it is no longer 'a park built by the government', but 'the garden we suggested to build'.
The social innovation center is filled with handmade items made by neighbors: hand woven bags, scented candles, hand drawn stickers, idle books, and creative toys. Residents can exchange at a low price or sell on consignment, "said Hong Xia, a community worker at Poly Blue Ocean County. A small community economy has grown out like this – without planning documents or investment brochures, it's just that everyone brings a little and I bring a little, slowly filling the entire space.
In recent years, there has been no shortage of large-scale urban renewal. Dismantling, building, and planning a piece of land, creating magnificent renderings and grand narratives, is often referred to as a "city reception room" or an "international community". But this 4599 square meter corner in Jiayuan tells us that what really makes the city better is often not those big plans, but these inconspicuous small incisions.
This year, Hongshan District has renovated 31 corner areas and built 4 pocket parks. The 14000 square meters of barren land along Qinglinghe Road has been transformed into a small park for strolling, and the over 900 square meters of sanitary blind spots in the first built village have been transformed into a small square with people playing erhu under the pavilion. These places have never made headlines and are not worth writing about in work reports, but they have truly made the people living next to them happier, more convenient, and more comfortable.
From an old shantytown filled with garbage to a micro living room where you can sit down and have a cup of coffee anytime, Jiayuan has only done three things: demolishing the walls, opening up the space, and inviting residents in. Because it is easy to dismantle the wall, but difficult to dismantle the inner wall. Opening up space is easy, but opening up governance ideas is difficult. It's easy to invite people in, but difficult to make them willing to stay.
Jiayuan achieved it because it understood a problem from the beginning: urban renewal is for people to use, not for people to see.
At 6 pm, the last small peak of the day arrived in Jiayuan. People who finish work buy a cup of coffee on the way, children who finish school chase and play on the lawn, and nearby elderly couples sit side by side on benches watching the sunset. This 4599 square meter "urban micro living room" is not large, but it can accommodate a little bit of daily comfort that everyone wants.
To update a city, we need to start by allowing people to sit comfortably.
(Source: Wuhan Radio and Television Station)
Liaoning ICP Security No. 21122402000217