Formation of a modern Chinese urban form in Haikou, 1858-1950 : vision and conflicts in shaping arcade streets of shophouses

Abstract

From 1858 to 1950, Haikou changed from a traditional military fortress into a modern city, with Arcade Streets and shophouses. This research studies the transformation of Haikou’s urban form, revealing the underlying forces behind the development of Arcade Shophouses. By investigating the dynamic forces behind this ongoing urban reconstruction period, the study identifies the main modes that fostered the physical changes, including the Funding Mode, the Dual Property Rights Mode, and the Arcade Shophouse Mode. By a combination of analysis of architectural form along with their microscopic spatial rights, this research shows the mechanism by which competition between development and ownership rights between landowners, shop owners, and merchants played a decisive role in the construction of Haikou’s urban spaces and the formation of a modern city. During the course of urban renewal, in the early years of the Republic 1912-1949 (Hainan Island, 1912-1950 ), the government designed particular modes to encourage urban renewal due to a dearth of funds. These included the Funding Mode, Dual Property Rights Mode, and the Arcade Shophouse Mode, all of which played an essential role in guiding, promoting, and coordinating urban construction. Through the Funding Mode, urban renewal could be carried out using the funds and authority of chambers of commerce, landlords, and tenants. Through the mechanism of the Dual Property Rights Mode as a financing channel, tenants were permitted by the government to invest in the construction to obtain Shop-base Rights. Through the expansion of roads and construction of Arcade Streets, the municipal government successfully constructed new roads and created a unified modern urban form known as the Arcade Shophouse, where residents lived above or behind their shops. At the same time, the reliance on civil forces through unique modes also created constraints on Haikou’s urban development. It meant that this kind of urban development chiefly focused on the old urban area, and the construction of the new district could not be promoted adequately. In this context, development rights had a catalytic role in implementing the three modes. The rights competition amongst the government, chambers of commerce, landlords, tenants, and citizens created an inimitable developmental model in shaping Haikou’s urban form, with assorted and rich urban characteristics. By researching wide-ranging first-hand archives, as well as conducting rigorous field research, inclusive of 46 mapped drawings of Arcade Shophouses, the goal of the thesis is to break through research boundaries between urban form, architecture typology, and developmental models utilized in earlier studies of the Arcade Shophouse design for South China and Asia. It is hoped that, through an in-depth research of the Arcade Shophouse in Haikou, the present knowledge regarding urban change and the importance of production and life behind physical forms will be more easily understood.