• My learning experience in urban design

During my undergraduate study, I majored in urban planning. In China, urban design is a branch of urban planning discipline. After government departments and planning practitioners planning the national land space, urban designers continue to carry out further land management, spatial design and image beautification of urban space. Actually, I’m very interested in the field of urban design. On the one hand, I enjoy exploring every corner of the city. On the other hand, I believe that it is cool to bring positive changes to people’s public life through urban design.

• First impressions of the course

When I first saw the introduction of urban design on the website of Newcastle University, I felt so attracted. It focuses on urban regeneration, housing, public space and engagement. These directions cover the hot topics of urban design nowadays. The large-scale development of cities has led to a shortage of land resources and even the destruction of historical and cultural resources. Therefore, urban design will no longer implement a new construction model but a regenerated one. At the same time, the housing issue is also a great topic, because it affects every citizen. Of course, there is also public space and engagement. People’s community life and outdoor experience all rely on this.

• My opinions on urban design

In this rapidly developing era, more and more social and environmental issues have emerged. For example, wealth inequality, increasing aging, excessive carbon emissions, energy shortage and heat island effects. Therefore, urban designers gather together to improve or solve these problems. In my opinion, urban design is a comprehensive field. It consists of architecture, planning, landscape, property development, art, community engagement and etc. It includes the overall layout of urban space, the planning of land use, roads, public facilities and buildings, and the coordination of urban public space and landscape green spaces. Thus realizing the desire to make people live a happier and more comfortable life.