Tao Zhang interned with the Poyang Lake Ecological Environment and Resource Development Program.

"The Poyang Lake Ecological Environment and Resource Development is an interdisciplinary program that is managed by Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang University, the office of Mountain, Rivers and Lakes (a non-profit organization), and Jiangxi government. The program focuses on the following fields: (1) Sustainable resources and regional development; (2) Watershed hydrology and fluxes; (3) Ecosystem dynamics; (4) Land use/cover change; (5) Public health; (6) Water resources management; (7) Wetland biodiversity; and (8) Non-point source pollution.

During my two month internship, I undertook an urban design project aimed at integrating ecological principles and sustainable strategies into a new development plan for a 2,000-acre land in Nanchang City in China. Sitting in the Gan River floodplain, the study site is only 25 miles from Chinaí¢â‚¬â„¢s largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake. The extensive wetlands provide Nanchang a flooding buffer and other ecological services. Growing development pressure and the vulnerable wetland ecosystem have posed challenges for urban designers to imagine a future in which sustainable practices would enable compact urban development to coexist naturally alongside the water body.

This project tries to envision the alternative futures for this urban site in 25 years. It focused on the following questions: (1) what are the alternative urban development scenarios that will create a stronger economy while preserving the natural resources i.e. wetland and wildlife habitat network. (2) What will be the broader and long term impacts of these scenarios on the local communities and their wetland rich ecosystems?

With the great help from the host organization, I was able to collect, compile and analyze the historical data and the present landscape data like landuse landcover data, hydrological pattern, demographic data; etc. Built upon the data analysis and the interview with the stakeholders, four future development scenarios were designed emphasizing clean water, urban residential accommodation, biodiversity, and land value respectively.

Overview of the work/research conducted/duties

Soaring population and rapid industrialization have created a boom in urbanization in China. China will build new houses for 400 million people in next 12 years. Professor James Lee, director of the UM Center for Chinese Studies estimated in 2005 that over the next five years, 80 percent of all construction globally would take place in China. Resource-starved China can only continue to prosper by forging a truly sustainable national economy and an environmentally aware lifestyle.

The 2000-acre study site is located on the southwest skirt of Nanchang City. In this capital city of Jiangxi Province, the site was constrained from any development in the history due to the siteí¢â‚¬â„¢s ecological value and certain political consideration. With the booming economy, increasing pressure from the development and the demand of land and other resources in the city, in 2006 the local government started to search for a plan that can accommodate the demands from all the stakeholders while preserving the important ecological value of the site.

Supervised by Dr. Bao and the faculty members from the Poyang Lake Ecological Environment and Resource Development Program, I applied the normative scenario approach to assess the landscape and to recommend multiple development strategies. Normative landscape scenarios portray futures that should be. Normative scenarios that embody hypotheses about landscape functions rely on science to invent landscape patterns that have certain ecological, economic, or cultural effects.

The scenario design solutions imagined futures in which sustainable practices would enable compact urban development to coexist naturally alongside the water bodies. The development scenarios may be recommended to minimize environmental impacts and promote sustainable communities as a model for the area. Ecological principles emphasized in this project include reserving the land for urban organic agriculture and public open spaces; enhancing BMP stormwater management through infiltration and detention on site; green construction technologies and conservation of its bird-rich wetlands. The design also tried to unify aesthetic quality and enhance amenity value of the area.

During the study, I contacted and interviewed stakeholders including the local planning office, the government information & network office, local architects, the faculty and graduate students at Jiangxi Normal University, the developer, community members and the local residents and farmers. Data collecting and literature review were conducted along the process. The GIS data and the analysis result were digitized and compiled to provide the base for the scenario design. Four future development scenarios were then designed emphasizing on clean water, urban residential accommodation, biodiversity, and land value respectively.

Although this project focuses on the 2000-acre land in Nanchang City only, the complex ecological and urbanization issues addressed in this study can be applied to a broader region in China.

Besides the project summarized above, I was also involved in another urban design project managed by Professor Zheng Lin, the dean of Geology and Environmental Studies at Jiangxi Normal University. The project investigated the impacts of potential development on hydrology and other ecosystem dynamics on an emerging island that is only a few miles from the old downtown.

Explanation of how the internship aided you in your professional and personal development.

First I would like to thank Poyang Lake Ecological Environment and Resource Development Program, University of Michigan China data center, the Weinberg Internship fellowship for making this internship happening.

As a Chinese graduate student majored in landscape architecture and sustainable systems, I feel excited and grateful for this opportunity to apply my design skills and ecology understanding in this ecologically sensitive area in my home country. I have taken a series of landscape architecture design studios and participated in two design charrette and ULI national urban design competition. This project was my first design experience in the real world. Frankly, it was more complicated and challenging than any projects I have had in the studio. But it was rewarding!

This summer internship experience makes me familiar with the complex urban landscape issues. I feel I benefit from this internship in this ways: I better understand recent advances in ecosystem assessment, land planning and management; I found improved collaborations among institutions involved in the management of the Poyang Lake region; my research and design skills are improved, finally, I feel pleased to see that the design will be beneficial to the local community.

My future professional goal is to work with the government and Non-profit organizations to help improve sustainable community development and create public open spaces to enhance urban environmental amenities. The summer internship further confirms my career goal and makes me confident with my professional future."

Internship Details