Wow, first of all, I had no idea there were cities like Venice in China, and towns full of coloseum-shaped apartment complexes. Those both struck me as very interesting.  And that reminded me of a question I'd had previously, in regard to the extent to which cities are intentionally designed with either beauty or function, or both, in mind, and the extent to which they rise and grow spontaneously into something we might find beautiful now.  I'd be interested to pursue this a bit more in our upcoming discussions.

Another surprise for me was the listing of slums in the list of urban landscapes, because, connected to my question/observation above, slums seem like something that rise organically, not as a result of planning. But obviously they are a clear part of the urban landscape of any city.

I am also curious about these themed towns or neighborhoods in Shanghai- European, American, and whatever... it does seem very Disney-fied, and I'd like to understand better why you feel this is not the right way to look at it- I'm not sure I understood your reasoning in the video.  Not that it's a bad thing in any case, but I wonder if life is lived differently in those neighborhoods, more in keeping with the cultures from which they are borrowed? Because if design is connected to function, and different cultures live differently and this is why their homes, workplaces, and cities are designed the way they are, what sense does it make for them to build in a way that doesn't align to their cultural priorities for daily life?

In Wheatley's article, The Ancient Chinese City as a Cosmological Symbol, the practicality of the life we live on Earth stood out to me in the sentence "The essential Asian mode of urban design was, as it were, refracted through the lens of a Great Tradition whose primary concern was with the ordering of society in this world rather than with personal salvation in a future life."  I found this curious here, but later it was followed by, "...simply expressions of the doctrine which viewed the Emperor as the great mediator between Heaven and Earth, the Son of Heaven whose appropriate locale was at that axis of the universe which was also the axis of the kingdom and the only site for an imperial capital..." It makes more sense in keeping with the article if we see the Emperor as a Son of Heaven, ruling over this life on Earth, that he would be at the center of the city. This article sparked another, albeit related question to my first: Are cosmic beliefs more central than beauty and order in the design of a city, or are they part of and a determinent of what can be considered beauty and order by a society?

Very likely, yes.  Many years ago I taught at one of the major language schools in Japan.  In a discussion with a woman who had gone shopping for a car, I asked her what she had considered: the price, the make and model, the color, and so on.  She responded, "The direction."  I was momentarily confused.  "Oh, you mean you bought a car from a dealer that is in the same direction as you go to work."  She shook her head.  "No, my office is in the other direction."

Now I was thoroughly confused.  "Fusui," she said, and I suddenly realized she was talking about feng shui.  What she meant was that feng shui dictated what direction she should look for a car that would be lucky -- in this case, meaning one that would avoid accidents.  She checked her horoscope, went driving in that direction, and stopped at a dealer to buy a car that she was satisfied with.  Everything else that I might have thought would be more relevant in buying a car was trumped by this one overriding factor.

I changed the conversation.

I had no idea there were these water cities in China either. They look absolutely amazing. It is interesting that the concept arose in both Europe and East Asia. These cities remind me of Bruges, Belgium as they are all excellently preserved. It says so much about our Global priorities that the building could survive centuries but it is the water that is in jeopardy. We protect what we create, at the peril of our own environment.

I enjoyed video lectures and learning more about the intention behind the design and links to a cultural history of urban cities in East Asia that I have previously visited. Looking at the sprawling metropolises, I can envision now the idea that the cities place and relation to the natural landscape around it was a primary consideration. Another interesting point that was made was regarding the influence of colonialism on a city, but also that the city made its own impression on the colonialist style of the time and era in the locale. While the veneer of the city or neighborhood’s style may not seem authentic, its value is actually in the quality of life of those who make up that part of the city. When the temple in Nara, Japan was mentioned, I was interested in learning more about the historical geography and natural events of that area. I had learned that the original structure was much larger, but it had burned down. However, the one that remains, which is ⅔ of the original size and still the largest wooden structure built in the world, had been designed in a way to withstand earthquakes and seismic activity. As an earth science teacher, humans’ impact on nature and vice versa is a standard covered in my classes- this is an intriguing historical link that I’m sure my students would enjoy learning more about.

I loved learning about the villages in China and their architecture. I live next to a small hiking hill here in Los Angeles. I love being able to see the hill, trees, and birds just behind my urban house. I love that Chinese villages were intentional about having the same thing. Even though there is a need to live in close quarters does not negate the need to also be connected and close to nature.

I also enjoyed the round community buildings. I feel that there is a lot to learn from them, in light of our world’s increasing housing crisis.

I thought that was interesting as well, and how it is very different from the planning of the more open areas throughout Europe.  Yes, this would be a great assignment for kids to create and compare the differents areas.

On p. 155, Wheatley writes, "It also follows that all the interior space of a Chinese city was not always built over immediately after the walls had been raised, or perhaps ever."  This is certainly true in the case of Kyoto, which was built to resemble Chang-an (modern-day Xi'an.)  The eastern half of the city filled up quickly enough, but the western side just sort of petered out into farmland even a century afterward.

Incidentally, reading about feng-shui made me recall how the Bank of China building in Hong Kong was reputed to have been built with a horrible alignment in regards to feng-shui (maybe that was the Communist Party saying they weren't going to pay attention to old traditions?)  I had to go dig up a photo I took of the building in 1994; there's nothing about it that says it is out of whack with the cosmos (it's the tall building at middle left), but it suddenly dawned on me that it might have been an inspiration for Barad-dur when Peter Jackson was filming The Lord of the Rings.