An International Webinar organized by The University of Hong Kong and Urban China Magazine

22 May 2020 Via ZOOM

Convener: Ting Wang, Ph.D. Candidate, Division of Landscape Architecture

Organizers: Division of Landscape Architecture and Urban China Magazine

Seminar Introduction:

By 2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. The accelerating move toward completely urbanized societies has been referred to by some scholars as “planetary urbanization,” pointing to the increasing human impacts on the environment in the era of globalization. In such processes, how has the notion of “nature” been mobilized in emergent environmental discourses and become “mainstreamed” in specific contexts?

In this seminar, we will explore these questions by focusing on the growing role of wetland construction as environmental solutions in recent years. Our considerations include: What are wetlands? What are the different agendas associated with wetland projects? How are they related to that of other green city concepts such as national parks and eco-cities? How may the impacts of these schemes be compared with those elsewhere？

Keynote Speakers:

Mathew Pryor, Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Landscape Architecture, the University of Hong Kong

Title: The Meaning of Wetlands: Stories from the HK Wetland Park

Michael Leven, Director and Ecologist in AEC Ltd.

Title: Beyond Impact Avoidance: How can the EIA Process Benefit Biodiversity Conservation – A Case Study of a Hong Kong Wetland

Werner Breitung, Professor in David Lam Institute for East West Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University

Title: The Social Construction of Nature – Wetland Conservation in an Urban Borderland

Discussants:

Cecilia Chu, Associate Professor, Division of Landscape Architecture, HKU

Xiaoxuan Lu, Assistant Professor, Division of Landscape Architecture, HKU

Guo Cui, Executive Editor, Urban China Magazine

* This event is also supported by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau, CIB-HKU Student Chapter and Shanghai HuaDu Architecture and Urban Design Group (HDD).

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