138 JIANGXI XINYU NETWORKCITY, 2002

smooth space cities not mixed use cities
There is no doubt that the contemporary city requires an alternative to the 20th century’s inclination to segregate the functions of the city. We need an alternative to the development of ghettos of industry, commerce, and housing, and the consequent isolation, morbidity, and excessive travel from function to function. There is no doubt that the concept of mixed use goes someway to alleviating the problems of strict land use zoning. However, it is not so much a step forward but a step backward. Prior to the innovation of zoning, the western cities were mixed use, as are most Asian cities today. And at best mixed use creates a “…lively, rich sustainable city, at worst it produces a homogenous city that dampens significant variety, arrests most possibilities of differentiation, and encourages conformity. It tends to reduce all life styles to a common denominator. What appears as heterogenous turns out to be homogenous and dull (blunt?).”

Alexander presents an alternative to the homogenous cities; cities containing Mosaics of Subculture . Mosaic cities are a sophisticated hybrid solution that provides for both the ability to gain strength and support by gathering together, and encourages the mixing of programs (cultures, functions, etcetera) throughout the city; a both/and solution that would no doubt please Robert Venturi. However, it does not allow for the continuity of the programs. If a city user wanted to enjoy a particular programatic experience (a green city experience, a high cultural experience, or a commercial experience) while wandering the entire city they can’t, the option is not available; the program is limited to the locations of discontinuous mosaics. Koolhaas, in his brilliant entry to the La Villette competition, tried to rectify this issue of continuity by stretching Alexanders mosaics into bands. This does provide a prolonged experience of a particular program but only if the city user chooses to walk parallel with the bands. Walking perpendicular to them, they experience a variety of programs compressed within a short space-time. This model certainly increases the potential to experience a particular cultural or functional program over a prolonged period of time, or not; but the bands are still not continuos in the perpendicular direction. The banded or mosaic city does not offer the potential of an “…and…” experience (…and continuity and variety and…) demanded by concepts of a smooth space city.

The Xin Yu City competition entry explores a modification of Koolhaas’ La Villette project: the insertion of bands of alternating program in addition and perpendicular to those proposed by Koolhaas. This offers the city a series of clearly zoned areas of one function, and a series of mixed use zoned areas, but more importantly it offers the city the option of both a continuous gathering of program and a completely mixed use city in all directions, over the entire city area. Where is the housing? Everywhere. Where is the commerce? Everywhere. Where is the (clean) industry? Everywhere. Is the housing continuous? Yes. Is the commerce continuous? Yes. Is the (clean) industry continuous? Yes. Are there ghettos of housing? No. Are there ghettos of commerce? No. Are there ghettos of industry? No.

The Xin Yu project is an experiment in exploring a smooth space city, a city full of potential not potential acted out.
Steve Whitford

Location: Jiangxi Province, China
Status: First Prize, invited competition
Client: Xinyu City Hi-Tech Zone Government
Program: 25sqkm of new city adjacent to the existing Xinyu city. The first networks city developed with Steve Whitford.

	Homogeneous City ·Unclear ·Uncertain ·Monotonous ·Discontinuous Provides a city that is unable to accommodate complex or large programs and gives no directions for future growth.
	Ghetto City ·Clear ·Certain ·Monotonous A city with no diversity and no complexity. Large mono-functional areas lead to isolation and other social problems.
	Mosaic City ·Clear ·Discontinuous. A wide variety of programs can be accommodated but each is separate there is no mixing and hence little diversity.
	Banded City ·Clear ·Certain ·Diverse. Continuous, but only in one direction. Long boundaries give some opportunity for interaction between programs.
	Networks City ·Clear ·Certain ·Diverse ·Continuous Provides a city of clarity, certainty, diversity and continuity.

A PLACE OF MANY UTOPIAS.
Xinyu Networks-City. A new city model that ensures clarity, certainty, diversity and continuity. A city that distributes all program to all parts of the city. A system to achieve environmental, economic and social sustainability. Covering an area of 25 square kilometres this new city seeks to accommodate a population of 120,000 within the next 8 years.

Networks of residential, light industry, commerce and parkland extend and overlap and ensure that amenity and opportunity is evenly distributed throughout the city.

Sustainable: Networks City is a walking city. Working, shopping, entertaining and living are distinct yet adjacent.

Diverse: various living conditions are available. Pure housing, housing mixed with commerce, housing mixed with clean industry. Work places are not isolated in large zoned ghettos.

Fractal: Networks City can grow at any rate without affecting the success of the next stage.

Continuous: Networks City provides opportunities to experience the breadth of the city solely within any one of the networks.