Envisioning rural futures: Lishui and the Future Shan-Shui City competition

This paper presents an international competition called Future Shan-Shui City: Dwellings in the Lishui Mountains, promoted by Lishui Municipality (Zhejiang Province) in 2020, and examines the three award-winning projects: Future Super Shan-Shui Park by the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, A Symbiotic Urban Change by Olivier Greder Architects, and Prosperous Lishui by South China University of Technology and Politecnico di Torino. By investigating how policies are changing current planning activities, and how the themes raised and then addressed in urban projects, this contribution sheds light on the salient features of today’s development in Chinese marginal areas and provides the opportunity to discuss new visions for rural futures that transcend the Chinese context.