Prosperous Lishui: A Project for Chinese Hinterland

This article presents the project Prosperous Lishui developed by Politecnico di Torino and South China University of Technology for the Future Shan-Shui City: Dwellings in the Lishui Mountains competition, organized by Lishui Municipality, Zhejiang Province, in 2020. Aligned with national policies, the competition invites to develop new visions to fuse urban and rural areas based on the integration of city-functions and programs in the countryside, and, vice versa, agriculture in urban spaces. The Lishui Valley was selected as an emblematic site: a rich and complex ecosystem, important for agricultural production and tourism, as well as for its ecological and historical value. The project Prosperous Lishui reorganises the existing landscape into four systems: 1) spaces for agricultural production, 2) dwellings on the mountains 3) a composite system of facilities and mobility, 4) an ecological reserve. This urban design develops a scenario to generate large social and economic benefits while preserving ecological biodiversity.