Wenjie Dong

Breaking Barriers -
Rethink the connection between the street, the moat and the neighbourhood life

The pandemic is subtly changing people's life. People's daily activity space has gradually shifted from large public spaces to neighborhood and street spaces, including daily exercise and shopping. This loop neighborhood living circle may become a future trend. Taking Ningbo as a case, based on the characteristics of the water town, I focused on the neighborhood life around the moat. Existing Chinese urban design focuses too much on the linear public space along the river, while ignoring the connection between the spaces on both sides of the river. The current streets, riverfront spaces, and neighborhood fence are like barriers blocking people's flow of activities.

This thesis is inspired by the past life in the neighborhoods along the river in Ningbo and integrates the effective use of space in the past into modern urban life. The design breaks the barrier through bridges and reconnect the lives of residents on both sides of the moat. Also,these linear spaces penetrate into the neighborhood along the street, connect with various functional spaces, and eventually form a new living circle.