ARCH 5731A

Topical Studies in Urbanism:

Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship in

Contemporary China

Lecturer: Tat Lam & Ho Man Yeung

Tatlam2218@gmail.com, Legg@shanzhai.city

+852 6800 7447, +852 5933 4230

Rm 501, 135 Hoi Bun Road, Hong Kong

9:30am – 12:15 nn, Thursday

Venue: YIA LT4

DESCRIPTION

What happens when the mindsets of urbanism clashes with that of tech-based

start-ups? Two folds of consequences have been observed in the past five years: On

the one hand, urban lifestyle has changed dramatically with digital service platforms

such as Uber, Air bnb and Zipcar which taps into underutilized resources from private

assets. On the other, realms of data technology, such as Big Data Development,

Machine Learning and Predictive Modeling, has offered new methodologies for

problem identification and resolution. For example, the localized problems of traffic

jam in Boston is successfully mitigated simply by an APP which located parking

spaces for drivers who may otherwise navigate endlessly on streets. The discipline of

urban studies seems to have reached a new action-taking platform with a diverse

range of technically and financially affordable tools.

To this end, urban innovators will need insights, research methodologies, execution

techniques, capital and above all, the ambitious but genuine mentality to affect

positive change. Therefore, through opportunistic but critical lenses, this seminar will

offer students deep reading, executable tools and room of cross-disciplinary

explorations to the ubiquitous yet complex development problems of urban China.

There are three different but relevant mechanisms to this seminar: lectures,

workshops and pitch sessions. The lectures will expose students to the diverse fields

of urban scenarios and shaping forces in China and Hong Kong, such as

self-organized urbanism in Urban Villages, top-down development structure in New

Village Construction Initiatives and the role of land and power behind them. The

workshops will collaborate with experts from fields of Machine Learning (big data

technology), Participatory Community Research and Entrepreneurism, to equip

students with methodologies and hands-on experience of these tools. Lastly, in the

pitch sessions students will be shared with cases from professional practice, for the

breath of executed ideas and realistic challenges. As much as professional

experience will be passed out, students’ ideas will be taken in form of “elevator

pitches”, whose final versions will be presented to real social investors and

entrepreneurs, in order to connect academia to the crude but exciting reality.

The seminar will depart from the general research and observation of urbanism, to

propose proactive strategies which utilize multi-disciplinary tools to bring urban

innovative ideas to the marketplace. This seminar will closely relate to Prof. Tat Lam’s

teaching at M. Arch I Studio.

OBJECTIVES

To develop critical, concise and in-depth reading of contemporary urbanism in

China;

To gain new tools of urban research, design thinking concept development,

and execution plan development;

To propose executable urban intervention strategies with innovative tools by

students.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through this seminar, students are expected to expand their capabilities of tool-based

analysis, methodology-based research and project-based execution planning. There

should be a basic understanding that these three capacities be applied as a

continuous and transformative process to leverage critical thinking into executable

plans, which enable urbanists to engage with real world resources, such as

professional advice, talent pool, mentorship and capital. More specifically, students

will experience a concise process from problem identification, research

methodologies design, to marketing research outcomes as executive prototypes to

audience of diverse background, such as the academia, the public and the

entrepreneurial network. Some key outcomes are listed as below,

Problem definition through creative and design thinking strategies

Development of case specific research methodologies

Conception of execution plan

Design of precise and effective means to convey creative ideas

ASSIGNMENTS

Research paper, executable proposal plan, impact/performance management

systems. Projects will be conducted in groups of 3-4.

Mid-term presentation:

Format: Elevator-pitch sessions

Students will be expected to explain preliminary project ideas and strategies in short

presentation formats of 5 slides presented within 5 minutes.

Final presentation:

Format: Panel discussion and elevator-pitch sessions

Students will be expected to produce A0 panels, which synthesize research findings

and methodologies into executable proposals. Short presentations of 10 minutes will

be given to invited guests.

Final Submission:

Format: Written report of research analysis, execution plan or web-based dashboards

for performance management prototypes

Students will be expected to produce any two of the above deliverables, written

reports will be in short and precise format, while web-based prototypes will be

launched online.

ASSESSMENT SCHEME

In-class participation: [20%]

Mid-term presentation with slides [20%]

Final presentation with slides and panel [30%]

Final submission with research paper, execution proposal or web-based prototypes

(any two of the three) [30%]

COURSE FORMAT

This seminar consists lecture presentations, guest presentation and sharing,

workshops with experts to introduce specific research tools, students’ presentations,

and group discussions of assigned readings.

READINGS

A reading list is proposed for each class mentioned in the schedule section. A digital

PDF [course reader] which complies all recommended readings of book chapters and

reports will be distributed to the student during class.

IMPORTANT NOTES TO STUDENTS

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work,

and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such

policy and regulations.

Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. With each

assignment, students may be required to submit a statement that they are aware of

these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

WEEKLY SYLLABUS

Week 1 Course Introduction and Discussion

Date: 10th September, 2015

Introduction to basic format and contents covered in the course. Discussions will be

held to in-take students’ expectations of the course.

Required Readings:

+Ananya Roy, 2011. The Agonism of Utopia: Dialectics at a Standstill, in Traditional

Dwellings and Settlements Review, Vol. 23, No. 1 (FALL 2011), International

Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, pp. 15-24

+ Kevin Chika and Ernest Nti Acheampong, (2013). Social Innovation Creates

Properous Societies. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2013. Article can

be downloaded from:

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/social_innovation_creates_prosperous_societi

es

Recommended Reading:

+Dan Pallotta, 2013. The way we think about charity is dead wrong [Video and

Transcript]

TED Talks (13th February 2013), Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong

?language=en

Week 2 Urban Innovation

Date: 17th September, 2015

Presentation: Shanzhai City - Grassroot innovation and entrepreneurship

Lecturer: Tat Lam and Ho Man Yeung

Through studying urban villages in Shenzhen, informal economies in Huaqiangbei

and other contemporary urban phenomena, the class will explore the linkage between

urban grass root empowerment with new trends of entrepreneurship in China.

Required Readings:

+ Economist (2014), Hacking Shenzhen: Why southern China is the best place in the

world for a hardware innovator to be, Economist, 18th January, 2014. Article can be

downloaded from:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21593590-why-southern-china-best-pl

ace-world-hardware-innovator-be-hacking

+ Jonathan Bach , “They Come in Peasants and Leave Citizens: Urban Villages and

the Making of Shenzhen, China”, Cultural Anthropology 25:3(2010), 421-458

Recommended Readings:

+ Y.P. Wang, Y. Wang and J. Wu (2009), Urbanization and Informal Development in

China: Urban Villages in Shenzhen. International Journal of Urban and Regional

Research, 33: 957-973

Week 3 Rural is the new urban

Date: 24th September, 2015

Presentation: Rural entrepreneurship development and its urban implications

Lecturer: Ho Man Yeung

Cases of entrepreneurial development in China, including tradition, contemporary and

best practices will be introduced. The implication or relationship they have with rural

immigration pattern, household registration system, and identity issues will be

discussed. The development opportunities which informal and shared economy has to

offer will also be covered.

Required Readings:

+ Martin King Whyte (2010). One Country, Two Societies: Rural-urban Inequality in

Contemporary China. Boston: Harvard University Press, pp1-28.

Recommended Readings:

+Thomas J. Campanella, 2008. The Concrete Dragon: China’s Urban Revolution and

What it Means for the World. NJ: Princeton Architectural Press, pp27-43

Week 4 (Public Holiday)

Date: 1st October, 2015

Week 5 Methodologies: Urban big data –Part 1

Date: 8th October, 2015

Guest lecture: Data mining and machine learning simulation (Skype/Flown-in

guest)

Lecturer: Prof. Danil Nagy, Urban Planning Program at Columbia University

Students will be introduced to the realm of data technology, the definition of “Big Data”,

its development, mining process, machine learning principles and visualization

techniques. Its methodologies and application will be explored in the field of urban

research and entrepreneurism.

Required Readings:

+Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, 2013. The Rise of Big Data: How

It’s Changing The Way We Think About the World. Foreign Affairs, (92:3) June 2013.

pp1-14

+ Shannon Mattern (2015). Mission Control: A History of the Urban Dashboard

[Narrative Journalism]. Places Journal, March, 2015. Article can be downloaded from:

https://placesjournal.org/article/mission-control-a-history-of-the-urban-dashboard/

Recommended Readings:

+ Antonio Regalado (2014), Is Google Concerning the Market on Deep Learning?,

MIT Technology Review, 29th January, 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/524026/is-google-cornering-the-market-on-d

eep-learning/

+ Dan McQuillan (2014), Smart slums: Utopian or dystopian vision of the future?, The

Guardian, 6th October, 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/oct/06/s

mart-slums-smart-city-kenya-mapping

Week 6 Methodologies: Urban big data – 2

Date: 15th October, 2015

Workshop: Social media data mining tool and basic visualization development

Lecturer: Prof. Danil Nagy, Urban Planning Program at Columbia University

Using a set of available data mined from social media platforms, tutorials on data

mining and visualization techniques will be offers. Students will then conduct in-class

experiments with these tools. (Please prepare your own computer for this workshop)

Required Readings:

+ Danil Nagy, (Nov, 2014). Data Mining the City FA14 [online tutorials]. Retrieved

from:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO3dE-LAez90sbAleQT6JZA

+ Shannon Mattern, (2014). Interfacing Urban Intelligence [Narrative Journalism].

Places Journal, April, 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

https://placesjournal.org/article/interfacing-urban-intelligence/

Recommended Reading:

+China Internet Network Information Center (2011). 2010 Research Report on

Internet Development in China’s Rural Villages. China Internet Network Information

Center, August 2011. Pp1-38

Week 7 Methodologies: Urban fieldwork

Date: 22nd October, 2015

Guest lecture + Workshop: Conducting fieldwork research in both city and rural

context

Lecturer: TBC

Basic principles and methodologies of participatory research will be covered. Guest

speaker will share field work experience and reflections using several community

projects as examples. In a follow-up workshop, students will participate in a process

of problem identification, field work strategy development and preparation.

Required Reading:

+Carlo Ginzburg and Anna Davin (1980), Morelli Freud and Sherlock Holmes, Clues

and Scientific Method. In History Workshop No.9. Oxford University (Spring 1980).

pp5-36

Recommended Reading:

+Nigel Barley. The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes from a Mud Hut. Waveland Press

(1st January 1983).

Week 8 Methodologies: Urban and social entrepreneurship

Date: 29th October, 2015

Guest Lecture + Workshop: Social Entrepreneurship Development

Lecturer: TBC

Introduction to entrepreneurism through business thinking: Root cause identification

strategies will be explored, as well as the solutions to these root causes as executable

business ideas. The development and necessary resources to these ideas, such as

business planning and fund raising, will also be discussed. In a follow-up workshop,

students will attempt to develop their first business plan for an idea to affect social

change.

Required Readings:

+ Roger L. Martin and Sally Osberg, (2014). Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for

Definition. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2007. Article can be

downloaded from:

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/social_entrepreneurship_the_case_for_definiti

on

+ James A. Phills Jr., Kriss Deiglmeier and Dale T. Miller, (2018).Rediscovering Social

Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2008. Article can be downloaded

from:

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/rediscovering_social_innovation/

Recommended Readings:

+ Elizabeth Garlow and Rich Tafel, (2014). The Power of a Simple and Inclusive

Definition. Stanford Social Innovation Review, May 2013. Article can be downloaded

from:

http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/the_power_of_a_simple_and_inclusive_definition

+ Richard McGill and Denielle Sachs, (2013). The Rise of Social Entrepreneurship

Suggests A Possible Future For Global Capitalism. Forbes, 2nd May 2013. Article can

be downloaded from:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/skollworldforum/2013/05/02/the-rise-of-social-entreprene

urship-suggests-a-possible-future-for-global-capitalism/

Week 9 Case Study: Impact investment and returns of social investment

Date: 5th November, 2015

Presentation: Impact measurement Methodologies

Lecturer: Ho Man Yeung

The concept of impact investment as an agent of change will be discussed through

cases from recent Chinese and global social enterprises. The means to validate

change (impact assessment) and represent this change (impact communication) will

be introduced from the recent research conducted by Shanzhai City on Impact

Assessment Methodologies. In a follow-up session, students will learn the

components of an impact program, which includes impact development, data

collection, data analysis and communication platform design. Then students will

attempt to design a case-specific “impact map” with the guidance of the speaker.

Preliminary pitch presentations from students. (5 minutes each)

Required Readings:

+ Jane Wei-Skillern, James E. Austin, Herman Leonard and Howard Stevenson, 2007.

Chapter 7: Measuring Performance, in Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector, SAGE

Publications, Inc. (May 24, 2007), pp. 321-343

+ J. P. Morgan Global Research, 2010. Impact Investments: An emerging asset class,

J. P. Morgan and The Rockerfeller Foundation, 29th November 2010. Article can be

downloaded from:

http://ventureatlanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/JP-Morgan-impact_investments

_nov2010.pdf

Recommended Readings:

+ Sabine Garbarino and Jeremy Holland, 2009. Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

in Impact Evaluation and Measuring Results, Governance and Social Development

Resource Center.

+ The City of New York, (2014). One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City

[Annual Report]. New York Government, 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/downloads/pdf/publications/OneNYC.pdf

Week 10 Case Study: New Real Estate + Students’ Presentations

Date: 12th November, 2015

Guest Lecture: Bit-coin real estate: New insights on property transaction (Skype)

& Discussion:

Lecturer: Prof. Travis Bunt, Columbia University Real Estate Program

Guest speaker will shared his speculation on China’s real estate development and a

start-up case which adopts Bit-coin currency in real estate trading.

Mid-term presentations from students. (5 minutes each)

Required Readings:

-To be confirmed with guest lecturer

Week 11 Case Study: Farm business development + Students’ Presentations

Date: 19th November, 2015

Presentation: Farm Think – Diversification of agri-business for rural development

Lecturer: Ho Man Yeung

O2O, source-tracing, certification and fair-trade systems, these tools have put new

models of agri-business under the spot-light of rural development in China. This

seminar will unpack the complex relationship between the adoption of these tools and

issues of food transparencies and trust, as well as farm-to-table value chain and its

values. Through an introduction to the new hardware and software for agri-business,

students can also explore applications of data technology and business thinking for

rural agricultural development.

Check-in presentations from students. (5 minutes each)

Required Readings:

+Marin Agricultural Land Trust (2014). 2013-2014 Annual Report: Saving Family

Farms, now and forever. [Report]. Malt Marin Agricultural Land Trust, 2014. Article

can be downloaded from:

http://www.malt.org/newsletters

+ CCTV, (2015). How to manage financial risks—Buy a sheep from the internet

[Documentary]. CCTV, 17th January 205. Retrieved from:

http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C11350/55faf23f08b94c5fbb66f3e4d0380687?from=timeline&is

appinstalled=0

+Yuso Pang, (2015). Thoughts on “Internet + Community Fresh Food Supply Chain +

Eco-Tourism Farms” [Blog]. New Agricultural Village and Modern Agriculture, 10th

June, 2015. Article can be downloaded from:

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA5Nzk1MjcyNg==&mid=207587309&idx=2&sn=

5047eb34b774bc5318b441e5abad2059#rd

Recommended Readings:

+G.W. Stevenson and Rich Pirog, (2013). Value-based food supply chains: Strategies

for agri-food enterprises-of-the-middle [Report]. The Center of Integrated Agricultural

Systems, June, 2013. Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/valuechainstrategiesfinal07251

3.pdf

+Wendy Rawlings, (2014). Let’s Talk about Shredded Romaine Lettuce [Narrative

Journalism]. Places Journal, March, 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

https://placesjournal.org/article/lets-talk-about-shredded-romaine-lettuce/

Week 12 Case Study: Start-up a foundation + Students’ Presentations

Date: 26th November, 2015

Presentation: Left-behind children education foundation

Lecturer: Neil Gaddes, Ho Man Yeung

In this seminar, Shanzhai City will continue to share its current research challenges

and insights on China’s rural development, using a project in Mianning, Sichuan. The

ubiquitous and typical rural problems resulted from mass migration towards cities,

such as left-behind children and unthoughtful new village construction will be

re-examined case-specifically. The insights and hurdles of starting-up an education

foundation, which intend to collaborate closely with corporations, government, grass

root farmers and left-behind children will be discussed in-depth with students.

Check-in presentations from students. (5 minutes each)

Required Readings:

+Xiang Biao, 2007. How Far are the Left-Behind Left Behind? A Preliminary Study in

Rural China, in Popul. Space Place 13, Wiley InterScience, (7th December 2007), pp.

179-191

+April Ma, (2014. China raises a generation of ‘left-behind’ children [News Journalism].

CNN News, 4th Feburary 2014. Article can be downloaded from:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/04/world/asia/china-children-left-behind/

(Schedule of final presentation to be confirmed)