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The Second Forum on World Urban History in China
时间：2012-06-29 10:48:37 点击：47

 

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After the first forum on urban history held in China in 2010, the second one (6-8 April 2012), co-organized by Hangzhou Normal University, the Institute of World History of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Center for Urban History of University of Leicester in the UK , was held in Hangzhou and Tonglu of Zhejiang Province in China. More than 60 attendants, from over 30 universities, educational institutions and research institutions of the UK, America, France, Belgium, Hong Kong and the mainland of China, joined the forum.
Under the rapid development of China and global urbanization, in view of the city differences between East and West, it’s of academic and practical significance to explore urban history from a comparative perspective. So the theme of this forum was “The Urbanization in Comparative Perspective: History, Society and Culture”, and it’s designed to make a comparative study of the historical development of the world cities so as to deepen our understanding both in the theoretical and practice level. More than 40 academic papers were received in this forum, which mainly focused on the research theory and methodology of urban history, social changes of the cities, and urban culture and life, etc.  
During the three-day meeting, scholars from both home and abroad made heated discussions on the issues of common concern, of which the research theory and methodology of urban history was still given special focus. Also, different views were offered towards the classification criteria of the historical stages of world urban development, the relationship between cities and the origin of capitalism, the intension and extension of “urbanology” as a discipline. What concerned Chinese scholars most were the different measures taken by the governments of the major countries in Europe and America on city planning and community governance ever since the Industrial Revolution, with the UK and France as representatives, the thus involved interaction between the governments and the different social classes, and the urban-rural relations in the process of urbanization, etc.. while the foreign scholars paid more attention to the impact of the popularity of the automobile and other forms of transport on urban life and urban modernity, the cultural identity and value orientation in the process of urbanization, etc.. Some other hot issues such as the city problems of the homeless, slums, etc. arising from urbanization and the countermeasures taken by the governments, the city diseases, the occupational diseases, and the construction of the public health system, etc. also got more concerns from most scholars. The cases chosen to study was extended from the big cities like London, New York, Paris, etc., to Baghdad, Venice as well as Chinese cities like Tianjin, Shanghai, Luoyang, etc..
It was the first time for China to cooperate with the western famous academic institution to host this forum, which offered an open academic platform for the scholars from both home and abroad to exchange views on the common issues of the process and mode of urban development, the subsequent city problems and countermeasures, etc. It not only helped the western scholars understand the current studies of urban history and witness the current city development in China, but also helped Chinese scholars to learn the latest research theories and achievements of urban history studies in the west. The topics discussed covered a wide range of fields such as the theories of urban studies, urban social problems, urban environment, history and culture, etc. what’s more, the interdisciplinary research methods were used including both social science research methods like history, urban sociology, and political science and natural science research methods like geography, ecology and urban planning, etc. thus, the success of this forum would help break the barrier between different disciplines for scholars to carry out interdisciplinary researches on urban studies, and deepen their understanding of the trend of global urban development.
During the discussion, there emerged conflict and coordination between different views offered by scholars of different cultural backgrounds and research orientations. Issues like the governance of urban transport and canals during the city reconstruction of Paris, the relationship between population growth and urban transformation in modern China, the additional value judgment on the urban problems such as slums, the construction criteria of the urban public health system, etc. became hot topics, and the introduction and development of urban sociology in modern China, the historical reasons of the changes of the particular communities in America, and the emergence of urban public garden in modern China were also discussed particularly by some relevant scholars. On the other hand, the studies of the impact of automobile on different aspects of modern city life, a change in attitude towards the homeless by local authorities, etc. by western scholars aroused extensive interest among Chinese scholars, while the case studies of the world’s typical cities by Chinese scholars also got full affirmation of the western scholars. Finally, it’s generally believed that the rapid process of urbanization in China and its subsequent problems should not only be studied under the development of global urban integration to probe into the multi-dimensional city changes during the process of world modernization but also should be studied in the context of the local culture and history so as to inject fresh blood into the study of world urban history, the theories of urban history and the comparative study of Chinese and foreign cities. On the other hand, the multiple modes of urbanization process existing in modern China also provided a new idea for urban development in the west.
It was also a first successful attempt for the Chinese local government to co-host such a forum, which not only reflected the global awareness of the Chinese local governments on the urban constructions but also highlighted their wishes of building high-quality cities with unique cultures. Some field investigations were carried on with the visits to the local municipal layout, the scenic spots and folk villages, etc., which offered a new perspective for the scholars to deepen the understanding of the urban-rural interaction in the process of urbanization, the integration of the urban and rural areas and the cultural significance of the contemporary urban constructions.