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来自好莱坞的讯息:拥抱过去 塑造城市未来

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今年5月早些时候,一年一度的米尔肯研究院全球会议在美国洛杉矶召开,中美两国商务人士与近4000名来自政府、商业、慈善和公民社会领域的领袖一道出席了会议。今年米尔肯会议的主题是“应对变化中的世界”。

Earlier this May, Chinese and U.S. business executives were among some 4,000 leaders from government, business, philanthropy, and civil society at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. This year's theme was “navigating a world in transition.”

的确,来自亚太地区的与会人数创了新高,他们中的很多人都切身明白,随着世界从农村向城镇转型,快速增长的大都会地区面临着诸多挑战。联合国国际移民组织总干事威廉·斯温在2017年10月指出,居住在城市的人口数量历史上首次超过了农村地区人口。

Indeed, many of the participants attending from the Asia-Pacific region know first-hand the challenges facing rapidly growing metropolitan areas as the world transitions from rural to urban. For the first time in history, noted UN Migration Director General William Lacy Swing in October 2017, more people live in cities than rural areas.

但有趣的是,好莱坞——距离米尔肯会议现场仅数英里之遥——推出了一部大片,这部影片或许在无意之中给中国的城市领导者们提供了一个讯息。

But intriguingly, from Hollywood — just a few miles from the conference site — came a blockbuster film that might also offer up an unintentional message for China's urban leaders.

漫威公司2018年上半年推出热门电影《黑豹》。自从发行以来,这部电影收获了超过13亿美元票房,包括中国市场贡献的1.05亿美元和东南亚市场贡献的5000万美元。这些票房成绩令《黑豹》成为以单一超级英雄为主角的电影中票房最高的一部。

Black Panther, Marvel's early-2018 entry in its cinematic universe, has grossed more than $1.3 billion since its release, including $105 million in China and $50 million in Southeast Asia. Those box office numbers make Black Panther the highest-ever grossing film based on a single superhero.

但除了为漫画英雄改编的电影设置了新标准,这部将背景设在漫威电影宇宙的影片还以其对城市生活的表现吸引了城市规划专家们的注意。事实上,中国的房地产开发商和城市规划者们应当关注一下这部电影中描绘的城市生活图景。中国的领导层也应如此,因为中国眼下正在大力推动雄安新区的发展这是一个位于日益拥堵、人口日益膨胀的首都北京西南约60英里(约100公里)的新的特别经济区。

But more than setting a new standard for comic-book inspired projects, the film, set in the Marvel Universe, has caught the attention of urbanists in its presentation of city life. Indeed, China's property developers and urban planners should take note of how urban life in the film is depicted. That includes China's leadership as the nation moves forward with development of the Xiong'an New Area – a new special economic zone about 60 miles southwest of the increasingly congested and crowded capital city of Beijing.

2017年4月1日,中国国家主席习近平将位于河北省的三个县指定为“雄安新区”。“雄安”这一名称的汉语单词由中文“雄伟”的“雄”和“平安”的“安”组成。雄安新区被称作以注重环保和建设“智能城市”为重心的高质量发展新模板。

On April 1, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping designated three counties in Hebei Province as the "Xiong'an New Area.” The characters for Xiong'an are a combination of the Chinese characters for "brave" and "peace." The Xiong'an New Area has been described as a possible new template for high-quality development with a focus on the environment and building a "smart city."

如果一切进展顺利,雄安新区或许可以从《黑豹》如何定义“智能城市”中汲取经验。这种“智能城市”不仅科技发达,同时也是充满活力的城市地区,能从中国丰富的文化遗产、传统和社区意识中汲取养分。

If all goes well, Xiong'an might also take a lesson from Black Panther in defining a "smart city" as one that is not only technologically advanced but also a vibrant urban area that draws from China's rich cultural heritage, traditions and sense of community.

《黑豹》电影中的很多场景都设定在瓦坎达首都比尔宁扎那。瓦坎达是一个虚拟的非洲国家,黑豹保护其免受外界影响。而黑豹的真实身份是提恰拉,一个科技发达但奉行孤立主义国家的国王。瓦坎达国的城市生活令人惊异之处就在于,它与我们过往在电影中经常见到的、充满现代感的城市不同,也与我们旅行时经过的那些快速发展的亚洲城市不同。

A good part of the film Black Panther takes place in Birnin Zana, the capital of Wakanda, a fictional African nation protected from outside influences by the Black Panther, whose real identity is T'Challa, the king of the technologically advanced, but isolationist country. What is striking about Wakandan city-life is how different it is from what we have become accustomed to seeing in movies offering a view of modernity, as well as in our own travels through the rapidly growing urban areas of much of Asia.

马克·马尔金在《建筑文摘》中写道,与我们期待在未来城市看到的无处不在的不锈钢玻璃高塔和失去生机的街头生活不同,电影为我们呈现出了一幅充满非洲质感、设计和颜色的丰富多彩的城市图景,这种城市围绕人与人之间的互动而存在。

Architectural Digest's Marc Malkin writes that rather than seeing the ubiquitous glass-and-steel towers and sterile street life that we have come to expect in the cities of tomorrow, we are shown in the film a colorful cityscape infused with African textures, designs, and colors, organized to emphasize human interaction.

这一元素为这个虚拟的非洲之都营造出一份独特、难忘的“氛围”——在那里摩天大厦矗立于活力四射的社区。

All this contributes to the fictional capital's unique, memorable “vibe” – one where skyscrapers rise from vibrant communities below.

但遗憾的是,亚洲很多城市都不具备这种特质,包括中国的部分城市在内。

Sadly, the same cannot be always said about many of Asia's cities, including parts of China.

本来出于善意将商业区域与住宅区域分割开来的区划规则,或许会降低一个城市的活力,正如我们在美国看到的那样。同时,当穿行在亚洲的超大都市时,我们可以清楚地看到城镇化的规模与方向通常导致宜居度被削弱。而那些有能力善用城市提供的种种机会与便利度,与那些无法利用这些机会的人们之间,他们的不平等也在日益加剧。

Well-intentioned zoning rules separating commercial and residential districts may well reduce a city's vibrancy, as we have seen in the United States. And, what is clear in a journey through Asia's megacities is that the scale and direction of urbanization has led too often to reduced livability and burgeoning inequality between those who can and those who cannot afford the best that a city has to offer.

随着更多的人们从农村涌向城市,以及区域之间不平等的加剧,这种挑战只会变得越来越严峻。根据乐施会(Oxfam)最新发布的不平等报告,亚洲是眼下全球贫富差距最大的地区之一。

This challenge is likely to only grow, as more people move from rural to urban areas and inequality increases across the region. Asia's wealth gap is now among the largest in the world. That's according to Oxfam's latest report on inequality, “An Economy for the 99%.”

联合国经济和社会事务部在最新发布的年度《世界城镇化展望报告》中预计,很多东南亚国家的城市将在2015年至2025年间经历两位数的人口增长。印度尼西亚雅加达的人口预计将增长22%,从1030万增至1260万。菲律宾马尼拉的人口预计将增长17.4%,从1290万增至1520万。泰国曼谷的人口预计增长11.2%,从930万增至1100万。

A recent United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs' annual World Urbanization Prospects report projects that many of Southeast Asia's cities will experience double-digit growth between 2015 and 2025. Jakarta, Indonesia is expected to grow 22%, from 10.3 to 12.6 million. Manila, in the Philippines, is projected to grow 17.4%, from 12.9 to 15.2 million people; and Bangkok, Thailand, 11.2%, from 9.3 to 11.0 million.

这种大规模的城镇化进程是以该地区建筑式样的丰富和文化结构的质地为代价的。随着城市规划者们寻求实现更新、更整洁同时也更无生趣的现代城市愿景,街头小贩们被迫从一些城市消失。同时,随着街头生活的消失,令这些城市充满独特韵味的曾经长期存在、充满活力的社区即便不会立即消失,也面临着生存威胁。

This rampant urbanization has come at the expense of the region's architectural richness and cultural fabric. Street vendors have been banished in parts of some cities as urban planners seek to impose a new, cleaner, but perhaps more sterile, vision of the modern city. And, as street life has disappeared, the longstanding, vibrant communities that made these cities unique have also come under threat, if not vanished.

而代替众多城市风景的是大一统的平淡无味。这种“将店铺商场化”的进程被从一国照搬到另一国的统一超大商场充斥,这类商场在设计上通常几乎或完全不会借鉴该国本来的文化传承。哪怕是在一个拥有众多联合国世界文化遗址的地区,可悲的是这种现象也屡见不鲜。这些世界文化遗址每年吸引成千上万名游客来汲取灵感,但现在它们似乎已经被遗忘。

What replaces many a cityscape is a generic blandness. This “mallification,” punctuated by the existence of a generic mega mall that is transplanted from country to country, too often draws little or no design influence from a country's legacy. This is all too sadly evident even in a region of the world that is home to many UNESCO world heritage sites. These sites draw thousands of visitor each year for inspiration, but seem to have been relegated to the past.

这种过去与现在的割裂并非一开始就在亚洲存在。我们只需以柬埔寨上世纪60年代的“黄金时代”为例,当时的柬埔寨建筑师凡·莫利万(Vann Molyvann,卒于2017年)将吴哥帝国的建筑风格与现代设计元素相结合,发起了“新高棉建筑”运动。他的作品以风格和传统的融合而享誉世界。

This harsh division of past and present has not always existed in the region. One need only to look to Cambodia's “Golden Age” of the 1960s as an example, when Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann (d. 2017) used building features of the Angkor Empire with modern design elements to help launch the “New Khmer Architecture” movement. His works were hailed for its synthesis of style and tradition.

回顾过去,莫利万超前的设计理念放在当下也依然不失纯正的高棉风格。但可叹的是,随着中国和其他国家的投资大量涌入,推动金边快速发展并着重强调规模而非纯正风格的城镇化进程,他的很多作品都惨遭摧毁。

By looking back, Molyvann's forward-looking designs remained authentically Khmer. Sadly, many of his works have succumbed as Chinese and other investment has contributed to Phnom Penh's breakneck development and to a vision of urbanization that seemingly emphasizes size over authenticity.

然而这种纯正性正是设计一座健康城市的关键元素之一。总部位于荷兰、致力于提高全球人民生活质量的智库菲利普斯健康与福祉中心正是这样认为的。与其忽视历史,城市规划者和房地产开发商们应当拥抱一座城市的传承、文化和环境,来创造一种独特的地理与身份认同感。这种独特性,这种我们此前从未见过的、其他地方绝无仅有的独特性,正是当我们看到银幕上瓦坎达活力四射街道时的反应。

It is this authenticity, however, that is among the critical ingredients in what goes into designing a healthy city. That's according to The Philips Center for Health and Well-being, a Netherlands-based think tank focused on improving the lives of people around the world. Rather than ignore its history, urban planners and developers should embrace a city's heritage, culture and environment to create a unique sense of place and identity. This uniqueness, of seeing something we have never seen before and that exists nowhere else, is what we also react to when we see the vibrant streets of Wakanda on screen.

以下内容包含剧透,介意者请慎读!随着《黑豹》影片接近尾声,瓦坎达领袖提恰拉知会联合国,他决定揭示其国度真实的进步与发展状况。影片结尾,一名外国官员问道,瓦坎达能够给世界提供什么。

Spoiler alert! As the movie Black Panther draws to a close, Wakanda's leader, T'Challa, informs the United Nations of his decision to reveal the true state of his country's advancements and development. The scene concludes with a foreign official responding by asking what Wakanda has to offer the world.

这里有一个明确的回答。瓦坎达向我们展示出,对于城镇化看起来或感受起来应当是什么样子,无需存在一个默认项,也无需简单复制好莱坞的弄假成真。同时,对于那些要把雄安新区的伟大图景在未来若干年内变为现实的人们来说,《黑豹》也传递出了一个讯息。世界各地的城市,包括中国的城市在内,都将持续不断地发展,但发展的途径应是通过拥抱它们各自丰富的过往,来创造一个充满活力、风格独特、兼收并蓄的未来。

Here is one clear answer. Wakanda shows that there need not be a default setting for what urbanization looks and feels like. This need not simply be Hollywood make-believe. And that's also a message for those turning the Xiong'an New Area master plan into reality in the years ahead. Cities everywhere, including in China, will continue to grow, but they can also do so by embracing their rich pasts while building a vibrant, unique and inclusive future.
 

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