Latest news with #urbanregeneration
South China Morning Post
20-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Swire to lease more Zhangyuan retail space after record 18-building move with robots
Swire Properties and its partner in mainland China are preparing to lease the second phase of their retail venture in Shanghai, after shifting 18 buildings on the Zhangyuan site sideways with robots to make way for the construction of a multi-level underground mall. Advertisement The joint venture aimed to release the space in stages from next year, according to Holly Zhang Yuanfu, deputy general manager of Shanghai Jing'an Urban Regeneration Construction Development, the owner of the site. The first phase of the project was completed in late 2022. 'The underground work began after the little robots completed their relocation tasks,' Zhang said. 'Combining the progress of underground construction, the robots will then protectively relocate the buildings back to their original positions.' 'Our goal is to carry out renovation and upgrades while fully preserving the historical buildings,' she added, likening the effort to moving 'fragile grandpas and grannies' that required extreme precision and caution. 'Our goal is revitalisation. Demolition was never an option.' 01:45 Hundreds of robots move an entire city block in China Hundreds of robots move an entire city block in China The property owner shifted 7,500 tonnes of 18 buildings from the site by 10 metres a day using 432 company-built crawler robots. In total, it would be shifting 40 buildings in the relocation effort. It represented the heaviest lateral move in the world over the past decade. The record was an 18,000-tonne structure in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April 2013, according to the Guinness World Records Advertisement In mainland China, the heaviest move – as opposed to taking a building apart and then reassembling it – was the 15,140-tonne Fu Gang Building in Guangxi province, which moved 35 metres sideways in 2004.
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Hipsters and tourists love our town because it's covered in graffiti: It's making us depressed and our local businesses are broken - but the council don't care because it helps sell luxury apartments
It was once a booming industrial sector of east London surrounded by social housing estates home to humble working-class Cockney families. But Hackney Wick's decline by the late 20th century, following Britain's transition into post-industrialism after the Second World War, left the area derelict. Abandoned factories and warehouses were soon rented out to artists and small creative businesses, and made the perfect blank canvas for them to express themselves through the medium of neon spray paint. Over the years, graffiti artists have thickened the walls with their scrawlings as they battle to tag over each other. A huge regeneration project spurred on by the 2012 Olympics saw quirky bars, coffee shops and swanky high-rise apartments pop up amongst the graffiti and canals. This attracted wealthy hipsters and curious tourists who turned it into a gentrified party scene, with newcomers convinced that the street art gives the area an 'edge'. However, whilst these newbies love the gritty urban appearance, the long-term residents have found their neighbourhood's transformation 'depressing', and say an influx of hipsters who want trendy coffee shops has 'broken' local businesses. Michael who has lived in the area his entire life, said it used to be a 'brilliant' place, but has since been 'neglected' by the local council. The 82-year-old, who was walking his dog Sky around the Trowbridge Estate, told MailOnline: 'Hackney has gone way downhill, it's a s***hole. Where we live, just round from where the school is, that was once spotless. 'The graffiti and wall art is disgusting. It's the little s***s who are responsible for it.' He explained how youngsters were once fearful of the police back in the day when they would patrol the area as they knew they would 'get walloped' if they were seen misbehaving. 'These teenagers just really don't care and the parents don't care either,' he said. A few years ago some artists created 'some really nice' murals, but Michael said it was 'messed up' by others spray painting over it, adding: 'I don't mind the art, but the tagging is an absolute disgrace.' Michael proudly proclaimed: 'I was born and bred in Hackney. I'm a true Eastender, I was born within the sound of Bow Bells. 'People ask me if I am ashamed to live in Hackney, and I say what have I got to be ashamed of? I am only ashamed of the people that are moving in.' Sue Johnson, 75, said graffiti 'wasn't a thing' when she first moved into the area in the area in the 1980's. She told MailOnline: 'When I first moved here it was all tower blocks. They knocked them all down, and a bank and our little group of shops, so we had to move home. 'The buildings are just smothered in graffiti now, and if they clean it off, they will only go and do it again. It's getting worse recently. What do they get out of it? 'It's a bit depressing really. It's just a sign of the times, isn't it? It's like a lot of things nowadays. It's just very sad.' Retiree Monique Emirate called the street art 'rubbish' and also believes it's getting worse. 'They can't stop it, it's been going on for ages. I don't like it, it's messing up the whole area. It's mad people who have spoiled the beauty,' the 67-year-old said. Ms Emirate believes the council's inaction over the street art epidemic shows how little they care. 'If they were worried about it, they would do something about it,' she said, rolling her eyes. Acknowledging the 'young people' who moved in after the Olympics and regeneration, she said: 'They rent this expensive accommodation and the next thing you know, it's a mad people's area. It's too much.' In a run-down old school cafe opened on the estate in 1999, chef Yusuf Yilmaz struggled to crack a smile speaking about the fancy coffee shops who have stolen his business, as one lone customer sat in the corner sipping her coffee. The 53-year-old, who has lived there for 14 years, said: 'The Hackney area is not like before. It has changed because different kinds of people have come. 'Business is not well. The new people prefer the new trendy cafes or all the chains that have opened up. These places are selling all these different, special foods. That has broken our business.' He shared other long-time local's disdain for the graffiti, adding: 'It comes with trouble and it makes the place depressing. 'The council should do more work to clean it up. It's been a long time since I've seen any police patrolling the area as well.' Meanwhile, young professionals Bianca Cross, 27, and Olivia Daw, 30, who moved to the estate from New Zealand in April think it serves a purpose to the council. Ms Cross, who works in marketing, said: 'I feel like the council want it here because it gives it an edge and helps them sell their luxury apartments with the cool vibes.' Chiming in, Ms Daw added: 'You kind of know when you've got to a cool neighbourhood because you start seeing all the graffiti.' The women revealed how when they searched for the best pub gardens in the area on Google, they were met with pictures of the canals lined with bars and the graffiti. 'It's like actually a tourist attraction,' they said. Originally, the pair didn't want to move to Hackney Wick because it's reputation as a gentrified party area didn't align with their more 'normal' lifestyle, but the rent for their maisonette on the Trowbridge Estate was the cheapest they could find. 'It was an interesting choice for us,' Ms Cross said 'But I really like that there's a really solid community here. That's been something that we've been finding as it peeks through. 'I've been looking into the history of the area a bit and it seems like people have been pushed out by all the luxury apartments which is sad.' The trendy young professional said she 'generally likes graffiti' as it 'says a lot about a place when people feel able to express themselves'. But she admitted how she and her friend often joke about how it looks 'fabricated' and as if people are 'allowed' to do it. 'It's like they've said, "Oh, here's your little area where you can paint the walls, but not these luxury apartments, of course not!".' The duo explained how the street art they saw on a recent trip to Marseille felt like it was done by people 'trying to make a stand for something important', whereas in Hackney Wick it 'doesn't feel like that'. Ms Daw added: 'When you walk around towards the station and see the construction and graffiti, that combination just makes you feel like you're somewhere apocalyptic because it's just construction dust and writing everywhere with no nature.' A section on Hackney Council's website addressing the graffiti reads: 'We recognise that some people consider that street art makes a positive contribution to the urban environment. 'If your property has a piece of street art or a mural on it, you must contact us to let us know that you would like to keep it. 'We will remove street art or graffiti if we believe it spoils the local environment or prevents people from enjoying the area.' Considerations made when deciding whether to remove of allow it include whether it is: offensive, gang related, insulting or against public interest; likely to encourage more graffiti or tagging; inappropriate for the location or out of keeping with the surrounding area; a cause of complaints to the council; on a listed building or in a conservation area; libellous or potentially libellous; intimidating. They added: 'If you are considering commissioning a new mural or a piece of street art on your property you must contact us to check that it will not breach our graffiti policy.'
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Domestic, Foreign Projects Display Smart Cities' Potential
The Ellinikon is a smart city being created in Greece on the former site of Athens Internation ... More Airport. Over the years, developers have displayed innovation when turning decommissioned airports and airfields into new mixed-use developments. Consider Stapleton International Airport's reincarnation as Denver's Central Park neighborhood, or suburban Chicago's Glenview Naval Air Station's rebirth as The Glen, a live-dine-play-shop community featuring 2,000 homes in eight distinct enclaves. But what's being built on land of a former commercial airport in Greece is nothing short of revolutionary. This and other developments both abroad and in the U.S. provide a preview of the potential of smart cities, which leverage information and communication technology and the Internet of Things to link and enhance urban systems. The goal of any smart city: Improving residents' quality of life and making the city more efficient and livable. Quarter hours Europe's biggest urban regeneration development, The Ellinikon will be developed on the site of the former Athens International Airport. The development spans a total area of 6.2 square miles, of which only 2.7 square miles is to be built. More than 70% of the total area will be devoted to common areas of green space. Given Athens' concrete-to-green ratio was 70:30 until recently, this represents a doubling of green areas. The Ellinikon is the first area of Greece to be developed as a smart city. Residents will be able to access their everyday needs in just a quarter hour within The Ellinikon's 15-minute neighborhoods, which should reduce need for motor vehicles. Neighborhoods will be made up of residences, as well as readily accessible offices, health care centers, hotels, shops, schools, amusement parks and playgrounds. Technology and innovative applications will guide day-to-day life. For instance, traffic-regulating traffic lights will illuminate only on the basis of the volume of cars waiting. Garbage trucks will arrive to pick up trash when bins reach fully loaded. The Ellinikon Park, the first 'smart park' in Greece, will feature systems that adjust lighting intensity based on the season of the year and time of day, systems for continuous monitoring of environmental and weather conditions, and efficiently optimized energy and water use. Interested buyers A total of 6,000 residences will be constructed in the Ellinikon, with phase one providing approximately one-quarter or about 1,500 homes. Little Athens, the neighborhood most recently announced for The Ellinikon, will feature 850 to 900 apartments within 200 to 250 residential buildings, with retail space. Another residential development, Riviera Tower, will soar 200 meters or about 60 stories, offering a bioclimatic design that should enable the high-rise to blend seamlessly with the Athens Riviera's natural environment. Benefitting from a truly international range of prospective buyers, The Ellinikon has seen approximately 12,000 interested purchasers from more than 110 countries. About 52% are from Greece and 48% foreign, with the U.S. the top international source market at 20%. 'The large-scale, ground-up nature of The Ellinikon presented a unique opportunity to deliver a true, smart city environment centrally located in a historic global capital, the Athens Riviera,' says Odisseas Athanasious, CEO of Lamda Development. 'Our goal is nothing less than to set a new standard for city life: A connected, people-centric place [adapting] to evolving needs of residents, visitors and the environment.' Purple pipe Greece doesn't have the market cornered on smart cities. Bridgeland, a Howard Hughes master-planned community in Houston, also offers a number of smart city features. In this case, the smart city is not being built on a former airport site, but on a one-time ranch devoted to raising cattle and rice. The 11,500-acre community when built out will offer approximately 23,000 homes, with 28% of the master plan preserved as parks, trail and open green space. Being among Houston's first communities to implement a purple pipe water reuse system will enable Bridgeland to use recycled water from its lakes to irrigate all common areas, conserving immense amounts of potable water and adding to the cost efficiency of the community over time. Purple pipe systems move reclaimed or recycled water toward non-potable applications like irrigation or industrial processes. In its growing commercial district of Bridgeland Central, the 49,000-square-foot Class A office building uses sustainable features like a 10,000-gallon rainwater and condensate cistern, native landscaping and high-efficiency water features to slash energy use by 25% and municipal water consumption by up to 80%. 'Bridgeland represents the future of thoughtful, sustainable development, where innovation, ecology and quality of life intersect,' Jim Carman, president of the Houston Region at Howard Hughes. 'As the fastest-growing master-planned community in Houston, we've proven large-scale growth can happen responsibly, with infrastructure that protects the environment and enhances everyday living.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City centre bridge given its official opening
A newly-built bridge in Chelmsford city centre has been officially opened. Bow Bridge Road is a 50m-long road and footbridge providing access to a new waterside neighbourhood. Work began in October 2023 and was finished this spring as planned. Final checks by Essex County Council have now been completed. City council leader Stephen Robinson said: "Today marks a substantial step forward in the regeneration of this important city centre site." Robinson, a Liberal Democrat, added: "Bow Bridge Road is a significant element of the infrastructure needed to unlock new areas of Chelmer Waterside, helping the council to deliver new homes and a better-connected community. "Investment in infrastructure of this kind – in advance of development – supports the long-term growth and sustainability of new neighbourhoods like Chelmer Waterside, and I want to thank the whole project team for helping us to accomplish this remarkable achievement." The bridge has been paid for by the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund and money from Taylor Wimpey and other developers ringfenced for infrastructure projects. Andrew Henry, of contractor Graham, said: "By focusing on efficient design and sustainable construction methods, we've created infrastructure that is both functional and visually striking and supports Chelmsford's vision for urban regeneration while minimising environmental impact." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Chelmsford City Council
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Chelmsford city centre bridge given its official opening
A newly-built bridge in Chelmsford city centre has been officially Bridge Road is a 50m-long road and footbridge providing access to a new waterside began in October 2023 and was finished this spring as planned. Final checks by Essex County Council have now been council leader Stephen Robinson said: "Today marks a substantial step forward in the regeneration of this important city centre site." Robinson, a Liberal Democrat, added: "Bow Bridge Road is a significant element of the infrastructure needed to unlock new areas of Chelmer Waterside, helping the council to deliver new homes and a better-connected community."Investment in infrastructure of this kind – in advance of development – supports the long-term growth and sustainability of new neighbourhoods like Chelmer Waterside, and I want to thank the whole project team for helping us to accomplish this remarkable achievement."The bridge has been paid for by the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund and money from Taylor Wimpey and other developers ringfenced for infrastructure Henry, of contractor Graham, said: "By focusing on efficient design and sustainable construction methods, we've created infrastructure that is both functional and visually striking and supports Chelmsford's vision for urban regeneration while minimising environmental impact." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
