Inspirations from the Charter of Machu Picchu

摘要：本文通過學習研究《馬丘比丘憲章》的現實原因，解讀《馬丘比丘憲章》的核心思想，分析《馬丘比丘憲章》的歷史局限性及針對現實的城鄉規劃工作提出的幾點建議。Abstract: Through studies of the practical reasons for the Charter of Machu Picchu， this paper interprets the core ideas of the Charter， analyzes its historical limitations and proposes several suggestions for current urban and rural planning.關鍵詞：《馬丘比丘憲章》；規劃；啟發Keywords: the Charter of Machu Picchu; Planning; Inspiration China is now in a critical pe- riod to improve the market economy system and to build a moderately prosperous society. It is also at an important time to promote the healthy development of urbanization and to reverse the widening of the gaps between the urban and rural areas. This is accompanied by a series of problems and contradictions that often arise during times of transition. Urban and rural planning is an important means of government regulation. Chinese planners are under an important historical mission at this stage. It is our responsibility to learn from western theories of rural and urban planning under the market economy and to put forward specific measures to resolve current problems.The Charter of Machu Picchu was signed in the late 70s of last century on the Mountain of Machu Picchu by the International Union of Architects(UIA) based on the urbanization trends and problems arising from the urban planning process at that time. It played a positive and important role in solving many problems during the urban development at that time. Therefore， Machu Picchu Charter is undoubtedly helpful in solving China’s problems arising during the process of urbanization.I Put the people first; the planning is to serve residents at urban and rural areasThe Charter of Machu Picchu first emphasizes the importance of the interpersonal relationship to cities and urban planning. “Contrary to the Athens Charter， we believe that interaction between humans is the fundamental basis for the existence of cities. Urban planning must reflect this.” Physical space is a variable of urban life， and this variable does not play a decisive role. It is the cultural， social models and political structures of the urban populations that play the decisive role. By summarizing the social and economic ills brought by the rapid development of urbanization， the Charter of Machu Picchu requires that the expertise and technology of city planning be applied to human settlements at all levels， in order to guide the construction. The planning “must explain and respond to all the needs of humans， and provide urban services facilities and life patterns in accordance with economic conditions， cultural significance， and people’s requirements”. As for the zoning of the functions of cities， it is said in the Charter that“due to the lack of consideration of the relationship between people， cities have had anemia. The buildings have become isolated units， denying the fact that human activities require flowing and contiguous space.” It also proposes that “City planning must be based on the collaboration of professional designers， urban residents， the public and political leaders.” “In the construction field， users’ participation is more important， more specific.” “People must be involved in the design of the whole process. Once the architects are liberated from school disciplines and absolute concepts， their imagination will be inspired by the great heritage of people’s architectures. People’s architectures mean architectures without architects.”“Users should be encouraged to participate in design and construction.” “It is clear that only when a building design integrates naturally with the habits and styles of the people， can it have the greatest impact on culture. It can be seen that the Charter of Machu Picchu considers many aspects of the people， the main body of the city， including planning， construction， transportation and many other aspects. It emphasizes an “interactive” relationship between the planner and residents. It stresses that planners’ inspiration comes from people in the city， their cultural， historical， spiritual， material or non-material works. Only by respecting these works and appreciating the profound meaning of these works， can the planning be of great vitality. Meanwhile， implementation of the planning is bound to have different impact on the interests of different groups of the public. “The environment is created by the people.”Planners should provide opportunities for different groups to realize their values. The Charter of Machu Picchu not only recognizes the importance of public participation in urban planning， but requires “real， comprehensive， and complete” public participation.II The concept of comprehensive， coordinated and sustainable planningThe Charter of Machu Picchu acknowledges that “There is basic unity between a city and its surrounding areas. The planning should reflect the basic dynamic unity between a city and its surrounding areas in the process of urbanization and also the functional relations between neighbors， regions， and other urban units.” “Planning， architectures and design today should not consider the city as a combination of many pieces， but a comprehensive， multi-functional environment. An equally important goal is to achieve the coordination between the basic quality of life and the natural environment.”“City planners and policy makers should see a city as a structural system in a developing and changing process. It is difficult to see or determine its final form beforehand.” Planners should work with relevant authorities to make the public and governments understand that regional and urban planning is a dynamic process， which not only includes planning but also implementation. This process should be consistent with the constant material and cultural changes of the city. In addition， in or- der to fit the natural environment， existing resources and features， every city and region should develop appropriate standards and development guidelines. This prevents from copying solutions from different cultures of different conditions. In this sense， urban planning is a cycle of continuous simulation， practice， feedbacks， re-simulation， etc. Only through such continuous process， can the planning integrate well with the city system. The Charter of Machu Picchu also points out that “In our time， modern architecture is no longer a pure visual impression but the creation of spaces for people to live in. The content is more important than the outlook. Isolated buildings are no longer important， no matter how beautiful and graceful they are. The important thing is the continuity of the organizational structure of the city.” “The reunification of architectures， the city and the landscape is a result of the unification of the city.” “The new urbanization concept seeks the continuity of the environment， which means that every building is no longer isolated， but a unit in a continuum that needs to engage in dialogue with other units to improve its own image.” The Charter of Machu Picchu has abandoned the excessive attention on architectural space form during the physical space planning， and shifted the focus to the relationship between the urban development and the different elements， and the interaction between the adjustment of the elements and the overall development. The Charter provides a dynamic solution to the development of cities and urban planning， so that the elements integrate well with each other and achieve coordinated development.III The Charter of Machu Picchu and China’s urban and rural planningThe Charter of Machu Picchu summarizes the concepts， theories， and methods of urban development and urban planning in about a century， takes an outlook on further development， and proposes new requirements for urban planning. In some respects， the Charter is not fully applicable to China’s urban and rural planning due to social， political， cultural differences and differences in values. First， it focuses on the urban development instead of the regional development especially the rural development. Rural problems are demanding urgent solutions in China. Second， it hasn’t made a scientific and rational analysis of the allocation and utilization of urban public resources， which is one of the important purposes of planning as a public policy. Third， it hasn’t fully considered and explained the interaction between men and the environment. It has just put forward recommendations to government departments， without considering the roles of urban planners in the planning process. Nonetheless， its scientific and rational principles such as being people-oriented， comprehensive， coordinated， continuous， and the integrity between the city and its surrounding areas should be learned and applied by Chinese urban and rural planners. Given China’s social and economic development and current status of urban and rural planning， Chinese planners should first change their concepts of planning， innovate and be broad-minded， use innovative planning techniques and methods， put the people first， comprehensively grasp the direction of urban and rural development from the social， political， and economic aspects， and achieve the goal of economic and social harmony. Chinese planners should attach importance to the participation of expert and technical personnel from different disciplines and fields; promote coordinated development among regions， formulate and implement plans suited to local conditions; clarify the nature of public planning policies， make wise allocation of public resources and public indicators， and make clear ， specific requirements on public transport， housing construction， public facilities， public safety， etc.; adhere to the principle of sustainable development， attach more importance to resource conservation and environment protection， address the technical problems impeding the development of the urban and rural areas which are already suffering from the constraints of resources.(Author: from the Construction Bureau of Meihekou City， Jilin Province 135000)