Planning in Taiwan, a collection of essays on spatial planning in 21st-century Taiwan, appears just in time to fill the gap in (English-language) publications on planning in Taiwan, especially given the large quantity of research written and translated about the same topic in mainland China in recent years. Drawing on a selection of essays which cover both the historical development of spatial planning and the challenges facing it in modern Taiwan, the volume sets itself the ambitious task of presenting an overview of planning practices in Taiwan, as well as placing those in a global context.
The volume was edited by Roger Bristow, a senior research fellow at the University of Manchester's department of planning and landscape, as well as a visiting professor at the National Taipei University in Taiwan. His frequent stays in Taiwan were behind the idea for the book, which was conceived with Professor Huang Shu-Li of the Graduate Institute of Urban Planning at the National University of Taipei. The other 14 contributors range from academics to members of local and national government, and thus include actors that are presently shaping Taiwan's space. Their contributions are certainly thematically varied, covering planning history, current practice, the failure of planning, as well as issues of conservation and planning for natural disasters, the latter being an area where Taiwan is seen as a world leader. All of these, however, can be examined against a collection of specifically Taiwanese problematics, such as questions of identity, relations with mainland China, the role of public and private spheres, of the close ties between political and economic power and the distrust towards the state, which in turn encourages the proliferation of illegal or semi-legal uses of space.
Roger Bristow's opening chapter serves very much as an anchor for this debate. The outline of both questions facing global urban planning and those facing Taiwan in particular is no doubt meant to appeal to both readers versed in planning but not familiar with Taiwan and vice versa. Equally, the closing chapter is an opportunity for Bristow to engage Taiwanese planning practices with those in the West, mainly the United Kingdom. Bristow suggests that while Taiwan has progressed since the times when the developmental impetus overrode all other considerations, significant areas remain problematic; a lack of wider spatial visioning, difficulties with enforcement and years of party-political stalemate have caused considerable delay in dealing with questions such as energy efficiency and, more generally, the creation of an efficient, people-friendly environment.
The bulk of the volume is further divided into two parts. Chapters two to six consist of a historical account of planning practices in Taiwan and constitute an invaluable work of reference for any scholar attempting to come to grips with the rather complex mechanisms of spatial planning. A concise chronology of planning practices, changes in legislation and an account of various “planning failures” represent a body of knowledge the type of which has been sorely missed in English-language literature on Taiwan. A good example is the chapter on community planning, authored by Kuang-Hui Peng, Yao-Chi Kuo and Cheng-Yi Lin which is an account of how the devastating earthquake of 1999 ushered in a new level of engagement by NGOs and local communities in the reconstruction process, and potentially bringing about advances in governance and planning on a national scale.
The second section further builds on the historical approach of the previous essays, focusing on specific areas that are of concern to Taiwanese spatial planners and indeed the global planning community; sustainable development, transportation, infrastructure development and industrial land planning. The latter is a telling example of how the shifting economic base of Taiwan is affecting planning in a post “picking winners” economy, where the state, rather than creating whole industries, must focus on how to harness spatial planning and create the conditions for successful enterprise.
Chao Lee-Kuo's chapter on conservation and the public sphere, on the other hand, explores themes that are largely idiosyncratic to Taiwanese modernity. Chao argues that conservation in Taiwan has been closely tied to political considerations, making it both a sparring arena for nascent civil movements of the martial law era, as well as a place where the state exerted a strong and ideologically charged influence. Many compelling examples from different periods and locations are presented, such as the way local urban forms were reshaped in the Northern Chinese style, how damnatio memoriae campaigns were used to purge the island of its Japanese colonial legacy, and finally, how the ascent of a Taiwanese nationalism again harnessed conservation to construct a new narrative of identity.
Spatial Planning in Taiwan is a welcome contribution to the study of Taiwan and of planning outside the mainstream practice of the West. While scholars of Taiwan might wish for further engagement with the social and political forces underpinning modern spatial planning (and its failures), the volume is a sound and engaging collection of essays, which provide both a generous amount of reference data, as well as discursive research into spatial facets of Taiwanese modernity.
