Modernization from Road-building and Transport Planning

The Modern Hankow British Concession

Abstract

The urban spatial structure of the modern Hankow British Concession is vastly different from that of the adjoining Old Town. Its mode of urban planning and construction had a profound impact on the modern transformation and urban development of modern Wuhan. Previous studies have discussed the concepts of Roadism with Guangzhou as an example, but there is insufficient knowledge related to other treaty ports cities in modern China. This study uses the research methodology of urban morphology to analyse historical evidence from primary archives to investigate the "top-down" process of road-building and transport planning in the Hankow British Concession. As also, the paper discusses the evolution of road networks, block plots and architectural spaces in the Concession under the influence of the construction administration system. Road-building and transport planning was the main way in which the British colonial authorities organised the basic framework of the spatial form of the Concession, as well as an important means of governing the social space and improving the lives of the residents. The construction and development process of the road system in the Concession implies the causes, explicit characteristics and hidden order of the modern development of Hankow and Wuhan city in modern times.