2018 China Prize
Native Community Development and Architectural Practice in the United States

From the perspective of urban space, the community is the basic unit of people’s lives.

First of all, we can define the community as a group that lives in the same geographical area and has a common psychological and social connection. Community culture and community spirit influence residents. A good community will give residents a stronger sense of belonging.

The question for architects is how to create a better place for the world. We studied the scale, material mechanism, and everything about beauty, trying to echo the city in architectural design and echoing culture. All of these works are meant to be destinations for people, but the destination is not life. Your mindset and personality is made by your environment. Home is the most important thing to a person. I would like to put forward this subject: how can we provide a happier life foundation for wide range of people.

The 2017 Growth from Knowledge report asked 23,000 consumers online in seventeen countries about what factors they personally see as being part of "the good life," specified as the life they would like to have. The top three most popular items selected internationally are good health, financial security, and leisure time. These are followed by a happy marriage, travel for leisure, a home you own, and control over one’s life. Less than half of people include children, spiritual enrichment, or a yard and lawn or nice garden.

The 2019 World Happiness Study Report, apart from factors such as per capita GDP, politics, and social welfare, tells how much good a community can bring to people's well-being, including affordable housing and active participation in community centers, generous behavior, etc.

Summary

Among the ten communities I visited in the United States, this report focused on five distinctive communities with different priorities. For example, the historical building protection methods and organization in Beacon Hill have raised people’s awareness of historical protection. Mission Bay is a community under construction that covers many contemporary urban planning concepts.

I focused on these aspects during my visit:

• Land use in mixed communities that support conditions and convenience of living around the residential community
• Mobility, including the main local travel modes, walkability, ridability, street scale, and street furniture
• Public space, including squares, parks, sports fields, etc., distance and usage rate from the settlement
• Buildings’ distinctive style, practice, age, and the use of materials
• The public activities and community organizations

I also visited some other communities such as Dixwell in New Haven, Beverly Grove and Santa Monica in Los Angeles, 45-degree house on the hillside in San Francisco, and some low-income settlements.