Urban renewal projects in New Taipei City surrounding the Bitan Bridge in Sindian Disctrict, historic streets in Sinjhuang and the Danshui Customs Officer’s Residence, commonly known as the “Little White House,” have all raised controversy because the projects have negatively affected the preservation of historic areas and architecture. Some academics say that although urban renewal projects are indeed meant to make areas more attractive, they should take a measured approach, taking into consideration urban renewal plans as well as future prospects, so that land development and urban development do not outweigh historical and cultural value.
Yen Liang-yi, an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Fu Jen Catholic University, says that urban planning is not necessarily a bad thing. Urban planning can be a logical policy tool when used to deal with architecture that has fallen into disrepair or presents public safety issues, but he warns that if the government merely uses urban planning to build up fancy apartment buildings, no public space will be left once all of the public land is sold off. Neglecting the rights of local residents in this way will only ruin the overall texture of the city, effectively killing the city’s lifeline, Yen says.
According to Yen, the city government was looking at urban development from the construction company’s perspective in an urban renewal project surrounding a police station in Sinjhuang. The government indirectly sold public land to a private company that then built towering 20 to 30-story-tall buildings along Sinjhuang’s historic streets, creating landscape eyesores that are entirely out of tune with the overall architectural style of the area and devastate the look of the old streets. Such urban monstrosities cause the historical environment and its vestiges to effectively vanish from the city, Yen says.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者廖振輝
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
新北市新店碧潭吊橋、新莊老街及淡水小白宮三地都有都市更新案，也都因與古蹟保存議題衝突引發爭議。有學者指出，都更固然能改善景觀，但必須以都市計畫角度及未來願景進行整體考量，土地開發或都市發展不該凌駕歷史文化之上。
輔仁大學景觀設計學系副教授顏亮一指出，都市更新本身未必是壞事，對於年久失修且有公共安全疑慮的建築物，都更是一種合理的政策工具，但公辦都更若只是將基地蓋滿豪宅，一味出售土地，賣掉所剩無幾的公共空間，罔顧市民權益，只會毀壞既存的「都市紋理」，讓城市中最重要的生命線消失殆盡。
顏亮一認為，以新莊派出所周邊公辦都更案為例，市府的開發思維是從建商立場出發，變相將國有地賣給民間企業，二、三十層樓高的大樓矗立新莊老街，就景觀而言不但突兀，且與整體建築風貌格格不入，破壞舊有街道形式，更會讓老街僅存的歷史氛圍與歷史痕跡消失。
（自由時報記者賴筱桐）
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