Based on a discussion of conflicts in the urbanization process, this book provides theoretical and practical solutions for the preservation and development of urban localities. On the basis of informative case studies, it reveals the similarities and unique aspects of urbanization in Germany and China. The process of urban growth and the future trend of locality and urbanization are also examined. The book gathers contributions from architects, landscape designers, environmental engineers, urban planners and geographers, who analyze urban issues from their individual perspectives and provide methods for preserving and developing urban localities. As such, it expresses responses to urban development trends against the backdrop of sustainability in the 21st century.

Ms. WANG Fang (1973-) is Associate Professor in College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University and a registered urban planner. After receiving a Ph.D. in Architectural Design and Theory from Tsinghua University, WANG completed her postdoctoral research in geography, with a concentration in urban planning, at Peking University. From 2011 to 2012 Dr. WANG was a visiting scholar at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is a member of the Chinese Academy of City Planning, Chinese Geographical Society, and Chinese Architectural Society. Her research introduces geographical philosophy, methods and techniques into the traditionally engineering-dominated fields of urban planning and architectural design. Her focus is also known as geographical planning and design--research on the influence of geography upon urban planning and design and, reflexively, urban planning and design responses to geography. Her research field bases on the protection and renewal of cultural landscape and historical district. Dr. WANG has published over 60 articles and 2 books and has translated a total of 8 books. She has piloted a China Natural Science Foundation project (NSFC, No. 51078003) and 6 other projects of provincial and ministry-level funding.
Mr. Martin Prominski (1967-) is Full Professor for Designing urban landscapes at Leibniz University Hanover since 2009. He studied landscape planning at Technical University of Berlin and received a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, with the support of a DAAD scholarship. He has a PhD from TU Berlin, published in 2004 as LandschaftEntwerfen. From 2003-2008 he was assistant professor in Theory of contemporary landscape architecture at Leibniz University Hanover. He co-founded the Journal of Landscape Architecture (JoLA) in 2006 and was an editor for it until 2010. He is a member of the Chamber of Architects, the German Academy for Urban Design and Land Use Planning or the STUDIO URBANE LANDSCHAFTEN, an interdisciplinary platform on research, practice and teaching on urban landscapes. He has published three books and more than 45 articles in books and journals. He has piloted a German Research Foundation project (DFG, No.PR 920/2-1), two projects for the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU), one project for the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and co-piloted two projects for the European Union.

Part 1 New Wars: Conflicts Between People and Place.- Urbanization and New-type Urbanization.- Urban Cultural Landscape.- Locality, Place Identity, and Sustainability.- Part 2 New Strategies: Locality Preservation and Development in Urbanization Processes.- Strategies to Preserve Locality in Urbanization Processes.- Strategies to Develop Locality in Urbanization Processes.- Part 3 New Exploration: Site-specific Planning and Design.- Designing Sustainable Cities.- Eco-civilization: Urban Planning for the Future.