Reservoir Urbanism in Shenzhen

Abstract

Shenzhen lies on the eastern side of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), one of the world’s most extensive and intricate estuaries. Its story is one of how natural biophysical processes modified by a myriad of “engineering” interventions has resulted in an interdependent landscape of new physical realities, cultural expressions and economic dynamics. This paper highlights three successive stages that have characterized the transformation of Shenzhen’s waterscapes, from the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 until the present day, with a particular focus on the development of water infrastructure, specifically reservoirs and water transfer aqueducts and pipelines. These three stages reflect the varying status of Shenzhen within the wider socio-political context of China’s five-year planning system, within which Shenzhen has been identified as “an agrarian frontier bordering Hong Kong”, “a capitalist enclave in the Guangdong Province”, and “an urban spearhead within the PRD Metropolitan Region”. By examining the ever-changing roles that Shenzhen’s reservoirs play in relation to the city’s occupation, land use and urbanization, this article aims to interweave the story of Shenzhen’s engineered waterscapes with that of the city itself. This article foregrounds urban reservoirs as valuable assets, which with their unique hybrid manmade and natural characteristics, have potential social, cultural and ecological benefits yet to be explored. They represent an opportunity to mitigate some of the undesirable results of the rapid urbanization of this high-density city in the context of an ongoing municipal-wide overhaul of the existing water infrastructure, including the functional rationalization of medium and large reservoirs and the decommissioning of small ones.