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After the 7th International Conference "Underground
space: indoor cities of tomorrow"
held in Montreal in 1997, Xi’an was the host of the 8th
International Conference of the ACUUS,from September 27 to 30, 1999.
Xi’an is the ancient capital of China’s 13
dynasties
including the Zhou, Qin Han and Tang. Xi’an is also
world-famous
for its city wall. The structure is an ancient castle bearing more than
600 tears of history and is one of the world most completely preserved.
The loess plateau in the northwest of China features many underground
dwellings, which represent an important tourist attraction.
With the development of cities throughout
this
century, more and more environmental problems endanger the Earth on
which human beings rely on for their subsistence. Population growth,
crowded cities, traffic jams, environmental pollution, energy waste,
green land erosion, and the occupation of cultivated land altogether
lead to the breakdown of the natural ecological balance which in turn
severely hinders the cities’ functional performance and
healthy
development. Then it becomes inevitable for the decision-makers, urban
planners and architects to accept the mission of preserving the natural
environment by further developing underground space and by creating
urban landscapes that will ensure the well being of future generations.
"Agenda and Prospect of the
Underground Space for the Turn of the Century"
was aimed at elected representatives, heads of associations and
consulting firms, promoters and contractors, professionals in the field
of development, such as urban planners, architects, engineers,
geologists and archaeologists, environmental, tourist and legal
experts, as well as university researchers.
This Conference allowed it's participants to
review, in the end of this Century,the state of the buried industrial
heritage, then within the framework of the Forum of nations, the
representatives of China, Japan, France, Italy, The Netherlands,
Switzerland, the United States and Canada presented the urban use of
the underground space in their respective countries. Workshops were
regrouped under four major subjects: The state of the subterranean
heritage, The agenda of the subterranean town planning in the next
century, The new challenges of the urban underground space and finally,
the more technical one, The construction in underground space. The
Conference of Xi'An ended with a Plenary entitled: "The
Challenge of The Underground Heritage Protection in The Next Century".
Organizing Committee of the 8th Int'l
Conference
Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology
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