A development planning case for the college town in Wufeng

A. Preface:
Wufeng District has the most intensive cultural facilities and universities in central Taiwan. It is an area full of cultural and educational atmosphere and rich in cultural resources and natural landscape. With convenient traffic provided by National Highway No. 3 and National Highway No. 6, Wufeng District is on a very good position to make a transformation. After Taichung County was merged into Taichung City, the new cultural education development policy announced by Mayor Jason Hu has requested us to study the feasibility to form "a college town in Wufeng” by linking up Chaoyang University of Technology and Asia University and integrating university resources with the local cultural heritage, so as to promote the prosperity and development in the Wufeng region.

B. Background:
Declining birthrate, population aging, and population diversity have been occurring in Taiwan. It is known that demographic changes will have a significant impact on the social and economic development of a country. Higher education is thus in need of review and transformation. Higher education has long been regarded as an important factor in the revival of local industries and the nurture of local talents. A "college town" can be regarded as a combination of the universities with the community, so that the universities and the community can co-own, share and use resources in an equal standing and in accordance with the characteristics and needs of the universities and the region. Thus, resources will be reorganized to shape space applications and better utilized to construct a better relation between the universities and the community. Meanwhile, a university’s strategic planning shall incorporate the academic, research, and training goals with the vitality of the local business, so that the school will transform to enhance its adaptability to the new era, develop its distinguishing features, and strive for sustainable development.
Unlike the technology industry-oriented university city, Wufeng will put more resources to shape and link the green university with ecological communities and cultural facilities. It is our intention to build up a “college town demonstration area” full of sustainability, ecology, and humanities. It will include a number of projects, such as the renovation of Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden, the improvement on the surroundings of “Democracy Street”, the cultural and creative re-development of Provincial Advisory Council, and the construction of Wufeng style avenues. It is also our hope that in the process to build up the consensus for the integration of regional universities, we can use creative thinking, bring the characteristics of local resources into full play, and formulate the master program and action plans for the college town. Thus, Wufeng will exhibit its charm and elegance again.

C. Research objectives:
Chaoyang University of Technology and Asia University have been leading Wufeng to a more diverse and dynamic development. The relationships between these two universities and the local communities are getting closer and closer. Unlike the technology industry-oriented college town, Wufeng should pay more attention to the investment in and the integration of resources.
Due to urbanization and a shift in space functions, most universities have now opened their campuses to the public. This move not only meets the needs of the faculty, students, and urban residents but also enhance the pivotal role that the universities play in the sustainable development of the local communities. In other words, the long-term development of the universities and the local communities will greatly affect how the universities present their distinctive activities and cultural characteristics and how the areas surrounding the universities will develop. A well planned and designed college town should be able to incorporate the significance of a university with the local culture and life style and indirectly promote the future development of the entire Wufeng region. Objectives of this project are listed as follows:
(A) To construct Wufeng under the guidelines of urban development integrity.
(B) To link up potential elements of the existing environment to shape the urban image for the region, improve the living urban functions for the universities, and create a college town full of cultural atmosphere.
(C) To shape a suitable living environment, highlight the local urban imagery, and guide the urban development in a sound and balanced way.
(D) To raise the quality of living by analyzing the characteristics and needs of the region and planning the right public facilities in their right quantity and quality. To enrich the cultural contents of Wufeng region by capitalizing on the development opportunity of the college town, combining the hardware and software of the region, updating the functions of public facilities, and stimulating the prosperity and development of the region.

D. Scope of the study: Wufeng region in Taichung City.

E. Plan implementation:
(A) Analysis of current status of regional development:
1. Data collection on higher-level plan, evolution of development, and current status.
2. Analysis of the natural environment and socio-economic status.
3. Analysis of land use status.
4. Analysis of the current status of Guangfu Village in Wufeng District.
5. Analysis of current transport situations (including a review and improvement plan for the regional transportation systems).
6. Analysis of the current situation of public facilities and utilities.
(B) Analysis of land suitability.
(C) Development potential, issues and strategies.
(D) Analysis and demand forecasts for the future development (including population, the scope of land use and public facilities, transportation, industrial and economic development, disaster prevention plans, and development methods, etc.).
(E) Orientation of developmental functions and project goals.
(F) Vision of overall development [containing activity functions, public facilities and utilities for land use, transportation, conservation and development of environmentally sensitive areas, tourism and recreation, disaster prevention plans, the re-development strategy for Guangfu Village in Wufeng District (including preliminary conception)].
Physical development plan [land use plan, public facility and utility plan (including the survey of parking space in the neighboring communities), transportation plan (including a review and improvement plan for regional transportation systems), disaster prevention and renewal plan, assessment on development methods and financing plan.]