MEDIUM Project Founded by EUROPE/AID

New pathways for sustainable urban development in China’s medium-sized cities

Link to the website of the MEDIUM project

The MEDIUM project brings together European and Chinese entities (research centres, universities and companies), which work on sustainable urban development in China. Focusing on a large city and two medium-sized cities (1 to 3 million inhabitants), Hangzhou, Zhuhai and Datong, the project’s innovation is twofold: first it addresses urban sustainability from a socio-economic dimension and not only through the prism of environmental issues. Second it operates in fast-developing urban areas overlooked by scholars in comparison with China largest cities. MEDIUM gathers researchers with very different backgrounds and interests, among which urban governance, strategic planning, urban mobility, inclusion of migrants, ICT or networks of multinational corporations.

Applying various approaches and methodologies, the project will contribute to better understand urban development dynamics in Chinese medium-sized cities so as to inform decision-makers and economic actors. It will allow innovative ideas to emerge and give rise to alternative patterns of urban development, smart, sustainable and socially inclusive.

List of partners

  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS
  • Hangzhou Normal University HZNU
  • Institut d’Etudes Politiques d’Aix en Provence IEPAIX
  • Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia UNIVE
  • Spatial Foresight GmbH S4S
  • Université de Lausanne UNIL
  • Université de Neuchâtel UNINE
  • Shanxi Datong University
  • Sun Yat-sen University

Participation of UNIL Team

International Event June 16th-18th, 2017

Urban China and the challenges of sustainability Conference organised by the MEDIUM project Guangzhou

Sun Yat-sen University (Interpretation in English and Chine)

While research conducted in the context of the project focus primarily on medium-sized cities, the conference will consider urban China in its diversity, with a great variety of case studies including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, the region of the Taihu lake etc.

It will address the issue of sustainability from a broad perspective, tackling ageing housing, social inclusion, urban governance, environmental sustainability, participatory processes in urban planning, with a multi-disciplinary approach ranging from geography, political science, economy, sociology, computer science, to environmental science etc.