Newsletter No. 438

2 other departments of the Faculty of Social Science and Faculty of Arts also provide elective courses on the politics of space, on urban sociology and on the history of Hong Kong, epitomizing the philosophy of multidisciplinary education. Professor Ng explained the advantage of combining the strengths of the two parties, ‘When analysing the development of a city, you can see only the urban appearance if you focus solely on the buildings and the environment. However, development is driven by many human and social factors, such as history, culture, economy and politics. By marrying the two, students can understand the urban form and what aspects they need to consider in order to reshape it. This is something Hong Kong really lacks when dealing with these issues.’ society and thought of designing a programme in the realm. Prof. Hendrik Tieben , associate professor in the School of Architecture, recalled, ‘We had similar ideas at almost the same time. GRM was planning to submit a proposal to the University while we were thinking to set up an urban design master programme. We reached out to GRM and discussed the possibility of cooperation started from undergraduate level.’ They found they were a perfect match so they began to co-design the new programme from their perspectives. Prof. Chen Yongqin David , chairman of GRM, added that the programme is run under the Faculty of Social Science and housed at GRM. Apart from GRM which offers core courses on statistics and research methods, and some elective courses, I n Shakespeare’s Coriolanus , Sicinius said, ‘What is the city but the people?’ And the citizens answered, ‘True, the people are the city.’ At the very core of studying a city are the complicated issues closely related to its inhabitants. Hong Kong underwent rapid urban growth in recent years. The government claimed that these could improve people’s livelihood in the long run. However, urbanization has its drawbacks and may cause conflict among people with different interests especially before it bears fruit. The North East New Territories Development Areas project might upset the equilibrium between urban and village life; the building of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Hong Kong Express Rail Link led to the land resumption of Choi Yuen Tsuen where the villagers had depended on farming for their livelihood over the years; the Central Reclamation Project led to the demolition and relocation of Queen’s Pier; the Kwun Tong renewal plan resulted in the soaring price of real estate…. All these problems can’t be dealt with using knowledge from any single conventional discipline. University graduates who can give priority to the most important aspects in urban issues and iron out disputes among stakeholders will be most sought after in the future. To study a city using a multidisciplinary and systemic approach, CUHK launched the urban studies under- graduate programme in 2012–13. It enables students to inquire into the nature and dynamics of cities through the theoretical perspectives of different schools of thoughts, application of skills and techniques for urban analysis, and the contextual learning of the world’s best practices in sustainable urban development, planning and design. Prof. Ng Mee-kam , programme director and professor in the Department of Geography and Resource Management (GRM) put it this way, ‘Urban studies is a way to search for a developmental pathway that enriches human lives and respects the environment.’ Jointly organized by GRM and the School of Architecture, the programme was born when both saw the needs of 莎 士比亞的《英雄叛國記》中，Sicinius說：「沒有人 民，城市算是甚麽？」群眾即答：「對﹗人民即是城 市。」都市問題千絲萬縷，與市民息息相關的議題是研究 核心。 本港都市近年高速發展，政府說是為了改善民生，然而「發 展」並不是想當然的一個美詞，它同時衍生不少問題，引起 社會的熱熾討論甚至強烈反響：新界東北發展被指會令城 郊生活失衡、居民多年以務農為生的菜園村因興建高鐵而 遭清拆、中環填海要把皇后碼頭拆卸重置、觀塘舊區重建 換來了價格高昂的樓盤……，這些問題錯綜複雜，牽連甚 廣，所帶來的挑戰，不可能單靠某一傳統學科的知識處理。 能掌握都市問題關鍵、化解各範疇爭議的人才，勢將成為各 方爭相羅致的對象。 中大於2012至13學年推出城市研究學士課程，以跨學科方 式有系統地探討城市發展，讓學生認識不同學術派別的理 論，運用城市分析的方法和技巧，了解都市可持續發展、規 劃與設計的最佳範例，由此探究城市的性質和變化。課程主 任、地理與資源管理學系（地資系） 伍美琴 教授說：「城市 研究是希望找出一個因地制宜發展城市的模式，讓居民生 活得愜意，又能尊重環境。」 課程由地資系和建築學院合辦。兩單位不約而同看到社會 的需要，都擬開辦關於城市發展的課程。建築學院副教授 田恒德 教授指，「大家可謂在相若時間有類似想法，地資系 擬向校方提交新課程建議書，建築學院也正構思開辦城市 設計碩士課程，並計劃與地資系討論由學士課程開始合作 的可行性。」 雙方一拍即合，各秉其專長一同設計新課程。地資系系主任 陳永勤 教授補充，課程隸屬社會科學院，教職員和辦公室主 要位於地資系，除了地資系的統計和研究方法等必修科目和 好些選修科，社會科學院和文學院其他學系也提供如空間 政治學、都市社會學和香港史等進階科目供選修，體現課程 的跨學科特點。 伍教授解釋兩者結合的好處：「剖析一個城市，如局限於建 築和環境，只會看到都市的設計，但設計背後還有很多人文 和社會因素，如歷史、文化、政治和經濟等。結合兩單位，再 輔以社會科學院及文學院的全面參與，學生就可從不同角 度，更透徹理解都市的形成，以及要改變都市發展形態時， 應考慮的各種因素；這正是香港在處理這類議題時所缺乏 的元素。」 說到課程特色，伍教授強調是揉合各方專業，而非只提供 地資系和建築學院的現有科目予學生選擇，因這未必能訓 練學生綜合思考能力。大部分基礎科目都是針對課程目標 重新設計，如城市可持續發展、城市設計及地方營造等； 課程另一特色是着重可持續發展元素，並希望培養學生以 多角度思考，得出多贏的方案，為市民建構更美好的生活 環境。 城市是個不斷變動的有機體，為提高學生對市區重建、新 市鎮房屋及文物保育等城市議題的觸覺，課程定期舉行論 壇，邀請學者、城市規劃師、社區人士、政府官員等，就不 同發展項目或議題抒發己見。例如規劃署高級城市規劃師 李祖明 先生曾講解新界東北發展計劃；天水圍社區發展陣線 社工 黃穎姿 女士也曾獲邀，到校剖析被稱為「悲情城市」的 天水圍的都市問題。 此外，學生亦頻頻跑出課室，走進社區。他們到觀塘，考察 裕民坊和物華街一帶的觀塘市中心項目發展，參觀市區重 建局觀塘資源中心，於區內大廈體驗籠屋生活環境；參加香 港故事館舉辦的灣仔保育遊，一睹新舊建築物交替的社區； 又往新界東北發展區，了解本地農夫所關心的議題，以及發 展商如何收購土地。 課程每年錄取不多於二十人，全皆經過嚴格的面試甄選。伍 教授稱沒有指定必修科目要求，凡有好奇心、喜歡提問、願 意走出安舒區接受挑戰，並對都市發展有興趣的同學都適 合修讀。 城市研究課程教學團隊（左起）：姚松炎教授、何穎教授、廖桂賢教授、伍美琴教授、陳永勤教授和田恒德教授 Teaching team of the Urban Studies Programme (from left) : Prof. Yiu Chung-yim Edward, Prof. He Ying Sylvia, Prof. Liao Kuei-Hsien, Prof. Ng Mee-kam, Prof. Chen Yongqin David and Prof. Hendrik Tieben 未來城市變奏曲 Composing Variations on Future City In April, British Pathé posted its 85,000 videos on Youtube. These include over 3,000 hours of footage filmed all over the world between 1896 and 1976. Hong Kong gets captured in 50 videos that show it in its former colonial trappings, drawing our attention to the passage of time. Were things really better in the old days? Is urbanization a good thing or not? It’s hard to have definitive answers. It must depend on city planners who have regard to citizens’ well-being and the interests of different parties. We look at an interdisciplinary programme on urban studies, which aims to train such planners but has no admission criteria except that the students must be willing to leave their comfort zones to be challenged. How does the University set its admission criteria? Prof. Wong Suk-ying sheds some light on this in ‘Thus Spake…’. She will also share her thoughts on the transition from high school to university and on choosing a major. The passing away of Gabriel García Márquez has led many to revisit his works. We spoke to Prof. Leo Lee and Dr. Vicente-Rasoamalala about the Nobel laureate. For the fans-to-be, it would hopefully whet their appetite and prod them on in a journey of magic realism. ———————■■■——————— 目錄 Contents 未來城巿變奏曲 Composing Variations on Future City 2 七社會賢達獲頒榮譽院士 Seven Distinguished Persons Conferrred Honorary Fellowships 4 文壇異釆 百年不孤 A Hundred Years of Enchantment 5 校園消息 Campus News 6 博文貫珍 The Galleria 8 舌尖上的中大 CUHK f+b 8 人事動態 Ins and Outs 9 宣布事項 Announcements 9 王淑英如是說 Thus Spake Wong Suk-ying 10 邊註邊讀 Marginalia 本年4月，英國百代公司把其資料庫的八萬五千段影片上載 Youtube視頻，向公眾開放。三千多小時的短片，在1896至 1976年間拍攝，涵蓋世界各地的重要時事、名人政要、時 裝、體育……。當時仍為英國殖民地的香港，當然也是獵奇 鏡頭的對象。在約五十段影片中，不難看到這個城市數十年 前的風貌，令人興起滄海桑田之嘆。 究竟是否今不如昔，人言人殊，就如城市的「發展」是利是 弊，難有絕對，關鍵在於規劃是否以市民的安居樂業為大 前提，而在這大前提下如何平衡各方的訴求。本期介紹的城 市發展課程，是跨學科的心血，目標便是為香港培育這方面 的人才。這課程沒有指定學科要求，惟學生需願意走出安舒 區接受挑戰；這個入學門檻既虛復實，值得求學者深思。如 何設定入學條件，身兼學者、輔導者的入學及學生資助處處 長 王淑英 教授體會甚深，她在「……如是說」還談到高中到 大學的過渡，以及選科的考慮。 加西亞 • 馬奎斯 逝世，不少人因此重翻他的作品回味。我們 特此與 李歐梵 教授和 Vicente-Rasoamalala 博士談談這位 作家的特色。還沒有認識其作品的，不妨視之為導讀，探索 一下其筆下魔幻現實交織的世界。 No. 438, 19.5.2014