ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the continuity of urban form in China establishing urban forms as products of social, cultural and political conditions that have shaped the evolution and continuity of Chinese cities. It explores the nature of urban design guidance in both western and Chinese contexts. For the professional planning and design agencies charged with a responsibility to deliver physical form the idea of a city as an evolutionary socio-spatial system presents significant challenges at the point of design decision making. The evolution of cities as socio-economic organisations and as representations of culture develop further design elements at different levels of scale all of which gradually become culturally embedded, establishing a grounding of continuity through the persistent use of basic design principles.
