Urban Paleontology

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Book:  Urban Paleontology: Evolution of Urban Forms

This book grew out of my graduate thesis at Tsinghua University, under the guidance of Professor Zhu Wenyi in 1997-2000. I am especially grateful for the influence of Mario Gandelsonas and his book Urban Text (1992), which helped shape the early thinking behind this work.

The book introduces Urban Paleontology, an interdisciplinary approach to studying urban form by examining the “remains” of cities—what we describe as “urban fossils.” It brings together ideas from architecture, urban design, and computer-aided spatial analysis to better understand how cities evolve.

Through case studies in Beijing and Savannah, the research explores how this perspective can help us read urban history and inform future development.

Co-authored with Dihua Yang. Published by Universal-Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, 2008

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Cites with Soul

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The first place, Cities with Soul – The Urban Design Competition, British Council, U.K. 1998

This “Baita Temple neighborhood design” project was developed during my architecture graduate studies at Tsinghua University in 1998, in collaboration with a talented team of fellow students, including Li Fu, Fu Xin, Yali Song, Christoph, and others, under the guidance of Professors Zhang Jie and Wang Lifang.

We were deeply honored to receive this recognition through a program associated with the British Council, and to have the opportunity to engage with international exchanges in the UK.

Looking back, this project marked an early exploration across both architectural and urban design scales, with a focus on sustainability and cultural preservation—an experience that has continued to inform my work ever since.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair presented the First Prize to Ming Tang, Beijing, China, 1998.