“Functionalism” of settlements for Tibetan pastoralist in China

0570014 - OÚ 2024 eng A - Abstract
Ptáčková, Jarmila
“Functionalism” of settlements for Tibetan pastoralist in China.
[Building Like a State. Architecture and Nomad-State Relations in Historical Perspective. MIT Boston, 04.03.2023]
Method of presentation: Přednáška
Event organizer: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Search form Search
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) LQ300211901
Program: Prémie Lumina quaeruntur
Institutional support: RVO:68378009
Keywords : pastoralists * settlements * Tibet
OECD category: Antropology, ethnology

At the beginning of the new millennium Chinese government launched several programs that included resettlement of pastoralists in Tibetan areas and elsewhere in western China. The resettlement should help to fight difficult economic situation of households residing in areas affected by severe erosion or suffering loss of herds through other environmental causes. The function of these new settlements, however, gradually changed from means to fight poverty to serve mainly political goals of the government, such as control of the population in remote and politically tense areas. The original design of the settlement site-plan looked promising as it included green spaces, cultural facilities or even schools. The setup of the houses, however, was not consulted with the future inhabitants. Moreover, the priority showed to be to gather people together in these artificial villages and not to provide for comfortable environment. The places were used in purely “functionalist” manner and as soon as houses of four walls and a roof were erected, their new inhabitants were already settled there. Instead of green spaces, cultural facilities or even infrastructure, police stations were the only complementary equipment to the settlements. The materials used to build the houses were rather of low quality. The villages will thus in a near future need extensive maintenance, which the pastoralists will not be able to provide, due to lack of financial resources and a lack of experience with such housing facilities.

Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0343495