Local Cultures – Global Spaces
Abstract
The development of a city is centered around commercial transactions and folk religious activities. In Taipei, temples are important urban spaces and centers of civic activities and beliefs. The appearance of local temples can depend on the prosperity of the surrounding communities. In addition to serving as centers of religious belief, Taipei’s temples also hold festivals and ceremonies, creating collective urban memories for the people. The spatial attributes of festival activities include streets, squares, parks, and buildings. Many traditional festivals in Taipei take place on streets, either as round trips or as linear routes with a single starting and ending point. Due to the processions with Chinese god’s palanquins in traditional festival activities, they often occur in street spaces. Therefore, this study analyzed the historical context and street spaces of multiple traditional festivals in Taipei, and conducted on-site investigations. Taipei’s traditional festivals not only preserve Chinese traditional culture but also integrate modern elements, allowing culture and beliefs to be passed down and become the sustainable cultural feature of the city. Most urban festival planners need to understand the characteristics of the city’s streets in order to utilize them for festival planning. Traditional festivals in Taipei have often caused issues in the past, such as noise pollution from late-night activities or traffic disruptions due to crowded processions. These are all important issues that can be explored further.
Szu Yin Liu is currently a PhD student at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, China. Her research interests are focused on urban studies, architecture, and festival studies. Born in Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C), Szu Yin received her master’s degree in the Department of Architecture at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Her previous research has focused on Taiwan’s historical monuments from the Japanese colonial period, architectural heritage, traditional old streets, and campus buildings.