City Life vs Living in the City(a)|寻找城市魅力新典范──师大商圈启示录

City Life vs Living in the City:

Lessons from the Shida Shopping Area Controversy

　　It is very common in the big cities of Taiwan to see shangquan, which literally means shopping circles, in the middle of residential and commercial areas. Shangquan is indeed a defining characteristic of Taiwan, and many quaint neighborhoods have been transformed as large numbers of small, owner-operated shops have opened for business in the first-floor spaces of residential apartment buildings. At first, the shops and restaurants make life convenient for residents, and because they are small and initially cheap, they often nurture alternative and creative lifestyles, becoming a source of charm and character for the city. As outsiders hear about these hip neighborhoods, they pour in, generating trash, noise, and traffic, and in turn attract ever more businesses to spill over into once-quiet adjoining lanes and alleys, creating a vicious cycle of increasing crowds and increasing numbers of shops.

　　Last year, controversy broke out over the shangquan around National Taiwan Normal University, known as the Shida shopping area. On the surface, the problem appears to have arisen from a conflict of interests between the residents and the shop owners over the quality of life versus the profits. Actually, the root of the problem runs much deeper than that, to the very question of what kind of city and urban life we want and what the long-term vision for urban planning in Taiwan should be.

　　Statistics from the Taipei City Office of Commerce show that in 2009, there were between 400 and 500 registered stores in the Shida shopping area. By early 2012, this number had grown to almost 700, some of which were located in the one hectare zoned for commercial use. Over 350 of these were in violation of zoning regulations, which meant that more than half of all the businesses in the area were illegal.

寻找城市魅力新典范──师大商圈启示录

　　『商圈』在台湾各个大都市都很常见，它字面上的意思是指位于住宅及商业混合区域的购物中心。商圈确实是台湾一项相当关键性的特色，许多古老的小区都已转型为商圈，其中有许多小型的自营商店在住宅区公寓一楼的空间开店做生意。一开始，这些商店和餐厅使得当地居民的生活便利许多，而且由于这些店家规模不大，刚开始时价格也不贵，因此孕育出另类且独特的生活方式，而这也成了这座城市魅力及特色的来源。外人听说了这个新潮的小区后，便大量涌入此地，制造了大量的垃圾、噪音以及此地拥挤的交通，而接着又吸引了愈来愈多的商家蔓延到这些曾经很安静的邻近巷弄，造成愈来愈多的人潮及商家这样的恶性循环。

　　去年，有关师范大学外围的『师大商圈』的争议延烧开来。表面看来，问题导火线似乎来自于居民与店家在生活质量与经营生计之间的对立。但更深层的原因其实在于，人们究竟想要的是哪一种生活模式以及台湾现行都市计划对于城市愿景的规划。

　　根据北市商业处统计，2009 年师大商圈有办理登记的店家约有 4 百多家，而到了 2012 年初已成长至将近 7 百家，其中只有一部分店家是开在占地 1 公顷的商业用地。而不符土地使用分区者有 350 多家，也就是说违法比例超过一半。