THE IMPACTS OF THE SHORT VIDEO ERA ON CHONGQING �S CITY REPRESENTATIONS AND URBAN PLANNING

Abstract

Since the end of the nineteenth century, moving images have been used as a medium to narrate the city’s rhythms and document activities that occur within its urban space. This mode requires both filmmakers and their viewers to accept the existing city environment and comprehend its social metaphor unique to its context. By ‘accepting the city first’, one is taking the city for what it is, based on his first-hand experience. However, this is becoming less discernible recently due to the proliferation of short videos and online sharing of a city’s representations. The outcome is the formation of stereotyped ‘city impressions’ that consequently influences a city’s representations. Moreover, existing literature suggests that impressions towards a city may impact its environment and urban planning logic from decision makers, be it consciously or unconsciously, in varied manners. The situation is becoming more significant in light of the growth short video tourism in China. Tourists tend to explore the city by following city representations on short videos. This research recognises the positive and negative effects that accompany urban planning related interventions from the short video era on city making, particularly the challenges that occur as the city evolves in tandem with short videos. Therefore, a detailed investigation is necessary to identify whether the video-sharing phenomenon puts the city at a disadvantage, or if it has greatly impacted on the city representation. The continuous exposure of Chongqing on video-sharing platform makes the city an ideal case study. Chongqing is characterised by its topology, landscapes, and diverse cultures, which contributes to the popularity of short video. This research will present a study on the mechanism that shaped by the short video era, Chongqing’s city representations and urban planning. The research process begins with the four different sets of oral interviews, combining both personal interviews and focus group. The extracted data from these interviews provide insights for comprehending the mechanism in the short video era, Chongqing’s city representations and urban planning. The results of interviews will be significant to clarify the ‘feedback mechanism’ from the impacts of short video era towards city representations and urban planning. The research holistically considers the advantages and disadvantages for city planners and decisions makers, and calls towards the importance of paying attention the short video era and its influences on a city’s future.