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Third-year students from the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Information at Feng Chia University (FCU) held a planning presentation on June 17 at the Dacun Township Office in Changhua County, showcasing the results of eight months of field surveys, community interviews, analysis, and planning work. Using Dacun Township as their study site, student teams examined local environmental characteristics, industrial development, transportation systems, community needs, and public spaces before proposing development concepts that received positive feedback from local residents and invited guests.
The presentation was attended by government officials, academic experts, and community representatives, including Ming-Hsien Chen, Deputy Director-General of the Rural Construction Division, Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation; Chen-Yu Lien, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at Chaoyang University of Technology; and FCU faculty members Yao-Chung Lu and Po-Sheng Liu from the School of Architecture. Faculty advisors from the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Information—Li-Wei Liu, Pei-Yin Ko, Yi-Su Chen, Yueh-Sung Weng, Wen-Cheng Tseng, and Yi-Hsiang Hsu—also participated. In addition to listening to the student presentations, attendees provided feedback on local development issues, project feasibility, and future implementation strategies, enabling students to evaluate their proposals from a professional perspective.
Local residents of Dacun Township, invited guests, and faculty members listen as FCU students from the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Information present their planning proposals.
According to Li-Wei Liu, this community-based planning studio has been offered continuously for 23 years. Its core objective is to encourage students to move beyond the classroom and engage directly with communities through field investigations and resident interviews. The course helps students apply academic knowledge in real-world settings while developing interdisciplinary thinking, communication skills, and civic engagement capabilities.
At the conclusion of the presentation, guests and local residents voted for the People’s Choice Award. The winning project was “Growing the Future Through Grapes, Dreaming Big for Dacun,” followed by “Gather and Sustain” in second place and “Revitalizing Shui-Run and Guo-Gou” in third place.
The award-winning proposals addressed a variety of local development issues, including road redesign and people-oriented transportation planning, healthy aging communities and senior-friendly neighborhoods, town-center revitalization, value-added strategies for the grape industry, river restoration projects, waterfront recreation spaces, and public park improvements. Each proposal was grounded in Dacun Township’s existing assets and sought to integrate local industry, culture, and community identity into future development strategies.
More than a final course presentation, the event served as a platform for the University and local community to jointly envision the future of Dacun Township. Through eight months of engagement, students gained a deeper understanding of local needs and incorporated the township’s industrial strengths, cultural characteristics, and spatial vision into their proposals. At the same time, local residents were able to view their community from fresh perspectives and explore new possibilities for development.
The Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Information stated that it will continue strengthening collaboration among academia, government, and industry while supporting local communities in shaping their future development. Through long-term engagement and practical learning, the department hopes to help innovative ideas take root and create meaningful impacts at the local level.
Third-year students from the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Information hold their planning presentation at the Dacun Township Office on June 17. Dacun Township Mayor Chih-Ming Lai is seated in the center of the front row.
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