Devoted mostly to industrial employment for over 100,000 people and housing for over 46,000 people, the 593 hectare Yunlin Industrial Technology Estate lies within the agricultural based Yunlin Region of Taiwan, R.O.C. A master plan for the new mixed-use community represents a collaboration between the Jacksonville, Florida office of Genesis Group, Inc., OYM&SF Design Partnership Ltd. of Finland, Sinotech Engineering Consultants, Inc., of Taipei, and other U.S. and local consultants.

The overall development program creates a new industrial park fully integrated with housing, community elements, recreation and commercial services designed to improve industrial technology standards and investment in the region. The Yunlin Estate was utilized as a sugar cane plantation, and the property is physically divided into three separate parcels, each with its own unique physical constraints and relationship to the t) surrounding agricultural development patterns.

A review of regional economic factors revealed that the project would become the largest population center in the Yunlin Region next to the nearby town of Tou-lio. An analysis of transportation focused on the routing for a proposed six-lane regional highway, which would have to be realigned to link the individual industrial park sites while respecting existing agricultural villages and farm access roads.

An industrial target market analysis provided programmatic guidance for industrial lot sizes ranging from 3,000 ping to 500 ping (0.4 acres), which is substantially smaller than typical U.S. industrial lot standards.

Additional challenges were created by the governmental zoning codes, which had never addressed a mixed-use project of this nature and, in fact, would not allow the proposed integration of land uses. It was determined after great political debate that the project could proceed if a separation of 60 meters between any non-industrial land usage and any industrially oriented land usage was maintained. This issue was further compounded in that the financial pro forma for the project required a net developable 41 percent industrial land usage.

Another significant problem was created by the presence of a network of man-made irrigation creeks and ditches designed to create a natural form of irrigation for rice and sugar cane crops both on-site and off-site. In most cases, these irrigation creeks were incorporated into the open space and greenways or were slightly relocated within the greenways to accommodate multiple uses.

With a lack of infrastructure and utilities in the surrounding region, each site had to be designed to be self-sufficient and balanced in terms of its need for and ability to treat and dispose of its wastes. A series of water shells already utilized for agricultural purposes were incorporated into the greenway system and linked to a water treatment plant on each of the three parcels. A solid waste collection, processing and recycling center was located on the central parcel and sized to handle solid waste generation from the proposed industrial park.

The large number of residential dwelling units proposed for the site represented a programmed density of 46,000 people on 92.6 hectares or just over 200 people per acre. Design issues were compounded by a desire to offer a wide range of housing from ?EUR??,,????'??executive?EUR??,,????'?? homes to affordable housing units. Floor area ratios of 340 percent with 15-story maximum building height would limit the higher density residential areas. The solution focused on integrating residential areas adjacent to larger community spaces, recreational spaces, and greenbelt systems.

Although the development of the Yunlin Industrial Technology Estate will take years, this collaborative effort represents a model of contemporary land planning and a viable development strategy for mixed-use industrial parks throughout Asia.