From the Dome to the Sports Station, local elections have set off new thinking in urban governance that responds to the national movement

When Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang (left) was campaigning, he specially invited Sports Minister Li Yang to stand on the soapbox and talk about sports policies. (File photo for this newspaper/photographed by reporter Chen Yikuan)

Voting for local elections on November 28 is about to take place. The author once again took stock of the sports political views of candidates in 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, including the New Taipei Arena of Li Sichuan (Kuomintang) in New Taipei City, the sports center under the national highway bridge of Tong Ziwei (DPP) in Keelung City, the 24-hour sports corridor of Zheng Chaofang (DPP) in Hsinchu County, and the Annong River light boat base of Wu Zongxian (Kuomintang) in Yilan County. However, there are no specific methods for how these well-intentioned policies can be integrated into the urban planning system and establish appropriate needs assessment tools to rationally "allocate" sports facilities. On the contrary, the "Sports Station" proposed by Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang provides a new direction for deepening the national movement.

After the election, the elected candidates will inevitably face the issue of integrating sports facilities and urban planning systems. In particular, Taiwan has long used "population" as the base for estimating urban development, and has classified sports venues into the same category as parks, green spaces, and squares, ignoring the diversity of land requirements and uses of sports space points, lines, and surfaces. For example, the dot-shaped New Taipei Arena must obtain land through section expropriation, the linear 24-hour sports corridor along the high beach of Touqian Creek must obtain permission from the river management agency, and the surface-shaped light boat base must take into account both flood control safety and ecological conservation. In other words, sports venues in the city should not just be "set up according to actual needs", but should estimate demand based on the usage behavior of various types of space, and at the same time create flexibility in the use of urban space.

Academic circles have long criticized the planning method of allocating sports facilities based on population. In addition to being unable to capture the fluidity of "sports behavior" in urban point, line, and surface space, it also suppresses hidden sports needs in disguise. In 2000, the German Federal Institute for Sport Science proposed to revise the German Olympic Association's 1960 quota allocation method of 5 square meters of sports fields per resident, and instead use population multiplied by sports participation rate, event preference, frequency and duration to estimate demand.

The Frankfurt City Government released the results of its sports development plan in 2010 and conducted a telephone interview on the exercise behavior of 3,095 residents aged 7 and above. It was found that only about 23% were conducted through sports clubs, and about half of the sports and physical activities occurred in public spaces rather than sports venues. Among them, most exercise behaviors are carried out within the living circle where they live. Accordingly, the city government plans to set up a leisure sports field with free access in each living area, and establish a running and cycling network connecting the areas. At the same time, the campus will be open after school, and the sports field will be partially open conditionally. Priority will be given to sharing existing spaces to implement the planning vision. The city will report the implementation status to the city council every year and adjust the strategy on a rolling basis.

The 114-year sports survey conducted by the National Sports Administration of the Ministry of Sports pointed out that parks (35.9%) are the most common places for people to exercise, followed by sidewalks and roads (27.5%), and national sports centers only account for 10.2%. There are obvious differences between urban and rural areas. People in six capitals give parks as their first choice, with the proportion ranging from 36.8% to 42.7%. In 12 counties, sidewalks and roads top the list. More than half of the people can reach the place of exercise in less than 10 minutes, and they also focus on points, lines, and surface spaces near their homes, which is similar to Frankfurt’s experience.

However, there is a logical imbalance between urban development and sports facility development in Taiwan. Dot-shaped large-scale venues are mostly regarded as urban economic growth poles, rather than taking into account regional sports needs. For example, the New Taipei Arena is expected to be developed by expropriating more than 500 hectares of forest land in sections. Li Sichuan proposed a development concept of "Arena City in the south and Science City in the north". Su Qiaohui emphasized the sustainable management of events and performances. As for how the dome responds to the daily sports needs of the region, it remains to be explained by the two candidates.

As for existing public facilities, there is a lack of cross-bureau coordination mechanism, and demand and maintenance often fall into a three-way zone with no one in charge. For example, the pickleball courts on the Luzhou Floodway in New Taipei Province are often full. In June this year, members requested the construction of two additional courts under the Chenglu Bridge. In the end, the mayor ordered the Jiaogao Beach Project Management Office to handle the matter during an inquiry.

Looking at the political views of candidates for county and city chiefs, for example, in Taipei City, where the election campaign is hottest, the proportion of people who believe there are sufficient sports venues near their homes (70.7%) and the proportion of people who can walk to sports venues (62.3%) are the highest in the country. Shen Boyang's introduction of "sports stations" is quite innovative, allowing people to exercise more conveniently and calmly. There are 3 to 5 small bases in each district and the second sports center in Jiangwan'an District, which really responds to the demand for accessibility. As for the Guandu Football Stadium, the Huabo Super Citizen Sports Center and the international badminton hall, they all have their own reasons. However, how to balance the combined use of events and daily use requires more policy content to clarify the doubts.

In comparison, in Yunlin County, a non-metropolitan area, the most common places for people to exercise are sidewalks and roads (32.6%), and only 21.7% in parks. Only 54.6% believe that there are sufficient sports venues near their homes, and 31.4% of the people who exercise regularly are the lowest in the country. However, Zhangjia County’s proposals for one pickleball court per township, the Daxiluo National Sports Center, and Liu Jianguo’s proposal to build and revitalize tennis and badminton courts are all concentrated on point-like facilities and do not mention the sports safety of the roads and the connection with the road network, which is a pity.

No matter who wins on November 28, I believe there are three things that should be done immediately after the election. First of all, newly appointed county and city chiefs should estimate the demand for exercise space in different living areas based on residents’ exercise behavior in a comprehensive review of future urban plans. Furthermore, local governments should formulate sports space development plans accordingly, take inventory of sports facilities in each administrative region, and integrate supporting measures with existing tools such as campus opening and multi-purpose use in each district. Finally, the movement is formally given a spatial functional positioning in urban parks, roads and campuses, rather than a value-added function in urban space.

Even though the sports policies of each candidate are well-intentioned, if they fail to integrate the needs of residents and the urban planning system, the policy vision of creating a high-quality living and sports environment for the local area will eventually become a fantasy.

Author: Lin Junjie (Assistant Professor of the Master's Degree Program in International Sports Affairs at National Sport University)