Heller Manus is responsible for the design of a comprehensive conceptual urban master plan for 14.78 square kilometers of Guangzhou’s southern city center. The purpose of this master plan is threefold – to identify and assimilate developments, historic buildings and infrastructure worth keeping; to develop a cohesive core plan that will clearly define open spaces, waterways, and pedestrian, vehicular and transit circulation patterns; and to provide a visionary framework for future urban development. An inverted T-shaped greenbelt axis serves as the key concept for the master plan, creating an eco-corridor between the TV tower on the north end and the Pearl River on the south end, and links to an east-west axis, all culminating in a major Pearl River waterfront. Mixed-use neighborhood nodes at transit stations will run along this corridor, linked to the waterfront landscape by a proposed light rail system. An east-west directional river corridor along the Pearl River will preserve wide sections of the river for public access and open space.