By Professor Mehri Madarshahi
Historically, cities have been engines for economic growth and political power, as well as hubs for innovation and change.
Approved by over UN General Assembly with over 190 countries, the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 2020-2030 was designated as the Decade of Action for the implementation of SDGs and its goals and objectives. SDG 11 commits to ”making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Thus, 2020 is slated to mark a turning point in the global battle for sustainable development, where cities will take center stage for urban policy makers and planners alike.
The SDGs as a whole, and particularly Goal 11, recognizes the transformative role that cities can play by affirming that well-planned, well-managed and properly financed cities and towns create economic, social, environmental and other unquantifiable values that can vastly improve the quality of life for all citizens. Therefore, the enduring challenges facing the design of metropolitan cities are to increase smart decentralization, while maintaining and developing ‘slower’ dimensions such as historic settings, green spatial qualities and biodiversity. The implications of a circular agenda for reusable energy and zero wastes are thus significant, and we only just can begin to fathom its magnitude.
Today it is a known fact that the unbridled expansion of urban areas has profound implications for energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and environmental degradation. To respond proactively, cities have undertaken emission inventories and adopted reduction targets. Urban areas that have opted for compact and mixed land uses are able to reduce per capita rates of resource use and greenhouse gas emissions.
COVID-19 brought to the forefront effectiveness, essentialities and values of sustainable urbanization for the recovery process. The UN Habitat New Urban Agenda makes the case for how people, choosing to make their lives in cities, can contribute to economic prosperity, environmental quality, social equity and strengthened civic and cultural institutions.
It is too soon to know if the pandemic experience of 2020 will lead to lasting demographic changes, but what is clear is that COVID-19 will not reverse urbanization. The primal drive to congregate in cities and towns in pursuit of aspirations and a better life will continue, as it is predicted that the world will further urbanize from 56.2 per cent today to 60.4 per cent by 2030.
Urbanization can offer many opportunities to deploy mitigation and adaptation strategies and to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C. To respond proactively in the face of these and other challenges, cities have in recent years undertaken emissions inventories, adopted reduction targets and resorting to patented technology like cheaper and more effective sensors to monitor and share information on water usage, air quality, solid waste, effective infrastructure, renewable energy, traffic control and hybrid public transports, among other notable efforts.
Some cities are forging ahead with the use of innovative urban planning technological and governance models, showing that with the right focus and resources, they can become smart or more sustainable. The role of design in all its diverse forms connected to the shaping of urban areas (urban design, information architecture, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, product design, process design etc.) can be strategic in this respect. One such solution is the use of vertical cities advocated by some architects such as Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill (Chicago), Mark and Peter Anderson of San Francisco or Dickson Despommier at Columbia University.
In such designs mixed use zoning, use of greenbelts, developing mass transit, pedestrian zones, bike orientated development plans and prudent land management could provide an opportunity for cities to build on existing initiatives and good practice in urban planning. Other urban planners do not subscribe to linear designs and advocate for new thinking concerning the use of space in meeting the needs of citizens. The newly advanced circular metropolitan designs and circular economy espoused by the City of Amsterdam could offer a systematic framework for most pressing challenges related to congestion and waste and environmental sustainability. They argue circular design means less to build and less to maintain. It requires one central radial to be designed and then replicated throughout radials. In all proposed models, technology and innovation play a critical role in driving economic growth in future cities.
For its part, China is undergoing unprecedented urbanization. By 2035, nearly 70% of the Chinese population will live in urban areas: that is over a billion city dwellers in China alone.
Urbanization in China is a comprehensive process involving changes in many areas, including ongoing processes of industrialization, rural-to-urban migration, structural and spatial changes of urban systems, and institutional innovations. Cities in China can serve as engines for growth, as models for innovative development, as leaders in environmental protection, and as places that have a high quality of life, prosperity, and health.
The ‘smart eco-city’ concept captures the recent trend for future-oriented urban development schemes in China. These plans are centrally and nationally driven. Their implementation as pilot smart cities was to be carried out by the city governments. Starting from January 2013 the first batch of national pilot smart cities (90 in total), including cities at municipal, district, county and town levels were launched. The second and third batches of 103 and 277 pilot smart cities were initiated in 2015. On 16 March 2014, the Chinese government announced the new National Urbanism Plan (2014-2020) with major directions for smart city development (5 factors included: new industry, new environment, new mode, new life and new services). Broadband information and communication network, digitization of planning and management, smart infrastructure and convenient public services were to be used in the construction of these cities.
To harness the transformative powers of urbanization towards sustainable development, over time, the trends in eco and smart city development have evolved which includes a significant focus on green and low carbon living. Urbanization is leveraged for the fight against poverty, inequality, unemployment, climate change and other pressing global challenges.
Facing the distinct urban-rural dual structure, the Chengdu municipal committee proposed development strategies to transform Chengdu into a “world modern garden city”, aiming to promote the integration of urban and rural areas. In addition, new district development projects based on the smart eco-city vision were also considered. The main emphasis of these projects were to create a hub for leisure and culture, where the user-friendly modern technologies were to be adopted to the daily life of citizens. One such project is that of “Unicorn Island” located in the Tianfu New Area south of Chengdu, planned as a smart and circular city by Zaha Hadid Architects. The island is built with clusters of buildings that grow along the skyline of the Longquan mountain ridge and the Xinglong lake.
The Unicorn Island is inspired by the idea of circular cities enhanced by innovations and modern technologies that give rise to a friendly environment, sustainable living and working space.
Its lotus pond design or cluster of organic volumes provides a framework of indoor and outdoor spaces and its circular designs permits connectivity to all parts of the Island within a radius of 600m. The design of buildings is efficient and functional. The master plan is divided in clusters of skillsets instead of vertical silos for individual companies. The modulation in height and gaps between the buildings allow a harmonious cohesion with the surrounding nature.
Food is grown on the island through an innovative farming system and the outdoor and indoor sport venues can be converted into concert and performance venues, as well as a conference center if needed. Other parts of the plan deal with multiple ecosystem services, carbon sequestration, local climate regulation, storm water capture and water and air purification which are all part of innovative technologies used throughout the Island.
The plan entails breaking down organic waste through the use of bacteria, producing gas and using the surplus gas to provide cooking fuel for the F&B outlets. Careful interconnected planning for sports and entertainment is combined with medical innovative facilities.
The Island is organized around a central plaza which will deliver most of the connectivity through its metro station and an underground car park. It combines the nature, the food and the culture, specific to Chengdu, with cutting edge innovation designs in modern campus, workplace and lifestyle.
Unicorn Island is incorporating sustainable development goals into its designs by combining a mix of energy sources, e.g. power plants, solar energy, and anaerobic digestion chambers. This mix provides for sustainable waste recycling power, by breaking down organic waste through the use of bacteria. The resultant gas is used to provide cooking fuel for the F&B outlets. This supplementary source of energy could also provide protection from the volatility of renewable sources.
SMART metering provides a fine grain breakdown of the energy usage across the site. The data will be used to inform the generation process thereby optimizing its lifecycle. The data from the SMART meters are made available to the Island inhabitants in order to educate and inform each person about their impact on the environment, and bring about a reduction in demand.
The planned water bodies on the site provide an opportunity for natural cooling techniques through technologies such as heat rejection piping. This method of cooling is not only producing low carbon, but it is also economical by reducing the operating costs of the project.
Zaha Hadid Architects are aware that the idea of having a zero emission city is not too far away from becoming reality. Therefore the design of a future smart city in Chengdu or other parts of the world includes a host of clean and efficient energy sources to power its components.
Conclusion
As mentioned, urbanization in China is a comprehensive process involving changes in many areas, including ongoing processes of industrialization, rural-to-urban migration, structural and spatial changes of urban system, as well as institutional innovation concerning the Hukou system, employment, security, education and land use policy. All of these changes are part of China’s transition from a centrally planned economy to a socialist market economy.
China’s urbanization will continue to be at an enormous scale, characterized by quick changes and a short window to implement policies. The policy objectives included the permanent settling of 100 million migrant workers and their families; improved housing for another 100 million urban dwellers; rural-to-urban migration and new employment for yet another 100 million people. The target was to reach these goals before 2020, soon after which population aging will have shrunk the possibilities for undertakings at this scale. In October 2020, China announced the goal of a total eradication of poverty in the country at a time earlier than predicted.
To harness the transformative powers of urbanization towards sustainable development, effective planning, management and governance is indispensable. It also needs a commitment to build back greener. Economic growth cannot be at the expense of the environment. It is too soon to know if the pandemic experience of 2020 will lead to lasting demographic changes, but the long-term prospects continue to predict that the world will further urbanize over the next decade.
When nature-based solutions are incorporated into design and management, urban areas can benefit from multiple ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, local climate regulation, storm water capture and water and air purification. To this end, one needs effective planning, management and governance. Hence, national governments must create an enabling environment for cities to thrive, and local authorities must seize the opportunities given to them to flourish and develop.
Special announcement: This article only represents the views of expert, not the views or positions of ICCSD.
