Introduction

¨  Alison Lu: Introduction to characteristics of eco-districts

¨  James Connelly: Policy, indicators and energy consumption

¨  Cecilia Springer: Case study of Sino-Singaporean Tianjin Eco-City and residential demographic

¨  Gavin Lohry: Urban form and the environment: how China’s eco-cities stack up

OVERVIEW OF ECO-DISTRICT CHARACTERISTICS: WHAT DOES THE “ECO-” LABEL MEAN?

Fulbright Research Scholar, Tsinghua University Alison Lu

Eco-District Characteristics

¨  Eco-districts: Eco-cities, Eco-villages, Eco-parks, Low-carbon communities

¨  Sustainable development

1.  High-Tech Development Parks

2.  Abundant Housing 3.  Public Transportation

Systems 4.  Pollution Remediation

and Eco-Tourism

1. High-Tech Development Parks

¨  Research and Development Centers ¨  Promotion of Silicon Valley-type of atmosphere ¨  Partnerships with other countries: Attraction of

foreign investment in China

DeZhou “Solar Valley” 德州

2007: 800,000 people employed in solar panel industry (1 out of 3 working-age)

2020 projection: 1,500,000 Home to Himin Group, world’s largest solar hot water heater manufacturer

The Micro Emission Sun-Moon Mansion 50,000 square feet of solar paneling

Hotel, research facilities, offices, exhibition areas

1. High-Tech Development Parks

¨  Further Questions ¤ Silicon Valley comparisons ¤ Can every district have the same success? ¤ Financial support must be given as an incentive

2. Abundant Housing

¨  Potential for huge populations

¨  Empty Housing: ¤ Misalignment of

interests between citizens, government, city planners, and designers

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

Planned Population

ChengGong 呈贡

Branch district off of KunMing

Construction began in 2003 Currently: 100,000+ uninhabited apartments Empty government buildings, shopping malls,

offices, etc.

New effort in 2010: Calthorpe Associates to improve sustainability

HuangBaiYu 黄柏峪

William McDonough + China-US Center for Sustainable Development

“Cradle-to-Cradle” Eco-village

Since 2006: 42 out of 400 houses built

Designs were not fit for farming lifestyle Too expensive

.

2. Abundant Housing

¨  Further Questions ¤ Something that only the rich can afford or only the poor

want to move into? ¤ How to incentivize people to move out of cities?

n  Is this even a good idea in the first place?

3. Public Transportation

¨  Low-carbon claims ¨  Ease of mobility ¨  Outside of city centers: must consider transportation

of people and goods in and out of districts ¨  Hard to predict success in planning stages

4. Pollution Remediation and Eco-Tourism

¨  Ecological aspect of urban planning ¨  Remediation: Conflict between agricultural land and

land for development ¨  Eco-Tourism

MeiXi Lake 梅溪湖

Designed by Kohn Pendersen Fox

Associates, developed by Gale International

MeiXi lake:

Tourism and transportation: boat transport linkages .

“creates conditions for edge gardens and makes places for cultural venues.”

Man-made lake .

Summary

¨  “Eco-” can be interpreted in a thousand different ways.

¨  Four Characteristics: thorough planning to make sure that each characteristic is developed in the way that they were intended

¨  The “eco-“ label is something that must be earned, and not given automatically.

EVALUATING ECO-CITIES: POLICIES INDICATORS AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION

LEED AP, Fulbright Research Scholar, Tsinghua University James Connelly

The Challenge

¨  12th Five year Plan (by 2015): ¤ 17% Reduction GDP GHG Emissions ¤ 7% Economic Growth ¤ 53% Urbanization Rate

n More than 100 million to urban residents n Urban residents consume 3.5 – 4 times more energy than

rural

¤ Compete and win in the green tech race

The Solution?

¨  Eco-Cities and Low Carbon Zones ¤ Eco-City’s generally brand new cities ¤ Low-Carbon Zones for existing cities ¤ All but 2 of China 287 municipalities have established

eco-city or low carbon goals, half have begun construction

¨  National Green Building Action Plan (April, 2012) ¤ New construction 30% green buildings by 2020 ¤ 45 Yuan for 2-Star, 80 for 3-Star (20% extra cost)

National Indicator Systems

¨  MoHURD “Eco-Garden City Index” ¤  Revised 2005 ¤  Focused on urban form, ratio of green spaces, green

buildings, infrastructure ¨  MEP “Indices for Eco-County, Eco-City and Eco-Province”

¤  Revised 2008 ¤  Focus on overall environmental performance: energy intensity

and emissions per unit of GDP

¨  Local regulation draw from national models but are determined by the local governments ¤  Large degree of variation => difficult to compare

3 Factors in Energy Consumption

¨  Sector energy consumption is determined by a city’s state of industrialization

Worldwide Sector Energy Consumption (2005)

Shandong Transportation College Library

Shanghai Building Technology Institute Green Engineering Research Center

Shanghai Expo Center

Shanghai Power Plant and Chimney

Renovation (City Hall)

Shangai Eco-Home World Expo Best Practices Area

Shenzhen Building Technology Tower

40.0 38.0 146.4 164.6 45.7 44.4

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

200.0

250.0

300.0

Ener

gy U

sage

Inte

nsity

(kw

h/m

2a)

3-Star Building Energy Consumption US CBECS Average 287 �

LEED Average 217 �

24% Savings �

China Large Public Building Average 114 �

3-Star Average 79.4 �

30% Savings �

3 Good Indicators

1) Proportion of energy-efficient buildings and green buildings ≥50

3-Star Building Energy Consumption

2) Proportion of Green Trips ≥20% in big cities ≥15% in medium cities

•  Transportation energy rises as urban areas develop and GDP increases

•  Energy determined by vehicle use •  Vehicle use related to density/urban form •  Urban form is determined before indicators

can be measured

Tianjin Eco-City ~110 p/ha

3-Good Indicators

3 Good Indicators

3) Energy consumption (ton SCE per 10,000 RMB GDP) ≤0.9

0 0.5

1 1.5

2 2.5

3 3.5

4 4.5

GD

P En

ergy

Inte

nsiit

y (T

sce/

10,0

00 R

MB)

30% Cut (.65) 40% Cut (.90)

50% Cut (1.42)

12th FYP Goal (.88) 2015

12 FYP GDP V Energy Intensity (planned and actual)

Energy Intensity of Chinese Provinces and Municipalities (2006)

0.6  0.7  0.8  0.9  1  1.1  1.2  1.3  1.4  1.5  

0  5  10  15  20  25  30  35  40  45  

2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   2013   2014   2015  

GDP  En

ergy  In

tensity

 (Tce/

10,000  RMB)    

GDP  (200

5  price  trillion)  

Planned  GDP    

Actual  GDP    

Planned  Energy  Intensity  

ActualEnergy  Intensity  

2 Poor Indicators (绿化率)

1) Urban public green space per capita >12 m2 2) Forestation coverage in built-up area > 45%

Tianjin: Decreased Density & Landscape not adapted to Climate

Qingdao: Too many trees!

Conclusion

¨  Indicators must be tailored to a city’s state of industrialization and economic structure

¨  Indicators have both good and bad impacts ¨  Definitions must be clear and measureable ¨  More useful as evaluative and comparative metrics

than design blueprints

DIRECTING THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE SINO-SINGAPORE TIANJIN ECO-CITY (SSTEC)

Cecilia Springer Fulbright Research Scholar, Nankai University

SSTEC: Background and Basic Facts • Development type: Local eco-city program (项目) with international collaboration • Estimated construction duration: 2008-2020 • Projected population: 350,000 • Projected total area: 30 km2

• Location: 40 km east of Tianjin city center

SSTEC Key Performance Indicators

Qualitative Indicators

Inte

grat

ed R

egio

nal C

oord

inat

ion

KPI Area KPI

Coordinated Natural Ecology

Ecological health and safety, green consumption, low carbon operation

Coordinated Regional Policies

Advance innovative policies, coordinate anti-pollution policies

Social and Cultural Coordination

Give prominence to preserving the character of local wetlands and culture through planning and design

Regional Coordinated Economy

Supplement the recycling economy

• Complex relationship between planning and operation that partially depends on residents’ behavior • Residents’ behavior affects key performance indicators, both directly and indirectly

Understanding the Eco-City Demographic

¨  Importance of understanding SSTEC residents ¤ Achieving indicators ¤  Building a diverse population

¨  Housing ¤ Commercial real estate (80%) ¤  Public housing (20%)

Commercial Eco-City Housing Advertising

¨  Media ¤ Promotional Materials ¤ Sales Centers ¤ Sales Pitches

¨  Appeals ¤ Technology ¤ Green Lifestyle ¤ Luxury

Commercial Eco-City Housing Advertising: Sales Centers

Promotional Materials: Technology

Sales Pitches: Expanding the Green Lifestyle Concept

¨  “像垃圾车，像回收车，不会进入咱们的社区，像蟑螂、老鼠什么的，都会有力地减少。这个是对生态比较帮助一些。” (“Garbage trucks, recycling trucks won’t need to enter our community, cockroaches, mice, and so on will be fully eliminated. This helps out the ecology. ”)

¨  “在中国别的小区不会派追求绿化。这边的话，就必须得达到一个绿化的保证，有舒适度的”

¨  (“Other communities in China wouldn’t emphasize this green space. Here, green space security must be achieved, it’s a level of comfort”)

Promotional Materials: Green Lifestyles

Promotional Materials: Luxury

Is the Eco-City Actually a Luxury Development?

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Average Eco-City Low Rise

(Int'l Company)

Average Eco-City High Rise (Int'l Company)

Average Eco-City Housing

(Domestic Company)

Farglory (Highest-end Eco-City real

estate)

Public Housing in the Eco-City

Luxury Housing in TBNA/TEDA

Luxury Housing in Tianjin City

Center

Average Housing Price in China's Top 10 Cities

Housing Price Comparison (RMB/m2)

Who Lives in the Eco-City Right Now?

¨  Commercial housing: 60 families (~100 people) ¤ Retirees ¤ Eco-City workers ¤ TBNA/TEDA workers

¨  Public housing: ~50 applicants for public housing lottery system ¤ Eco-City workers ¤ Displaced former residents

¨  Laborers

Conclusions

¨  Residential behavior determines the outcomes of several key indicators ¤  Implications for liveability of the Eco-City ¤ City diversity ¤ Will residents adhere to green standards?

¨  Indicators will be assessed in 2013

URBAN FORM AND THE ENVIRONMENT: HOW CHINA’S ECO-CITIES STACK UP

MPA Candidate, International Development, Tsinghua University Gavin Lohry

What Urban Form has the least Inherent impact on the Environment?

•  As Countries develop building and transportation emission become more important (larger percent of overall emissions)

•  Hong Kong’s per capita level of building and transportation emissions are lower than major Chinese cities and just above the Chinese National

•  What does Hong Kong do right?

Density is Important (What do we know about Density)

¨  Reduces Transport Emissions ¤  Makes public transport more cost effective and convenient ¤  Increased number of services within walking/biking distance ¤  Makes driving less convenient and more expensive

¨  Building Emissions ¤  Decreases building energy use through shared walls ¤  Reduces floor space and increases communal space

¨  Other Effects ¤  Increases infrastructure efficiencies and service efficiencies ¤  Reduces the total amount of land used (more land for farms & forests)

¨  Negative Effects ¤  Pollution is concentrated ¤  Heat Island effect, Peak Flow Volume increase, etc.

Spatial Form is Important

Path #1 Walking Distance=0.6km 8.4min Actual Distance= 0.15km Path #2 Walking Distance= 1.1km 15.3min Actual Distance= 0.55km

Path #1 Walking Distance=0.3km 4.3min Actual Distance= 0.15km Path #2 Walking Distance= 0.7km 10min Actual Distance= 0.55km

NYC Manhattan East Side

Wangjing Beijing

Comparison of Chinese Urban Areas (All Images are set to the same scale)

Tangshan Bay Eco-city Hong Kong Island

Shanghai Nanjing Road Area Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city

New Songdo- South Korea

¨  High density mixed use city scale development- Current pop+35,000

¨  LEED Neighborhood Development project- pedestrian & cyclist friendly

¨  Bike-Transit Oriented Development with small block sizes

Comparison- New Songdo and Tianjin Eco-city Tianjin Eco-city ¨  Large blocks (2 to 4 time the size) ¨  Fenced off communities ¨  Two and three lane divided roads ¨  Large separated bike and walking lanes

470m

350m Fenced Off Blocks No Through Traffic

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city

200m

170m

350m

Neighborhood Through Path

New Songdo, South Korea

Conclusion

¨  Density and Spatial Form are both important and work best together

¨  Neighborhoods need to be built for pedestrians and cyclists not with highways for cars

¨  It is easier to add new technologies to existing developments for environmental improvements than to change a developments Density and Urban form

Three Takeways

1.  ‘Eco’ has many connotations in China that may differ from Western conceptions of the term (e.g. luxury, low density)

2.  Current eco-city developments face challenges in achieving their green goals due to their urban form

3.  China is a testing a new green urban model in eco-city ‘laboratories’ across the country

For More Information: ecocitynotes.com