China S Eco City Construction

This book introduces the concept of Eco-civilization, highlights the construction and development of eco-cities in China, and assesses the achievements and shortcomings of China’s eco-city construction projects. As both China and Western countries face an impending ecological crisis, responding to that crisis is a common challenge for all human beings. There is an overwhelming consensus among Chinese scholars that in order to successfully address the ecological crisis successfully we must establish an eco-civilization, and one important step toward accomplishing that goal is to plan and construct eco-cities.

This book presents an in-depth study on and summary of the current practice and theories for the construction of eco-cities in China in the context of the country’s rapid urbanization. It argues that by 2020, 60% of China’s population will live in cities. And the evolution from “green cities” to “eco- cities”, and subsequently to “smart cities” is crucial to China’s sustainable development. The book presents a feasible and objective quantitative evaluation system for the sustainable and healthy development of eco-cities. It summarizes the Chinese experience in building eco- cities as the coordinated development of economy, society, resources and environment, with the goal being “to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. This is essential to achieving a number of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the book defines the current stage of development Chinese cities have reached in terms of ecological construction, and offers guidance on selecting suitable urban ecological construction modes and improvement approaches. It provides a valuable reference source and guidebook for research on and the practice of eco-city construction. Accordingly, it will help other countries around the world, especially the developing countries, to benefit from China’s successful experience.

This book explores China’s eco-development strategies and practices from a multi-scalar perspective, discussing the importance of interplay between multi spatial levels of the built environment, as well as the stakeholders who are key players for China’s eco-development. Based on a selection of eco-development Chinese case studies - eco-city, eco-community and eco-building - it highlights how specific eco initiatives and green features are applied and practiced, offering a guide to China’s strategy directions and design and planning trends. The book identifies gaps and strategies and solutions for future eco-development expected to take place in China in the coming decades, as well as useful references for eco-development in other countries, and provides a useful resource for studies in the fields of urbanism, sustainable development and eco-design.

This volume introduces and discusses the achievements and mechanisms of urban planning and construction in China from multiple professional perspectives, covering practices and processes ranging from ancient times to the present day. The book has 14 chapters, each addressing a specific Chinese urban planning and construction topic with examples and applications in various cities and regions, and each providing an all-around analysis of Chinese urban development issues at different scales, including government administrations, planning progresses, urban investments, social impacts and construction models. The book provides a comprehensive overview of urban planning and construction in China, especially its successful experiences in the historical period and modern era, which will greatly benefit scholars and readers who are interested in China, as well as urban planners, architects and historians. The book is organized into 4 main parts. Part 1 focuses on "historical wisdom" to summarize ancient Chinese efforts to cope with nature and the environment. It interprets the unique wisdom of ancient Chinese cities related to regional design, water conservancy system, and urban districts. Part 2 presents the “transformation" of urban planning in China by learning from both the traditional value and western experiences based on several cases, such as the spatial development of Beijing and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei capital region, the preservation of Qingdao city, the urban community development and regeneration in Chongqing city. Part 3 explores the "green and eco-city" by looking towards the future, illustrating Chinese practices and efforts to build more sustainable cities, such as green and low-carbon city construction in Wuhan, healthy city planning and eco-cities construction in China. Part 4 prospects the “modern miracles” brought forth by technological innovation and economic growth, and introduces the newest planning trends in China, such as the E-commerce Taobao villages in China and the innovation districts in Beijing. It also explains the driving force of the "growth machine" of Suzhou city.

A political scientist and an urban architect explore China’s odyssey to become an ecological civilization and transform its massive, unsustainable, urbanization process into one that creates hundreds of eco-cities. The resulting From Eco-Cities to Sustainable City-Regions is the first book-length study combining analysis of politics and power, urban design and planning issues derived from the co-authors’ interdisciplinary research, and on-site fieldwork from their political science and architectural area specialties.

This book examines the sustainability transition theory in the context of urbanization in China, tracing the development of eco and low-carbon cities. It examines how ideas on building eco-cities and low-carbon cities travel from nation to nation, how they are adopted in the Chinese administrative context and what role inter-scalar actors play in getting the ideas transferred, translated and operationalized on the ground. Offering an overarching theoretical framework that incorporates all urban sustainability experiments in China, the book conducts a comprehensive analysis of the master plans of these new towns and summarizes the normative transition targets of sustainable urban experiments. It explores how they differ from each other and how they influence transition dynamics in practice. By examining four eco and low-carbon new towns deemed representative of current major approaches to sustainability transition management in China, the book provides a detailed depiction of generic transition management and explains the different transitional trajectories for each type of sustainable urban experiment. It demonstrates how subnational-level and city-level transitions mediate the national transition. Through a thorough inquiry into inter-scalar dynamics, institutional arrangements and techno-social innovations in sustainable urban experiments, the book links generalized transition rules and specific contexts to present a full view of the challenges, failures and territorial problems of eco and low-carbon new towns. This book makes a novel contribution to the study of Chinese urbanization by revisiting issues and problems of contemporary urban China. The reflection on these urban issues will provide implications to policymakers, professionals and the common reader interested in the future sustainable urbanism in China.

By 2025, China will have built fifteen new 'supercities' each with 25 million inhabitants. It will have created 250 'Eco-cities' as well: clean, green, car-free, people-friendly, high-tech urban centres. From the edge of an impending eco-catastrophe, we are arguably witnessing history's greatest environmental turnaround - an urban experiment that may provide valuable lessons for cities worldwide. Whether or not we choose to believe the hype – there is little doubt that this is an experiment that needs unpicking, understanding, and learning from. Austin Williams, The Architectural Review's China correspondent, explores the progress and perils of China's vast eco-city program, describing the complexities which emerge in the race to balance the environment with industrialisation, quality with quantity, and the liberty of the individual with the authority of the Chinese state. Lifting the lid on the economic and social realities of the Chinese blueprint for eco-modernisation, Williams tells the story of China's rise, and reveals the pragmatic, political and economic motives that lurk behind the successes and failures of its eco-cities. Will these new kinds of urban developments be good, humane, healthy places? Can China find a 'third way' in which humanity, nature, economic growth and sustainability are reconciled? And what lessons can we learn for our own vision of the urban future? This is a timely and readable account which explores a range of themes – environmental, political, cultural and architectural – to show how the eco-city program sheds fascinating light on contemporary Chinese society, and provides a lens through which to view the politics of sustainability closer to home.

The book discusses how to establish a land-use system for small and medium-sized cities in order to promote low carbon economic development and to ensure sustainable development. It also presents the objectives and requirements of urban green development: The first objective is to establish a green city with ecological harmony. The second is the establishment of a people-oriented harmonious city, which is important for the green development of city. Drawing on past experience and combining this with the current situation in China’s cities, it argues that the construction of people-oriented harmonious cities should be a priority. The third objective is to build multi-functional organic cities in which the urban function is relatively independent. Lastly, the fourth objective is to establish a city with unique charm, applying historical ways of thinking to today’s world.