China to build first eco-city
Imagine it is 2010. The place is Dongtan, the world's first purpose-built eco-city. It stands in the middle of the marshes at the eastern tip of Chongming, China's third-largest island, at the mouth of the Yangtse river.
None of the buildings is more than eight storeys high. Turf and vegetation cover the roofs, a natural form of insulation that also recycles waste water. The town has six times more space for pedestrians than Copenhagen, one of Europe's airiest capitals. Pollution-free buses, powered by fuel cells, run between neighbourhoods. An intranet service forecasts travel times and connects people who want to share a car. Traditional motorbikes are forbidden, replaced by electric scooters or bicycles. The roads are laid out so that walking or cycling to work is quicker than driving.
Up to 80% of solid waste is recycled. Organic waste is burned in an incinerator, catering for part of the town's electricity requirements. Other burners consume rice husks, which produce a lot of heat and are plentiful in China. On the outskirts giant windmills, driven by the sea breeze, produce electricity too. Each building is fitted with photovoltaic panels and its own, smaller windmill.
Dongtan stands on the shores of a canal, in the middle of a designated nature reserve with outstanding biodiversity, and is one of the main attractions for visitors to the international Expo in Shanghai. The journey to the metropolis, via a huge bridge and tunnel complex, takes only 45 minutes.
Returning to the present day, the Dongtan project is an attempt to solve an increasingly pressing problem. China has so far given priority to the quantity of construction, but now it must focus on quality. This means a radical change in town planning strategy and a switch to sustainable development, even though the country is in the grip of one of the most spectacular migratory movements in the history of mankind. Between now and 2020 China needs to build 400 new towns - nearly 30 a year - to accommodate more than 300 million people from the countryside. Hence the decision to build a model city on Chongming Island.
The contract for the project was awarded to the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) seven years ago. It appointed Arup, a British-based engineering consultancy, to design Dongtan. Arup, which has been working in China for the past 20 years, contributed to the construction of amenities for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. To demonstrate the political significance of the Dongtan scheme, the contract was signed in November at 10 Downing Street in the presence of the British prime minister, Tony Blair, and the visiting Chinese president, Hu Jintao. The Chinese authorities have commissioned two other eco-cities.
Hay otro articulo sobre esto en :http://www.plataformaurbana.cl/archive/2006/05/29/dongtan-en-china-comienzan-las-ciudades-sustentables/
Publicado por :Jean-Pierre Langellier and Brice Pedroletti en www.guardian.com.uk
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