Tag Archives: sustainable development

Measuring eco cities, comparing European and Asian experiences: Rotterdam versus Beijing

Meine Pieter van Dijk (2015). Measuring eco cities, comparing European and Asian experiences: Rotterdam versus Beijing. Asia Europe Journal. 20 p. Published online: 4 January 2015. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10308-014-0405-7

Many cities have taken initiatives to achieve more sustainable development or to become ecological cities. In this paper, ten dimensions are suggested for defining ecological cities and an effort has been made to provide indicators to measure them. Many cities claim to be ecological cities, but there are no non-ambiguous definitions of ecological cities and few efforts have been made to measure to what extent the cities have achieved their goal. This paper considers the efforts of Beijing and Rotterdam to become more eco cities, using these dimensions. What can we learn from these experiences for developing the city of the future? In an illustrative effort to apply the suggested criteria, Rotterdam scored slightly better than Beijing. The latter city is facing more serious environmental problems and is willing to try more innovative solutions, while Rotterdam spends more money on prevention and CO2 reduction.

Read full text online (free access)

 

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Sustainable development in China, social and environmental challenges for the 21st century

asino doroFerro, N. (Ed.). (2014). Sviluppo sostenibile e Cina, le sfide sociali e ambientali del XXI secolo. Rome: L’Asino d’oro edizioni.

In this collective book published in Italian, authors question the concept and implementation of sustainable development in China.

A first part looks at the growing awareness of sustainable needs in the Chinese sociey. Then, several chapters are dedicated to the challenges posed by economic growth and urbanisation, including food safety.

The last part studies the possible role of entreprises in answering sustainable development needs in China.

Book excerpt (in Italian) avaiable here

Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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Chinese urban planning: environmentalising a hyper-functionalist machine?

Curien, Rémi. (2014) Chinese urban planning : environmentalising a hyper-functionalist machine? China Perspectives [Online], 2014/3. Connection on 16 September 2014. URL : http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/6528.

How should the considerable discrepancy between the concepts of sustainable urban development proclaimed by the Chinese authorities and the reality on the ground be understood? This article examines the urban planning procedures that currently hold sway in China. The building of new cities is based upon a generic method of hyper-productivist and functionalist planning, reflected as a pyramid structure that extends over the whole country and is embodied by urban zoning on a vast scale. This procedure, which has been in force for nearly 30 years, is not at present one that is called into question by Chinese decision-makers, and does not take environmental principles seriously into account. Conversely, all of the reasoning upon which urban development is based remains very far removed from environmental considerations. China is continuing down the road of accelerated development behind the wheel of a growing hyper-functionalist urban machine.

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Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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From socialist danwei to new danwei

Chai, Yanwei (2014). From socialist danwei to new danwei: a daily-life-based framework for sustainable development in urban China. Asian Geographer. Published online: 1 August 2014. DOI: 10.1080/10225706.2014.942948

The danwei (or work unit) compound was the basic spatial and social unit of urban China in the pre-reform period, and its transformation has been an important part of the larger transitions that have remade urban China during the reform era. This paper investigates spatial and social changes in urban China over three stages; namely, the formation of the socialist danwei system, the decline of the socialist danwei and the formation of a new kind of danwei. I argue that the socialist danwei included positive elements like mixed land use, job-housing balance and social equality, while the decline of the socialist danwei system has resulted in many negative outcomes such as spatial mismatch and social segregation. In proposing a framework for new danwei, I suggest that urban life should be structured around residents’ daily activity spaces based on their daily-life-circle systems. The concept of the new danwei offers a practical solution through combining a human-focused approach with consideration of China’s contemporary economic and social reality. The paper concludes with a discussion on possible avenues for future research.

Read full text on Taylor & Francis Online (restricted access)

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Making China’s urban transportation boom sustainable

Zhao, Zhirong Jerry (2014). Making China’surban transportation boom sustainable.  (Paulson Policy Memorenda). Chicago, IL : The Paulson Institute.

China’s economic takeoff of recent decades has been accompanied by the dazzling growth of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. China’s total highway mileage had reached a staggering 4.2 million kilometers (km)  (2.6 million miles) by 2012, expanding from just 126,675 km (78,712 miles) in 1949. Railroads in operation increased from 22,900 km (14,229 miles) in 1952 to 98,000 km (60,894 miles) in 2012, including more than 9,360 km (5,816 miles) of high-speed rail (HSR) that moves sleek passenger trains between China’s major urban centers at speeds that clock in at over 200km (124 miles)/h.

In China’s current subway boom, meanwhile, not only are megacities like Beijing and Shanghai actively adding new lines and extensions (see Figure 1) but smaller Chinese cities are also racing to open their first subway lines. 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Sustainable City 2014

The International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability addresses all aspects of the urban environment aiming to provide solutions leading towards sustainability.

Date

23-25 September, 2014

Location

Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, Italy

Organisers

  • Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
  • University of Siena, Italy

The Conference addresses the multi-disciplinary aspects of urban planning; a result of the increasing size of the cities; the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society.

Most of earth’s population now lives in cities and the process of urbanisation still continues generating many problems deriving from the drift of the population towards them. These problems can be resolved by cities becoming efficient habitats, saving resources in a way that improves the quality and standard of living. The process however, faces a number of major challenges, related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems. New urban solutions are required to optimise the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment, i.e reduction in air, water and soil pollution as well as efficient ways to deal with waste generation. These challenges contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions.

 More information at: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/14-conferences/sustainable-city-2014.html

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Bringing sustainable infrastructure to urban areas

Grangé, Jérémy and Petitet, Sylvain (2014). For cities of a different nature : bringing sustainable infrastructure to urban areas. Translated by Oliver Waine. Metropolitics, 26 March 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014 from: http://www.metropolitiques.eu/For-cities-of-a-different-nature.html

City-dwellers want to see more of their metropolitan areas turned over to nature and urban public spaces; however, our cities today are still structured by a network of roads that were primarily built to manage motor traffic flows. Sylvain Petitet and Jérémy Grangé show how implementing sustainable urban infrastructure could provide city-dwellers with easy and convenient access to the places that generate most of their journeys, revealing a new form of network-based public space.

 

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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URBACHINA: sustainable development for Chinese cities?

Interview with François Gipouloux (coordinator of the UrbaChina project) by Alessandra Rebecchini at GBtimes France, on 2 May 2014.

Francois Gipouloux, professor and researcher at the EHESS, teaches Asian-European comparative international economics.

Since 2011 Gipouloux has directed the European funded project UrbaChina, a collaborative project in which 11 Chinese and European research centres work towards sustainable urbanisation in China.

What strategies, what “advice” could Europe give China to be able to develop its cities and transport network? How can it integrate rural populations in these news cities?

UrbaChina is exploring different avenues.1

Listen to the podcast here (in French).

  1. Translation by Aurélia Martin. []

Aurélia Martin

Chargée de communications et des médias pour l'UMR Chine Corée Japon (CNRS)

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The city of Suzhou rewarded for its best practices in sustainable urbanisation

The city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, won the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2014 for its demonstration of sound planning principles and good urban management.

The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize is co-organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore and the Centre for Liveable Cities. It aims to honour cities which tackle urban challenges through good governance and innovation. The prize places an emphasis on practical and cost effective solutions and ideas in order to facilitate the sharing between cities accross the world of best practices in urban solutions and sustainable urban development.

Suzhou has undergone remarkable transformation over the past two decades. The significance of its transformation lies in the city’s success in meeting the multiple challenges of achieving economic growth in order to create jobs and a better standard of living for its people; balancing rapid urban growth with the need to protect its cultural and built heritage; and coping with a large influx of migrant workers while maintaining social stability.

For more information, see the web-page of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize.

Oriane Pillet

Intern at the CNRS, UrbaChina project. M.A. in urban local development (IEDES, Paris); M.A. in international development studies (Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris - Utrecht University); B.A. in geography and law (Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris).

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Urbanisation and green growth in China

OECD (2013), Urbanisation and green growth in China, 102 p.

This working paper assesses national policy and governance mechanisms that can influence green growth in Chinese cities. It applies the OECD conceptual framework for urban green growth to examine the potential challenges and opportunities for increasing economic growth through reducing the environmental impact of urban land use, transport and buildings; through improving water and air quality; and through fostering supply and demand of green products and services. The paper first situates the issue of green growth within the nexus of urbanisation and environmental challenges now facing China. This is followed by a review of environmental and quality of life challenges posed by rapid urbanisation. Opportunities for national policies to influence green growth in four key urban policy sectors are then examined. The paper concludes with an assessment of governance challenges and considers potential changes to facilitate economic growth while reducing the environmental impact of cities.

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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Chinese perspectives on the environment and sustainable development

Chinese Perspectives on the Environment and Sustainable Development, edited by: Ye Wenhu, Peking University; translated by: Christopher Heselton at Brill.

With China’s rapid growth over the past several decades, the detrimental effects of industrial growth on the environment have become ever more apparent. In this collection of articles from some of China’s most distinguished political scientist, economist, and environmentalist, we find the emerging debate on environmentalism unfolding as Chinese try to find their own way. At the core of these concerns is a debate on balancing the needs of economic development with responsibilities to the planet, and the degree to which that responsibility applies to China as a developing country. These articles seek to illustrate broader principles for environmental policies and international support, as well as more specific projects in China that have been tested and those that have failed.

 

 

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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Lyon’s sustainable transportation for school

对于可持续城市发展的定义,一般来说是根据1987年联合国公布的布伦特兰报告 (Brundtland Report),其中指出 “可持续发展,以满足目前的需求,又不损害子孙后代能满足他们的需求的发展模式”1。而对于可持续发展城市的具体作为,各国政府主要依据1992年联合国在巴西里约热内卢拟定的“21世纪议程 (Agenda 21)”,其中指出联合国针对可持续发展方面的行动具体计划,再进行深入具体的方案实施而成2。因此在” 21世纪议程” 之下,各国家、城市间,开始执行不同的可持续发展政策与项目。

法国里昂在” 21世纪议程”的概念之下,从2005年5月开始执行”大里昂21世纪议程项目 (Agenda 21 du Grand Lyon)3,在该计划之下有几个次计划来达到可持续城市的实践,本篇是在”大里昂21世纪议程”项目中,针对节能减排,绿色公交的 « Pedibus计划 (上学路队计划) » 进行概略的介绍。

该项目实行的目的,是有鉴于孩子在前往学校的途中,大量的车子从家中开出,由于学童都属同一学区,一方面造成交通堵塞,另方面造成废气排放,故此为了在城市里实践可持续发展计划,从政府的角色出发,减少接送小孩上学的« Pedibus计划» 因此诞生。

该项目的目体作法是 :

  1.  由家长带领,在网站上刊登出带领学童徒步上学的路线图
  2. 号召同路线的学童一起加入
  3. «上学路队» 形成后,由家长带领接送学童上学。

未命名

此项目是一个简单执行的举措,但却可以藉由该项目促进居民对于节能减排,对抗温室效应,並提供公众参与,到2010年,在里昂市区内已有73所学校参与这项计划,并创造142条线路 « 上学路队» 领接送学童往返学校。

该项目的参考网址: http://blogs.grandlyon.com/pedibus/

  1. United Nations. 1987, Report of the World Commission on environment and development, http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm (accessed 16 July 2013 []
  2. United Nations. 1992, Agenda 21, http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf (accessed 16 July 2013 []
  3. L’Agenda 21 du Grand Lyon, http://www.grandlyon.com/L-Agenda-21-du-Grand-Lyon.34.0.html (accessed 16 July 2013 []

Chi-Han Ai

Ph.D. candidate of EHESS ( École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) focusing on regional economic development in China and Taiwan.

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Corporate responsibility and sustainable development

Presentations and debates will highlight current thinking and how these issues are being addressed around the world nowadays.

The scope of the symposium is interdisciplinary. Are encouraged contributions that focus both on single issues whether social, environmental, economic or technological, as well as contributions that focus on the challenges and opportunities where these streams seem to merge.

Submissions may focus on either practice (e.g., innovative programmes, strategic challenges), or theory (development and reflection), or empirical research (involving the collection and analysis of data).

Location

  • Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

Date

  • 9-12 April 2013

Organization

Website

Contact

 

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Sustainable City 2013

 The Conference aims to address the many inter-related aspects of the urban environment from transport and mobility to social exclusion and crime prevention. The meeting will build on the contributions made in previous conferences, which successfully managed to provide an international view of the problems facing modern cities and their solutions.

Papers presented at Sustainable City 2013 will appear in a volume of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN: 1746-448X).

Location

  • Putrajaya, Malaysia

Date

  • 3-5 December 2013

Organization

  • Wessex Institute of Technology, United Kingdom
  • Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysia

Website

Contact

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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ACSEE 2013 – Third Asian conference on sustainability, energy and the environment

Sustainability has emerged as the most important global issue for business, industry, government, and academia, and yet to begin with sustainability was associated only with environmental concerns such as energy and global warming. It is now recognized that the concept of sustainability is applicable to all areas of human society, for example in terms of social/economic justice, or responsible business practice. Issues such as poverty, hunger, education, health care, and access to markets should be a part of the evolution of any comprehensive sustainability paradigm. ACSEE 2013 will address these various dimensions of human sustainability. Scholars from around the world are invited to address questions and search for synergies and solutions to the complex issues surrounding sustainability in a forum encouraging exchange between academics, members of the global business community, and practitioners in the fields of human endeavor that link these.

ACSEE 2013 will be held alongside the Fourth Asian Conference on the Social Sciences (ACSEE 2013), and registrants for either conference will be given the opportunity to attend sessions in the parallel event at no extra charge.

Location

  • Ramada Hotel, Osaka, Japan

Date

  • 6-9 June 2013

Organization

Website

Contact

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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