New Chinese eco-city

A global design and business consulting company in the United Kingdom is helping develop a new metropolis in China, that is destined to become a ‘showpiece’ for the rest of the world.

The ambitious construction plan for clean and green Dongtan city, near Shanghai, envisages an eco-city that will not produce environment-harming carbon emissions. “Dongtan will be sustainable not just environmentally but also socially, economically and culturally,” says Arup, the engineering consultancy that is drawing up the master plan for the city of the future, for 500,000 people on an island in the Yangtze river. Experts believe it is bound to become a living demonstration of how the world’s urban areas should grow.

Dongtan will make full use of the latest in alternative energies. Petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned, and there will be systems to capture rain and store it for residents. And all the energy needed for the city will be generated by Dongtan itself.

Arup, in partnership with the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC), declared that their aim was “to create a development with low-energy consumption that is as close to carbon neutral as possible.”

First phase by 2010

Peter Head, the director at Arup, in charge of the scheme, said Dongtan would be a working model, showing how to build new city areas. The first phase is planned to be completed by 2010, when the World Expo will be held in Shanghai. This phase will include a range of developments with urban and ecological parks and world-class leisure facilities.

Dongtan will be built on the 120-kilometre-long Chongming island, in the Yangtze delta, some 15 km north of Shanghai. The city will be planned to allow people to live near their workplaces, with public transport making every area accessible.

Buildings will have solar-panel cells, and there will be large wind turbines outside the city area, with smaller ones in housing and work areas. Biomass energy production, using waste products, will also be used. Power will be produced with organic waste such as vegetable peelings and rice husks. Other innovations will include holding captured rainwater in canals and water features placed around the city, as well as reservoirs elsewhere on the island. Buildings will be for mixed use, combining work and residential areas to minimise commuting. All the buildings will be fully insulated to minimise energy waste.

Dongtan’s first phase will be mainly to house tourism industries, because it is believed that millions of people will want to visit the city. Further phases will become home to other industries, including healthcare companies. Other sectors will cater for education and research as well as service industries.

Amp’s Peter Head said, “Arup is delighted to be working with SIIC on such an ambitious development that could well prove to be the template for sustainability in city planning — not only in China but elsewhere in the world. Our appointment sends out a clear message that the Chinese government is willing to find ways of overcoming the challenges of creating sustainable cities in the face of significant climate change, environmental pollution, water shortages and the need for the use of cleaner energy.”

The director of SIIC Dongtan, Mr Ma Chengliang, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Arup to help deliver our vision of creating China’s first sustainable and ecologically friendly city. To maintain our current growth rate, we must opt for sustainable development. In Dongtan we want to demonstrate what can be done in terms of renewable energy, clean transport systems and sustainable lifestyles.”

Arup, a leading firm of designers, engineers, planners and business consultants, has three main global business areas: buildings, infrastructure, and consulting. It exerts a significant influence on the built environment and is the creative force behind many of the world’s most innovative and sustainable designs. The firm has 86 offices in more than 37 countries, and at any one time it has thousands of projects running concurrently.
Further information from Press Office, Arup, 13 Fitzroy Street, London WIT 4BQ. Fax: +44 20 7755 3716. Web: http://wvvw.arup.com   E-mail: pressoffice@arup.com