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Future Cities
 
Projects
Future Cities - Towards Sustainable Cities
Future Cities - Guangzhou: A Partnership for Urban Sustainability (2000, 2001)
Future Cities - Guangzhou: A Partnership for Sustainable Urban and Regional Development in the Pearl River Delta (2002)

Principal Investigators
MIT: L.Glicksman, Q.Chen, L.Norford, F.Moavenzadeh, J.Dorsey
UT: K.Hanaki, T.Matsuo, S.Murakami
ETH: P.Baccini, J.Gay, M.Hugentobler, A.Henz, W.Kroger, A.Moser, P.Rittmeyer, C.Binder, D.Eberle
University of Hong Kong: J.Beisi

Developing countries are faced with two major urban sustainability challenges. The first is rapidly growing population, concentrated mostly in urban areas. Second, the resource demand for consumption and production is increasing in cities, which are simultaneously the centers of economic growth and of social inequalities. The combination of such pressures leads to environmental problems on a local, regional and global scale. Cities also depend on resources produced elsewhere, and put pressures on the regional environment through resource depletion and solid waste generation.

The focus to address these environmental concerns has started to shift from end of pipe technologies to early problem recognition, and resource recovery and reuse. However, fast growing cities often lack the tools and resources to introduce environmentally sustainable technologies and innovative policy approaches. This research aims to address such urban sustainability challenge from technological and political perspectives, focusing on water, transportation, and village renewal in Guangzhou, China. The research has been carried out in three phases.

Phase I: Future Cities - Towards Sustainable Cities

Goals/Objectives
The objective of the initial project was to bring together scholars who have worked extensively in areas related to sustainable development within the urban and buildings context. Specifically:

  • Resource Efficient Urban Developments: to conduct surveys of four cities to identify factors affecting residential energy intensity, analyze the market for energy efficient investments, and generate practical policy recommendations
  • Resource Efficient Buildings: to develop sustainability indicators which optimize energy and materials use in buildings as well as reduce emissions
  • Indoor Air Quality: to understand health effects of building materials on the indoor environment

Results/Findings
Two publications elaborate on key findings:

  • Future Cities: Dynamics and Sustainability, part of the AGS Book Series
  • Articles in the Journal of Urban Technology, Special Edition

Phase II: AGS Future Cities - Guangzhou: A Partnership for Urban Sustainability (2000, 2001)

Goals/Objectives
The goal of the project was to support the city of Guangzhou in addressing problems related to urban transportation, housing, waste and water management through the application and adaptation of technical, social and policy analysis tools developed. Specific objectives included:

  • To provide approaches for developing and assessing policy measures to reduce air and water pollution
  • To assist in developing recommendations for sustainable policies related to land use and property development
  • To assess the wastewater treatment system and suggest methods for improvement
  • To assist in the development of a concept and process for sustainable urban development planning
  • To provide and apply a multi-system analysis for sustainable development in housing construction and renovation and in other selected areas of urban planning
  • To develop a research partnership toward capacity building, specifically focused on improved decision-making and implementation

Results/Findings
Key findings of three subprojects include:

  • The subproject “Developing Sustainable Urban Transportation Systems and Policies” identified urban transportation policies, technologies, and strategies to cope with the increasing traffic congestion.
  • The subproject: “Sustainable Water Environmental Resource Management” addressed pollution control and sustainable management of water resources.
  • The subproject: "Improvement of the Residential Environment in Zhu Village" aimed to develop a model for sustainable urban renewal in older villages that have become a part of Guangzhou metropolitan area.

Phase III: Future Cities - Guangzhou: A Partnership for Sustainable Urban and Regional Development in the Pearl River Delta (2002)

Goals/Objectives
Building on the cooperation and research developed to date, this project focuses on outreach and multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and trans-disciplinary cooperation. Three subprojects focus on various administrative levels (regional, district, residential areas) within the Guangzhou region.

  • The "Sustainable Regional Transportation" subproject, headed by MIT, examines the transportation issues faced by the city of Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta region.
  • The "Integrated Water Management: Panyu Water management", headed by UT, focuses on the Panyu district, which is a large residential and commercial area that has recently become part of the Guangzhou municipal territory.
  • The "Urban Renewal: A model for Sustainable Village Renewal" subproject, headed by ETH with the University of Hong Kong, explores an alternative approach to urban renewal, using the Zhu village as a case study.