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Learning from Cities— The 2nd Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation
1. It is economically viable to
3. Integrated development
strive for a future that is both
processes that run through the
green and commercially vibrant
life cycle of a project should be
There is no trade-off between
adopted
environmental protection and economic
When it comes to urban planning
development. An environment-
and construction planning, a pro-
friendly economic model is conducive
sustainability plan should start at the
to propelling the development
design phase. It is critical to make an
o f e n e rg y - s a v i n g i n d u s t r i e s a n d
evaluation of the currently-demanded
new energy sectors as well as to
costs and the costs for maintenance
facilitating industrial restructuring and
in the future. On-site audits should
upgradation. To put it another way,
be delegated to independent
environmental protection should not be
environmental experts, which shall
pushed to the extreme where economic
decide which part(s) of a project will
vibrancy is damaged, because continual
be the most energy-consuming. These
economic growth is fundamentally
independent environmental experts
significant for the achievement of
shall have no converging interests
ecological sustainability.
whatsoever with the project designers. All-dimensional and holistic thinking
2. Striving for sustainability can
should be embedded into the entire
produce extra costs, which
project process, from conception to
seem insignificant as measured
completion, so that the most viable
against long-term benefits
e n e rg y r e d u c t i o n t a rg e t s c a n b e
Shifting to a new economic
achieved.
growth model driven by low-energyconsuming and eco-friendly industries
4. Collaboration and synergy
will inevitably result in an increase of
should be fostered between
economic costs, but such extra costs
government, businesses and
are temporary in nature and will be
civil society
cancelled out by the saved costs in
While formulating policies
the later stage of a pro-sustainability
for sustainable development, the
economic model.
government should adopt a visionary and farsighted approach on one hand