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Sustainable Low-Carbon City Development in China
the Chinese Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD) to conduct a stocktaking and extract lessons from China’s eco-city experiences so far. The study looked at eco-city development in 22 cities across different regions, which represent most of the national pilot eco-cities thus far recognized by the MEP and MoHURD. In addition to some of the lessons discussed above, key findings emerging from the study are highlighted in box 2.5.
Box 2.5
Key Lessons from a Stocktaking Analysis of Eco-City Initiatives and Regulations in China In 2009, the World Bank and CAUPD conducted a study to take stock of China’s eco-city experiences. The study looked at eco-city development in 22 cities of various scales and identified the following key lessons learned: Lack of integrated and sound planning. Eco-city planning in China is at the initial stage, lacking clearly specified principles and techniques. Most cities tend to mistake “eco-city planning” for “city green planning” and mainly focus on beautification projects of the natural environment without due attention to the local natural and social characteristics or a more comprehensive vision of what constitutes environmental sustainability. Lack of a comprehensive management system. A supportive institutional structure for the construction, assessment, and supervision of an eco-city is not yet in place in many cities. Individual city line departments only control some aspects of eco-city development, although a multisectoral effort with participation from different municipal bureaus, such as planning, construction, environment, trade and industry, finance, and water resources, is required. Such coordination mechanisms are rarely established, and the degree of collaboration and sharing of information among different departments is very limited. Need for increased public awareness. The concept of eco-cities is not widely understood. Even among city officials, eco-city development is at times seen as the opposite of their economic development priority. Increased awareness of the link between sustainable development and eco-city development is necessary, as is the need to ensure public participation.
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