A New Green City for China, Interview Part I

As I have written in two previous articles (here and here), Dongtan is going to be "...a city powered by local, renewable energy, with super-efficient buildings clustered in dense, walkable neighborhoods; a recycling scheme that re-purposes 90 percent of all waste; a network of high tech organic farms; and a ban on any vehicle that emits CO₂."
To get more information about the project, I have conducted an interview with Arup, the city designer. This is the first of two articles with details from the interview.

As previously mentioned, the development is being led by the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC). My first question was why China wants to build a "green" city, with all of the sustainable elements. The answer can be found in a speech by Chinese President Hu Jintao, at the 17th National Congress. While I am not fond of communist propaganda, he does mention several times the need to improve environmental conditions and reduce pollution.

The second question was why Arup was chosen. While the SIIC didn't comment specifically, Arup has over 30 years experience working in China and also uses a system called Integrated Resource Management (IRM), which is a tool to optimize land use. This tool accounts for water, waste, energy, and living space necessary on a given piece of land. In this case, Dongtan is projected to hold 500,000 people at capacity.

One item that will make this city unique is that Arup has provided a design specification for types of buildings. The specifications allow designers, architects, and developers to provide structures that reflect the Chinese character of Dongtan, while creating a sustainable, green living space. Many of these buildings will also have green roofs! Green roofs reduce utility costs, storm water runoff, as well as CO2 and air pollution. Green roofs also can provide aesthetic benefits for those living in and around the buildings. Since no building will be much over eight stories, these roofs should be visible from street level.

The next article will cover questions regarding financing partners, the potential for similar projects, as well as the public response. Many thanks to Arup for participating in the interview process.

Click here to read the second part of the interview.

Mexico's First LEED Gold has a Green Roof!

The first building in Latin America to be LEED Gold Certified is the HSBC building in Mexico City. This is quite a point of pride for Mexico, as the building is the first in Latin America, and it is also good for the people of the city. FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50.00 at InhabitLiving.com

Green roofs help reduce CO2, storm water runoff, the heat island effect, as well as reducing fine particulate air pollution. Additionally, the green roof on this building is the largest in Latin America, helps reduce utility costs by up to 25%. $20 Off AeroGardens

For HSBC, this building is not a one-trick pony. According to the HSBC 2007 Sustainability Report, "The Group seeks to achieve, by 2011, a minimum of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) gold certification or the equivalent for 50 of its major buildings."

Congratulations to HSBC for their commitment to LEED, green roofs, and sustainable building.

Beijing is Trying to Control Pollution with Green Buildings

In a previous post titled, "Bejiing Worst Smog in a Month - Green Roofs Can Help!" I wrote how the Chinese government is concerned that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be spoiled by air pollution.

That concern is becoming a reality, with the government expanding its restrictions to a broader geographic surrounding Beijing. Aside from these restrictions, the government is taking positive steps to improve air quality through green buildings.

National Public Radio (NPR) did a story about green buildings and green roofs in Beijing. You can listen to the story here. It outlines that China surpassed the US in becoming the world's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and "The government has set ambitious goals for reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency by 2010."

To that end, the Chinese government is focusing on its buildings, as they consume half of the electricity in China. It is well known that green roofs can aid this effort by reducing utility costs by up to 25%. Additionally, the green roofs on these buildings well help reduce fine particulate air pollution and reduce CO2 levels in the city.

These steps toward energy efficiency and pollution control are noteworthy. In addition to green roofs and green buildings, China would do well to improve the pollution controls on their factories and power plants.