ARUP Dongtan Proposal Jennifer Grimes

Overview

● ARUP Team● Dongtan EcoCity Principles and Goals● Projected Results● Criticisms and Failures of the Plan● What Can We Learn From This?

ARUP● Core team of 5 builds up to 150

specialists● Client requests 100% local renewable

energy sources from the start● Arup produces final masterplan and main

planning application document, issues sustainability guidelines for buildlings/infrastructure/public space

Arup team organisation● Teams develop their own model (e.g.

transport, waste, environmental impact)● Members assigned to 12 offices within Arup● Design and integration led by architects● Focus on meeting performance objectives

(guidelines of sustainability)● Senior Arup members strategically promote

project internally and externally

Arup Deliverables● Masterplan including one implementation

plan and guidelines for design and sustainability

● These documents address a model for procurement, delivery, and financing as well as performance specification for design, construction, and operation of the city over 30 years

Dongtan Ecocity

● Manhattan-size island, project site 84 km2 ● Client: Commissioned by Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC)● Cost assessed to be “into the billions of

dollars”

Overall objective● Achieve environmental, social, and economic

development simultaneously; improvement of one will not be to the detriment of another.

● Integrate current community of small fishing community/agricultural works into city design

● Using framework:● Undertake sustainability appraisals of designs, plans,

strategies● Monitor progress toward sustainability● Provide context for policy development, decision

making

Sustainability Principles

The key principles of the sustainability framework are:• To preserve the wetland habitat• To create an integrated, vibrant and evolving community• To improve quality of life and create desirable lifestyles• To create an accessible city• To ingrain contemporary Chinese culture into the city fabric• Managing the use of resources in an integrated manner• Working towards carbon neutrality• Utilizing governance to achieve long term economic, social andenvironmental sustainability(ARUP, 2007)

Timeline (expected to begin 2008)

■ Phase 1. One square-kilometer (100 hectares or 250 acres) will be developed toaccommodate up to 10,000 people by 2010.■ Phase 2. 6.5 square-kilometers (650 hectares or 1,600 acres) will be developedto accommodate 80,000 people by 2020.■ Phase 3. 30 square-kilometers (3,000 hectares or 7,415 acres) will be developedto accommodate 500,000 people around 2050.

Environment● Physically and legally protect Eco-city’s

wetlands- impose strongest penalties that breach these measures

● Protect/enhance/monitor biodiversity● Design for people, not cars● Incorporate sustainable drainage and

flood management techniques● Protect reliable sources of fresh water

Natural Resources● Design for use of renewable energy; produce

local biomass for energy production and ensure security of supply

● Develop policies that encourage resource management, sustainable production/consumption

● Design for water efficiency in all uses- develop infrastructure/policies that allow for application of potable water to only those that require it

Social

● *Create inclusive, cohesive, tolerant communities that recognize traditional and modern chinese (and other cultural) values

● Provide key services and facilities to all, provide suitable healthcare when required, reduce opportunities for crime, avoid car dependence

● Provide jobs and cultural, leisure, community, sporting facilities for all and make everyone aware of these opportunities through world class information/communication technology

● Create a completely accessible city with mixed development and housing opportunities blened with green spaces

Economic

● Consistent economic growth recognizing China’s old and new economies and allowing sustainability objectives to be met

● Support sustainable investment and prosperity by developing equitable balance and mix of uses

● Provide incentives for businesses that meet sustainability objectives and place burden of cost on those that don’t

● Provide diverse mix of jobs that can provide benefits for local community

Linear Citybased on existing canals

Town of Three Villages

Town of Three Village Neighborhoods

● Three villages meet to create city center where commercial activities will be concentrated

● Only zero-carbon vehicles will be allowed to drive within the city, which will be linked by network of pedestrian walkways

Transportation will take form of:● Car pooling● Zero carbon vehicles● Pollution free mass transit (buses, trams, water taxis powered by fuel cells

or other zero carbon technology that run between neighborhoods● Electric scooters or bicycles

Road Network

Compact City● Low rise, high

density (3-6 storeys) 75 dwellings per hectare

(.3 sq mi)● Buffer city to

protect/enhance bird habitat

● Control light pollution, traffic noise

Projected Results

● Water consumption down by 43% (29,000 tons per day to 16,500)

● Water discharge down by 88% (29,000 to 4,300 T per day)

● Reduce energy demand by 64% (1,650 Gigawatt hours/year to 600 GWH/yr)

● Reduce CO2 emissions from energy for power from 350,000 tons per year to 0

Projected Results

● Reduce waste to landfill by 83% (30,000 tons per year to 5,000)

● Increase waste collection from 80% to 100%● Reduce energy emissions from transportation uses from

400,000 CO2 tons per year to zero.● Reduce average trip length from 44km to 6km and daily

vehicle travel distance from 2.2 million km to 0.6 million km.

● Use 64% less energy than a comparable non-eco city.

Projected Results

● Dense buildings, no more than 8 storeys high, will be covered with vegetation, while solar panels and small scale windmills will provide up to 20% of the power

● Rice husks (a plentiful waste product in China) will provide biomass to be burned for generation of heating, cooling, electricity

● An energy center that manages the generation of energy will also serve as resource center

● Population density similar to London with a 45 minute travel time to central Shanghai

Criticisms, Failures, etc● Political leaders who supported project ousted due to

corruption scandal -Some previously committed investment was withdrawn because donors did not want to be connected with projects supported by a convicted leader, and project has since had trouble bringing in additional investment

● Paul French: feud over who would fund the project (Arup or the client)

● Most locals knew little about project

Peter Head, project leader from Arup told Fred Pierce in his article for the Guardian: “China does everything by the rules handed down from the top. There is a rule for everything. The width of roads, everything. That is how they have developed so fast, by being totally prescriptive. We wanted to change the rules in Dongtan, to do everything different. But when it comes to it, China cannot deliver that.”

Criticisms● The Eco-City would have been built on valuable farmland, which

China is now viewing as a strategic asset in terms of food security● Environmentalists/academics cite project location as irresponsible

as it is located in last surviving wetlands outside shanghai, home to rare migratory birds (12 endangered species)

● The potential impacts on migration patterns of the region’s Eco-City and other large-scale urban planning projects has yet to be assessed

● More than 326 square kilometers of Dong Tan was established as a National Nature Reserve to protect area wetlands—a potential conflict

On increasing accessibility to the island

“In the bridge's first two weeks, Chongming received more than 600,000 visitors—more than half its annual total. Local media reported that eighty thousand people visited one of its wetland reserves in a single day. They scared away the birds and dumped loads of litter; too few toilets left many to urinate by the roadsides.”

The Economist, An island no more, Jan 19th 2010

What Can Be Done Differently?

● Focus on expanding green building codes (such as requirements for insulation or double glazing)

● Acquire sufficient investment from committed groups, companies, or stakeholders

● Develop understanding of Chinese politics, culture, economics, zoning/building codes, and needs of local residents

● Provide ability for locals to become involved in and aware of project design

What Can Be Done Differently?

● Preserve land valuable for food security● Assess potential conflict presented by

protected wetlands● Assess potential impacts on impact on

wetlands and migration patterns of birds● Cultivate dedicated support from upper level

political entities

Sources

“Primer - Dongtan City Profile,” 2008. The World Bank.

“Dongtan Eco-City, Shanghai,” 2007. Roger Wood, ARUP.

“Overview of the Dongtan Project,” 2008. Andrew Davies & Lars Frederiksen. The University of Tokyo - Imperial College London Joint Symposium on Innovation in Energy Systems

“Megaprojects: Learning from the Dongtan Ecocity Project,” 2011. Andrew Davies. Nordic Forum on Leadership of Major Projects. Imperial College Business School.