International Low Carbon City Research Articles

Scenario simulation of CO2 emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles under land use-transport planning: A case of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City

• CO 2 emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles were simulated. • Light-duty passenger vehicle emissions were calculated based on travel demand. • Travel demand were simulated under different planning policy scenarios. • A case study was conducted in a project of international cooperation in China. • This study can offer a framework for evaluating land use-transport planning. Mitigating transport emissions acts a significant role in coping with global climate change and building sustainable cities. Since light-duty passenger vehicles (LDPVs) significantly contribute to transport CO 2 emissions, it is essential to evaluate their emissions for the policy-making of sustainable transport strategies. However, related studies concerning integrated land use-transport planning are limited. Therefore, this study simulated and evaluated CO 2 emissions from LDPVs at the community level using an integrated model, where the mixed-use development (MXD) model was adopted to estimate travel demand based on mixed land-use and transport accessibility. A vehicle emission calculation model was then employed to calculate CO 2 emissions with the estimated travel demand. With this model, the policy impacts on CO 2 emissions from LDPVs were simulated under different planning policy scenarios of land use-transport planning. As a leading development project of international cooperation on sustainable urbanization in China, Shenzhen International Low Carbon City was chosen as the study case. The results indicated the significance of the spatial equalized patterns of both mixed land-use and transport facilities. This new framework can be used to evaluate and promote low-carbon transport policy options for integrated spatial planning in the sustainable urbanization of developing countries.

A Study on International Cooperation Model of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City

As the climate problem is worsening, low-carbon cities are becoming more popular worldwide. The low carbon city development in China started later than developed countries and thus there is room and need for international collaboration. Shenzhen International Low Carbon City is a flagship project of Sino-EU Partnership on Low Carbon and Sustainable Urban Development, which aims at fostering the international cooperation in the field of low carbon city development. After reviewing relevant theories and analyzing the cases of low carbon cities in China and abroad, this research designs an international cooperation model for Shenzhen International Low Carbon City, which is suitable for its own.

New Actors in the Old Hierarchies: Alliances for Low-Carbon Urban Development in Shenzhen, China

The integration of climate mitigation into urbanization has brought new actors to city planning and building. This study examines the driving actors of decarbonization-focused urban development in a Global South context through the case of Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City (SILCC), China. It outlines a complex governing landscape that combines new genres of actors and traditional hierarchical relationships within the state system. The paper further elaborates on how this ostensible multilevel governance is used strategically as a new source of legitimation for mega development projects, indicating the shifting legitimacy foundation for urban development to new levels of governance and onto different actors in the era of climate change.

Assessing CO2 Emissions from Passenger Transport with the Mixed-Use Development Model in Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

Assessing transport CO2 emissions is important in the development of low-carbon strategies, but studies based on mixed land use are rare. This study assessed CO2 emissions from passenger transport in traffic analysis zones (TAZs) at the community level, based on a combination of the mixed-use development model and the vehicle emission calculation model. Based on mixed land use and transport accessibility, the mixed-use development model was adopted to estimate travel demand, including travel modes and distances. As a leading low-carbon city project of international cooperation in China, Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City Core Area was chosen as a case study. The results clearly illustrate travel demand and CO2 emissions of different travel modes between communities and show that car trips account for the vast majority of emissions in all types of travel modes in each community. Spatial emission differences are prominently associated with inadequately mixed land use layouts and unbalanced transport accessibility. The findings demonstrate the significance of the mixed land use and associated job-housing balance in reducing passenger CO2 emissions from passenger transport, especially in per capita emissions. Policy implications are given based on the results to facilitate sophisticated transport emission control at a finer spatial scale. This new framework can be used for assessing the impacts of urban planning on transport emissions to promote sustainable urbanization in developing countries.

Urban Entrepreneurialism and Sustainable Development: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Eco-Developments

ABSTRACTIn recent years, state entrepreneurialism and the notion of (urban) sustainability have become ever more closely intertwined in China and there has been a proliferation of eco-/low-carbon and other similar sustainability-themed urban initiatives that have helped local states to achieve a favorable position in city competitions. Nevertheless, existing studies do not explain why Chinese sustainability projects are planned/implemented with divergent emphases and different development trajectories. Through three Chinese flagship projects, the real-estate-centric Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC), the environmental-construction-led Chongming Eco-Islands (CEIs), and the industrial development-focused Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City (ILCC), we argue that the formulation and implementation of urban sustainable developments are subject to local particularities and different extra-local political-economic contexts. We highlight how both vertical administrative governance and horizontal coordination between territorial jurisdictions underlie the Chinese entrepreneurial planning system, which results in different types of urban entrepreneurships: (1) scalable startup urban entrepreneurship (SSTEC); (2) asset-replacement urban entrepreneurship (CEIs); and (3) urban expansion entrepreneurship (ILCC). This study also reveals that all three cases experience a development paradox as they strive to reconcile mutually competing economic and environmental imperatives.

Innovation practice in engineering management of the Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

Innovation practice in engineering management of the Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

Funding Sustainable Cities: A Comparative Study of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

China has gone through a rapid process of urbanization, but this has come along with serious environmental problems. Therefore, it has started to develop various eco-cities, low-carbon cities, and other types of sustainable cities. The massive launch of these sustainable initiatives, as well as the higher cost of these projects, requires the Chinese government to invest large sums of money. What financial toolkits can be employed to fund this construction has become a critical issue. Against this backdrop, the authors have selected Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (SSTEC) and Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City (ILCC) and compared how they finance their construction. Both are thus far considered to be successful cases. The results show that the two cases differ from each other in two key aspects. First, ILCC has developed a model with less financial and other supports from the Chinese central government and foreign governments than SSTEC, and, hence, may be more valuable as a source of inspiration for other similar projects for which political support at the national level is not always available. Second, by issuing bonds in the international capital market, SSTEC singles itself out among various sustainable initiatives in China, while planning the village area as a whole and the metro plus property model are distinct practices in ILCC. In the end, the authors present a generic financing model that considers not only economic returns but also social and environmental impacts to facilitate future initiatives to finance in more structural ways.

Evaluation of Effect of Urban Non-point Source Pollution Control on Porous Asphalt-Bio-retention Combined Roads

Different combinations of low impact development (LID) technologies can be applied for control of urban non-point source pollution. There are currently few evaluations of urban non-point source pollution and pollution load reduction based on a combination of porous asphalt and bio-retention. Taking Shenzhen International Low Carbon City as an example, road-deposited sediments were collected prior to and after rainfall events. Runoff was monitored under six typical rainfall events, from porous asphalt and the inlet/outlet of bio-retention. Through analysis of changes in the process of "build-up-wash-off-transport" of pollutant loads, the average build-up of road-deposited sediments in the study area was found to be (15.80±3.79) g·m-2; the mass percentage of road-deposited sediments (size>250 μm) was approximately 65.14%. The average wash-off percentage of six different intensity rainfall events was 17.15%, and road-deposited sediments (size<105 μm) were carried by 62.71%-74.94%. The average pollution loads of surface runoff pollutants SS, TN, and TP were 2.02, 0.025, and 0.0013 g·m-2, respectively. The removal rates of SS, TN, and TP through porous asphalt under infiltration and filtration were 70.26%, 46.29%, and 19.27%, respectively. The secondary purification removal rates of runoff water in bio-retention were 85.25%, 20.22%, and 70.27%, respectively. Pollutant loads into Dingshan River totaled 0.08, 0.011, and 0.0003 g·m-2, representing 4.05%, 43.47%, and 24.39% of runoff. The combination thus had a significant effect on runoff purification. Through quantitative research on the formation of non-point source pollution, this paper provides a scientific basis for estimating pollution loads of urban non-point source pollution and evaluating the performance of LID projects. It makes suggestions for the popularization and application of LID and sponge city design in China.

Financing eco cities and low carbon cities: The case of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City

Abstract Financing sustainable urban development has become a major issue, especially in Asian countries where the size and scale of construction efforts are vast. Shenzhen International Low Carbon City (ILCC) is a demonstration project of the China-EU Partnership on Sustainable Urbanization (CEUPSU) and an intriguing example for understanding innovative forms of funding with the specific aim to do this in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways. This article examines which financial vehicles are utilized in ILCC, in what way these contribute to sustainability and which implications the lessons drawn from it have for other eco and low carbon cities in China and elsewhere. The authors find that Urban Investment and Finance Platforms and Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) in a broader context are the two financial vehicles ILCC uses. A broad approach to PPPs is chosen in which stakeholder involvement is key and social conflicts are avoided by balancing the interests of various stakeholders. In particular, planning the village area as a whole and arranging finance through ‘metro + property’ provide a replicable and operable example for other cities in funding urban renewal and community transformation and dealing with the issue how residents can share the benefits of urban development with developers. The combination of these financial arrangements facilitates ILCC to achieve the triple bottom line in sustainable urbanization. ILCC is environmentally sustainable by promoting low carbon transition, socially sustainable through resident and villager involvement, and financially sustainable through diversification of funding sources. The financing experience gained from ILCC provides practical lessons for other cities and has significant implications in adapting institutional and organizational arrangements to create enabling conditions for innovative financing activities.

The role of international actors in low-carbon transitions of Shenzhen's International Low Carbon City in China

This study looks into one of the most promising low carbon city planning initiatives in China, namely Shenzhen's International Low Carbon City (ILCC). First as a collaborative project between the Dutch and Chinese partners, the ILCC's international partners have expanded to include other countries, such as Germany, Italy, France, Australia and the US. This paper investigates the influence of these international actors in the development process of the ILCC and their benefits in the long run, through knowledge transfer and accumulation of resource.The paper first highlights a broad understanding of ‘low carbon city’ followed by detailed discussions on discourses of ‘low carbon city’, ‘eco-city’, and ‘low carbon eco-city’ in China. Then it provides insights on knowledge transfer in low carbon city development, and particularly the Sino-Foreign cases of China. The authors then introduce the case of study (ILCC) and highlight its visions, project planning, and partnerships. Using primary and secondary data, it then maps the ILCC's international actors and their roles, and then analyses their behaviours and impacts in the project's planning and development process. Next, the paper summarises the research findings with further updates on the case of ILCC. The authors conclude that the engagement between Chinese and international partners differ in three forms and they are (1) the type of involvement; (2) the level and timeframe of involvement; (3) the level of Influence in the project's multiple stages. The paper concludes that the role played by an international partner evolves as the project proceeds.

Opportunity and prospect analysis of RES utilization for sustainable development of Ekaterinburg city in Russia

Recently megalopolises have become centres of economy development worldwide. Gradual growth in energy consumption and thereafter – enormous power production and delivery to sustain metropolis’ needs entailed, rapid increase in emissions of hazardous substances in quantities, no longer tolerable for secure residence in majority of these cities. Ekaterinburg, is one of them. In order to abridge harmful pollution in Ekaterinburg and further centralize economic importance of the city, this paper proposes to implement the concept of urban sustainable development/ref. / by introducing alternative energy sources, which would progressively displace traditional fossil fuels. A number of actual cases, where the concept was successfully implemented, were studied and analysed to demonstrate how different shares of renewables can become effective substitutes to conventional energy sources in the cities strongly dependent on them: 1. Energy strategy of Pecs (Hungary); 2. International low carbon city (ILCC) project (Shenzhen, China); 3. Electric power system template of Tangshan city (China). Further, regional environmental and economic specifics of Ekaterinburg were studied to understand power consumption needs and energy generation possibilities, which led authors to conclude on the alternative energy sources feasibility, plot specific flow chart for RES implementation in Ekaterinburg’s power network and outline recommendations for future works.

Dynamic Spatial-temporal Evaluations of Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort of a Complex Urban District Using an Urban Canopy Model

This study conducted hourly dynamic simulations of the thermal climate and thermal comfort of 120 blocks within the complex district of the International Low Carbon City (ILCC) by applying an urban energy balance model (UDC), during the summertime in Shenzhen. Two parameters, including the local urban heat island (LUHI) and SET*, were adopted as evaluation indices, and the temporal-spatial distributions of these parameters were discussed. The results show that the northeast blocks of the ILCC always presented higher values of LUHI and SET* compared with the lower values of the middle blocks. The LUHI values varied between different blocks at the same time, ranging between -4°C and 4°C, whereas the SET* values varied from 27.5°C to 33.5°C. The large differences in the LUHI and SET* values between these blocks may be caused by their different urban spatial patterns and the varied underlying surface compositions. Additionally, the average diurnal variation of LUHI showed more fluctuations compared with the continuous conic variation manner of SET*. The average maximum values of LUHI and SET* both occurred in the afternoon, whereas the average minimum values occurred in the early morning.

Feasibility Analyses of Developing Low Carbon City with Hybrid Energy Systems in China: The Case of Shenzhen

As the largest carbon emission source in China, the power sector grows rapidly owing to the country’s unprecedented urbanization and industrialization processes. In order to explore a low carbon urbanization pathway by reducing carbon emissions of the power sector, the Chinese government launched an international low carbon city (ILCC) project in Shenzhen. This paper presents a feasibility analysis on the potential hybrid energy system based on local renewable energy resources and electricity demand estimation over the three planning stages of the ILCC project. Wind power, solar power, natural gas and the existing power grid are components considered in the hybrid energy system. The simulation results indicate that the costs of energy in the three planning stages are 0.122, 0.105 and 0.141 $/kWh, respectively, if external wind farms and pumped storage hydro stations (PSHSs) exist. The optimization results reveal that the carbon reduction rates are 46.81%, 62.99% and 75.76% compared with the Business as Usual scenarios. The widely distributed water reservoirs in Shenzhen provide ideal conditions to construct PSHS, which is crucial in enhancing renewable energy utilization.

Sustainable energy options for a low carbon demonstration city project in Shenzhen, China

Urban areas are the key drivers of energy usage and the associated carbon emissions. Due to the rapid economic development and urbanization process, China has faced increasing pressure on energy supply and carbon emission issues. It is urgent for China to change from the current coal-based high carbon intensity power supply structure. In this context, China has planned to utilize an undeveloped area in Shenzhen to become a low-carbon development demonstration project. The purpose of this paper is to propose the best combination of technology for electricity generation, involving a mix of renewable energy resources, to satisfy electrical needs and, at the same time, minimize carbon emissions from power generation in the low carbon demonstration area. The optimal renewable energy system configuration was determined based on the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable model. The simulation results show that costs of energy for the three scenarios considered are $0.187/kW h, $0.128/kW h, and $0.150/kW h, respectively; annual carbon emissions for the three scenarios are 96 702 tons, 89 836 tons, and 78 065 tons, respectively. Given the economic advantage, scenario 2 is a suitable choice for the first phase of the international low carbon city (ILCC). With reinforced carbon emissions controls and a rising carbon allowance price, scenario 3 can be adopted in the second and third phase of the ILCC construction.

Analysis of Industrial Carbon Emissions Assessment and Spatial Distribution

Under the background of ecological civilization, the energy saving and emission reduction, low carbon eco-city construction is booming. At present, China industrial carbon emissions account for more than half of total carbon emissions in the whole society. The analysis of industrial carbon emissions and its spatial distribution is quite important. Consider the Park of Shenzhen international low-carbon city as the research object; based on the enterprise data from the 2011 industrial census, it combines both the top-down and bottom-up methods to evaluate its current industrial carbon emission levels and then discusses the relationship between the industrial structure and carbon emissions. Comprehensive utilization of the spatial distribution function of GIS, the spatial distribution characteristics of industrial carbon emissions and carbon intensity is evaluated, so as to provide the references for the related policy-making of low-carbon ecological city.

A Study on Construction Path of Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

Currently, as the economic development level of Shenzhen International Low-carbon City is relatively low and the industries are low-end, it belongs to the areas with high energy consumption, high pollution and low output. The construction path of the Low-carbon City mainly covers four aspects, namely low-carbon industries, green buildings, low-carbon transportation and low-carbon technology. The Low-carbon City can explore the path for realizing total carbon emission control through establishing regional carbon emission forecasting and monitoring system and carbon source and carbon sink accounting system.

A Study on Development Policy of Low-Carbon City

In recent years, with the global climate issue and the contradiction between energy environment and economic development becoming increasingly prominent, Shenzhen International Low-carbon City, as the flagship project of China-EU Strategic Cooperation on Sustainable Urbanization, aims at exploring new ways to realize low-carbon development models, while low-carbon development policy is one of the key factors. This paper firstly introduces the background of the Shenzhen International Low-carbon City Project, then summarizes advanced experience and gives experience reference in low-carbon development policy of the developed regions worldwide, and finally puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions.

Developing a Planning Model for the Construction of Ecological Corridors for Low-Carbon Ecological Cities: A Case Study of the Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City

This study proposes a planning model for developing an ecological corridor in the proposed low-carbon city in Shenzhen. Employing research methods involving RS, GIS, and landscape indicator analysis, this paper identifies the priority strategic points (links) for the development of an ecological corridor in the study region. Based on the findings of the research, this study suggests several operational strategies for ecological corridor planning and related land development management.