Low-carbon Eco-city Research Articles

Study on the Optimization of Urban Traffic and Spatial Structure in the Environment of Low-Carbon Eco-Cities

Under the concept of “dual-carbon development”, optimising the spatial structure of urban life, perfecting the management system of public transport services, realising the spatial optimisation of urban transport, minimising carbon emissions and reducing environmental pollution are the problems that need to be solved urgently. This paper firstly analyses the development status quo of low-carbon cities, clarifies the influencing factors of low-carbon eco-cities, and discusses the correlation between the scale, population density, traffic structure and energy development of low-carbon eco-cities and low-carbon eco-cities. On this basis, the low-carbon ecological development strategy of City C in China is proposed as an example. Therefore, this study argues that low-carbon cities, as a strategic goal of new urbanisation development, should focus on constructing a theoretical system of urban upgrading and optimisation under the environment of green and sustainable ecological development, and introduce corresponding construction guarantee optimisation policies.

Eco-City Problems: Industry–City–Ecology, Urbanization Development Assessment in Resource-Exhausted Cities

Not one single event affected as much of the world as the present period of warming is now doing. Due to the global energy crisis, climate warming and other issues, low-carbon eco-cities have become the general trend. In the context of this study, we aim to solve problems of resource-exhausted cities, which are in urgent need for green transformation. The selection of research objects is mostly based on representative regions (eastern, middle. and western regions) in China, which will lead to significant regional characteristics in eco-city planning. On the basis of the index selection, construction of the evaluation index system and calculation on the coordinated development degree of industrial structure and urbanization, we explore the coordination relationship between industrial transformation and urbanization level with the time span of three-time nodes (2005, 2010, 2015), which were also the speed-up of industrialization and urbanization in China. Results indicate that the transformation and upgrading of the current regional industrial structure is lagging behind, and the internal power of industrial upgrading is insufficient, which limits the ecological development of resource-exhausted cities. It can also be found that the coordinated development index of urbanization and industrial structure is too low. The main implications of this study state that resource-exhausted cities are still in the state of being on the verge of imbalance and still have a wide development space based on the division standard. Furthermore, compared to the rationalization industrial structure, this study indicates the contributive rate of industrial structure supererogation to the overall level of urbanization is bigger. Countermeasures about the urban environment from the ecology stratification plane and how the cities achieve the urban form of sustainable development as a complex organism are also proposed. Scientific analysis and discussion on resource-cities by studying and solving related problems on the eco-city’s construction has vital significance to urbanization and sustainable development, which can reflect the relationship between industry, city, and ecology.

Low-carbon eco-city development policy in China: a bibliometric analysis of policy documents

PurposeThe rationality of the selection and application of policy instruments in current policy schemes for promoting the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China is examined and, in view of existing problems, effective suggestions for scientifically and reasonably organizing and designing policy instruments are proposed, which is of great significance to optimize the policy system for the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China and thereby promote sustainable urban development.Design/methodology/approachIn the study, using 117 policy documents focusing on the development of low-carbon eco-cities issued by the Chinese central government as well as the relevant ministries and commissions between 2010 and 2019 and comprehensively adopting bibliometric and content analysis methods, the contents of policy documents are quantitatively analyzed from three dimensions: policy instrument, policy area and policy target.FindingsThe study finds the following. Ecological environment and low-carbon development are the focus of policy attention. Policy-promulgating institutions have formed a core subnetwork, that is, an “iron triangle.” There exists a structural imbalance in the use of policy instruments, and the distribution of policy instruments in different policy areas exhibits significant differentiating characteristics. Driven by different policy targets, the proportion of the policy instrument types adopted by the government is constantly changing. According to these findings, suggestions are put forward to optimize China's low-carbon eco-city development policy.Originality/value(1) A three-dimensional policy analysis framework is conducted from the perspective of policy instrument, which is innovative in theory. (2) This paper finds the selective utilization rationality and evolution rule of China's low-carbon eco-city development policy instruments. (3) Recommendations on optimizing China's low-carbon eco-city development policies are discussed systematically, which plays a theoretical guiding role in optimizing the development policies of low-carbon eco-cities in China.

Carbon Emission Evaluation in Jinan Western New District Based on Multi-Source Data Fusion

Carbon emissions caused by human activities are closely related to the process of urbanization, and urban land utilization, function vitality and traffic systems are three important factors that may influence the emission levels. For clarifying the space structure of a low-carbon eco-city, and combining the concept of “Combining Assessment with Construction” to track and contrast the construction of the low-carbon eco-city, this research selects quantifiable low-carbon eco-city spatial characteristics as indicators, and evaluates and analyzes the potential carbon emissions. Taking the Jinan Western New District as an example, diversity of construction land, travel carbon emission potential, and density and accessibility of adjacent road networks in the overall urban planning were measured. After the completion of the new urban area, the evaluation mainly reflected certain factors, such as the mixed degree of urban functions, the density of urban functions, the walking distance to bus stops and the density and number of bus stops. Dividing the levels and adding equal weights after index normalization, the carbon emission potential is evaluated at the two levels of the overall and fragmented areas. The results show that: (1) The low-carbon emission potential areas in the planning scheme basically reached the planned goals. (2) There is inconsistency between districts and indicators in the planning scheme. The diversity of construction land and the accessibility of the adjacent road network are relatively small; however, there is a large difference between the travel carbon emission potential and the road network accessibility. (3) Carbon emission potential after completion did not reach the planned expectation, and the low-carbon emission potential plots were concentrated in the Changqing Old City Area and Central Area of Dangjia Town Area. (4) The carbon emission indicators varied greatly in different areas, and there were serious imbalances in the density of public transportation lines and the mixed degree of urban functions.

Conceptualization and Development of a DFuzzy Model for Low-Carbon Ecocities

The Industrial Revolution has enabled mechanization to lead the manufacturing industry into a new era of explosive economic growth. Mass production through the use of machines has improved the overall societal prosperity in industrialized countries. The great and continuous demand of mechanization, economic growth, and energy consumption has resulted in the excessive use of natural resources and the mining of natural energy deposits. Challenges such as serious environmental pollution, ecological damage, and climate change have been identified as some of the critical issues for sustainable development. Therefore, this paper proposes a Delphi and Fuzzy (DFuzzy) model in order to institute low-carbon ecocities. DFuzzy is a scientific decision-making model with quantitative multiple attributes and artificial intelligence. Twelve specialists from the Delphi experts were interviewed, including chief executive officers (CEOs) of industries, management committee members, and senior academics, all of whom have 15 years of experience in urban planning practice. After a three-round Delphi process with 17 criteria that were taken from the literature, four criteria of the DFuzzy model were recognized by experts: policy norms, resident cooperation, pollution prevention and control, and ecological reserves. The practical application of the DFuzzy model took three areas as examples: the Baiyun District and Conghua District of Guangzhou City, and the Dahu Community of Kaohsiung City. Through the experts’ consensus in the two-round Delphi process, the four criteria, as the input basis, demonstrated the objective quantitative calculation function of the DFuzzy model and also indicated that the model established in this study provides a reference for evaluating low-carbon ecocities.

Co-benefits approach: Opportunities for implementing sponge city and urban heat island mitigation

Climate change and its impacts cannot be addressed once for all due to internal complexity. Some implemented strategies may only be capable of dealing with a cluster of problems while leaving many others untouched. The co-benefits approach, however, opens up a ‘window of opportunity’ via achieving multi-goals simultaneously. Based on this, this paper aims to unpack the interrelationship between the struggling urban heat island (UHI) issue and the already ongoing sponge city (SPC) projects in China. Specifically, the co-benefits are investigated from technical, financial, institutional and social perspectives, after which pathways to implementation are presented. In these aspects, the co-benefits approach can bring opportunities for implementing SPC and UHI mitigation. The inclusion of UHI mitigation into SPC construction can enhance public participation and thereby consolidate the public-private partnership model for funds. During the co-benefits approach implementation, the weights of different authorities can be rebalanced to promote institutional transitions. SPC-derived UHI mitigation approach, potentially realising synergies of urban flooding and UHI mitigation, can be a model for countries which have already released low-impact development water management practices, and may also provide references for other projects such as green building, low-carbon eco-city, smart city, forest city and haze treatment for UHI mitigation.

Research on the construction of carbon emission evaluation system of low-carbon-oriented urban planning scheme: taking the West New District of Jinan city as example

ABSTRACTCarbon emissions caused by human activities are closely linked to the process of urbanization, urban land use and traffic system are two important factors that may influence it. On the basis of clarifying the space structure of low-carbon eco-city, this paper constructing an evaluation system of urban carbon emission from four dimensions: construction land compact, traffic carbon emission potential, road network accessibility, and public transportation accessibility. Based on the evaluation system, the author took the West New District of Jinan city as an example, evaluated urban planning scheme by using several spatial models such as landscape pattern index, Spatial syntax, POI (Point of Interest) kernel density analysis, and OD (Origin Destination) matrix in support of GIS (Geographic Information System) and RS (Remote Sensing) techniques.

Promoting and implementing urban sustainability in China: An integration of sustainable initiatives at different urban scales

Many uncontrollable risks and uncertainties emerge during transitions pathways. Previous studies have examined the “formula” of successful sustainable initiatives (SIs), while there have been few attempts to explore the reciprocities amongst them. Therefore, this study is to investigate the linkages among and mutual benefits among SIs at different urban scales for tackling their risks and uncertainties. The low-carbon eco-city, green university and green building in China are selected as the representatives at city, community and building scales for elaborating their linkages. In the city-community-building system, the GB implementation builds up the internal momentum that can lead to the changes of sustainable interests, rules and beliefs at the community scale, which then results in the changes on city structures, according to the theory of multi-level perspective. Akin to living organisms, cities witness the energy and materials flowing across different urban scales. Resources during SI implementation at a specific level can be shared by SIs at other levels. Meanwhile, the output of an SI can be transferred as the input of SIs at other levels. The commonalities among assessment systems of LCEC, GU and GB can upscale or downscale the successful experiments across different scales, contributing to the overcome of political, financing and operating risks and certainties. This paper can inform people with understandings of the vertical integration of SIs for sustainability transitions on the one hand and can practically provide decision-makers with an approach to overcoming the barriers in SI implementation on the other.

Hong Kong New Town Sustainability Analysis from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Eco-City—Taking Tseung Kwan O New Town as an Example

Recent years, people have paid more attentions to environmental issues involving air pollution, urban heat island effect and accessibility of green space. Hong Kong is a representative high-density city. The mission of Hong Kong New Town Development is to scatter the densely urban centre population and to improve living quality. Based on the ArcGIS and CFD scientific simulation, this paper focus on the sustainability analysis of Hong Kong new town from the view of Low-Carbon Eco-City, taking Tseung Kwan O new town as the research object.

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.

Research on Low-carbon Eco-city Construction in Jinan

Low-carbon city ecological city has widely concerned in China’s urban planning and construction circles. Jinan has made attempts to low-carbon ecological construction since 2007. This study discussed the policy and practice of low-carbon ecological in British and Japan. Based on detailed analysis on low-carbon ecological city, this paper proposed some suggestions for the development of low carbon ecological city in Jinan.

Employing RS and Landscape Ecology Indicators in Measuring the Changes of Landscape Patterns in Low Carbon Eco-City Planning

Promoting sustainable landscape planning has become an important policy goal in China. However, how and to what extent can the spatial patterns and changes of landscape in the urban fringe areas be systematically identified and managed is a critical research issue which requires in-depth research investigation. Using the pilot study region of the proposed Shenzhen low carbon eco-city as a case setting, this study explicitly examines the changes of landscape patterns by using Remote Sensing (RS) and selected landscape metrics. The result shows that there is a trend of decrease in green space parches and an increase in landscape fragmentation of the study region. The overall structure of green space in the region is also affected by urbanization and industrial development of the region. Considering the fact that the structure and diversity of landscape and green space are important for building an eco-city, the results reveal that more comprehensive green space policies and urban policies that preserve important ecological patches and corridors should be developed to enhance the overall ecological function of the region.

Green BIM in Sustainable Infrastructure

The objective of this paper is to explore BIM (Building Information Modeling) applications in sustainable infrastructures. In response to the global warming, the shortage of energy resources, and the challenges of environmental degradation, humans are trying to build low-carbon Eco-cities and to popularize low-carbon green buildings. Building “green”- refers to the entire life cycle of the building, which includes maximizing the conservation of resources (energy, water, land and materials), protecting the environment, reducing pollution, providing people with healthy, comfortable and efficient use of space, and establishing a harmony of nature and architecture. In the field of green and sustainable buildings, BIM can be integrated in analog-energy buildings, the air flow analysis and buildings’ sunshine ecosystems. By using BIM it is possible to reduce waste and improve construction quality. BIM builds a “visualization” of the digital building models through a multi-dimensional digital design solutions, which provide the “simulation and analysis” of scientific collaboration platforms for designers, architects, utilities engineers, developers and even end users. Moreover, the BIM helps them to take advantage of three-dimensional digital models in design and construction of projects and operational management.

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.

ELITE cities: A low-carbon eco-city evaluation tool for China

China is pursuing the development of low-carbon eco-cities to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions; however, it is unclear what constitutes a low-carbon eco-city and how to evaluate it. The eco and low-carbon indicator tool for evaluating cities (ELITE cities) was developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2012 to evaluate cities’ performance by comparing them against benchmark performance goals as well as rank them against other cities in China. ELITE cities measures progress on 33 key indicators selected to represent priority issues within eight primary categories. An excel-based tool was then developed to package the key indicators, indicator benchmarks, explanation of indicators, point calculation functions and transparency-oriented data recording instructions. ELITE cities could be a useful and effective tool for local city government in defining the broad outlines of a low-carbon eco-city and assessing the progress of cities’ efforts towards this goal. ELITE cities can also be used by higher-level governments to assess city performance and discern best practices. This paper explains the general framework of the ELITE cities tool, the methods by which the indicators and indicator benchmarks were established, and a detailed guide on tool applications.

Low carbon eco-city: New approach for Chinese urbanisation

Chinese urbanisation is occurring rapidly but faces great challenges due to its large population, the continuing level of rural–urban migration, the shortage of resources to support the present development and the urbanisation model. One result is that China is the world's largest carbon emitter. The application of low carbon eco-city development should be contribute to the solution in addressing these challenges. This paper attempts to explore the low carbon eco-city initiatives in China. By analysing critically the problems which impact upon such an environmentally friendly development model, including government policy, social value and delivery mechanisms, this paper suggests that despite problems in implementing such a model, the low carbon eco-city model must be the mainstream approach to Chinese urbanisation and industrialisation.

Study on the Compilation of General City Planning Guided by Low-Carbon and Ecology

How to enrich the contents of the " low-carbon eco-city " in the general city planning level , how to the implement the development goals into actions are the major issues of promoting the realization of the goal of low-carbon eco-city by the general city planning . This paper discusses about this, proposes that we should view low-carbon eco-city planning rationally, identifies the impetus of practical low-carbon eco-city planning, and mainly discourses the practical approaches on the compilation level of general low-carbon eco-city planning.

Integrated Geo-information System for the Development of Low Carbon Eco-city in China Urban Context

Integrated Geo-information System for the Development of Low Carbon Eco-city in China Urban Context

从低碳建筑角度分析低碳型生态城市的发展趋势<br>Development of Low-Carbon Eco-City Trend Analysis from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Buildings

城市化以来，人类的生存环境恶化，各种自然灾害频繁发生：2008年发生严重低温雨雪冰冻灾害、2010年冬春特大旱灾等，2011年阴霾天气，严重威胁到人类自身健康和生存环境。面对这些城市病，我们必须要处理好人与环境的关系，积极转变生产方式，发展低碳经济，建设低碳化生态城市，为人类创造良好的生活环境。因此研究低碳型生态城市具有十分重要的意义，本文从建筑设计的角度来介绍低碳建筑是低碳型生态城市发展的重要方面。以桂林市建筑为例，从建筑风格，建筑文化等方面一一介绍了它独具的特点。从而告诉我们建筑必将向着低碳方向发展，生态城市必将向着低碳方向发展。 Due to urbanization and environmental degradation, various natural disasters occur frequently in recent years: severe snow and ice storms in 2008, the drought in 2010, the haze of 2011 etc. All these disas- ters seriously threatened our health and living conditions. In the face of these urban diseases, we must take efforts to create a good living environment for human beings by coordinating the relationship between people and the environment, positively changing the mode of production, developing low-carbon economy and building a low-carbon eco-city. Therefore, study on low-carbon eco-city has very important significance. From the perspective of architectural designing, this article shows that a low-carbon building plays an important role in the development of low-carbon eco-city. The article introduces the unique features of ex- ampled buildings in Guilin city, in terms of architectural styles, architectural cultures, and tells us that low- carbon building is the inevitable trend of developing an eco-city.

Research on Low-Carbon Eco-City Construction in China from the Perspective of Ecological Ethics

Low-carbon city development has become the inevitable choice for Chinese urban sustainable development. From the perspective of ecological ethics, by learning from the experience of developed countries, low-carbon urban construction, this paper proposes to slow down the speed of city expansion, to avoid the errors occurred in the process of the western industrialized urban development, and to change from external expansion to internal development so as to achieve harmony between city and nature.