It Could Be Easy, Being Green
A sausage vendor throws plastic sausage casings on the ground during a festival in Mianzhu. Credit: Lin Yang
When the Communist Party came to power in China in 1949, they promised a new wave of industrialization that would allow China to “catch up to the United States” in economic production. Ancient city walls were torn down, factories were planned and placed around the country, and bulldozers and cranes turned old neighborhoods into groups of Soviet-styled apartment buildings.
Today, China is going through modernization’s second wave. Even though it has switched from a communist to a market economy, a sterilization of Chinese cities is occurring once more. Countless skyscrapers, ring roads, shopping centers, and taxis now dot the landscape. Streets are all double-wide and lined with the same restaurants and stores, no matter the city. Even the bus stops and the bricks they use to lay the sidewalks are exactly the same from place to place. While traveling in China over this winter break, someone said to me, “You wouldn’t know the difference between standing on a street corner in Beijing and Chengdu.”
The reason: Chinese cities see what other cities are doing, and replicate it to remain competitive. No one wants to get left behind, and every city hopes to be the next Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen. Unfortunately, this approach misses the point. Ultimately, talented people, promising industries, and new investment all seek places that have unique business and cultural environments. Cities must develop with an eye towards differentiation, then market that uniqueness as a competitive advantage to gain the upper hand.
This new mentality for urban development has a testing ground in China’s earthquake-devastated region. The massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake completely destroyed several towns in the Sichuan Province last May, with over 95 percent of the buildings collapsing in many of them. Thousands of residents died after poorly constructed buildings or schoolhouses fell down on top of them. The majority of survivors from these towns now live in temporary housing camps.
As the region recovers from this terrible tragedy, there is also an unforeseen opportunity. Gone are the polluting factories, double-wide avenues, sterile apartment buildings, and hodgepodge of unplanned commerce that typifies Chinese towns. The local government and urban planners have a blank slate to re-imagine their community.
Their task will not be easy. In Han Wang, a small city near the epicenter of the earthquake, the town’s largest employer, Dong Fang Electric, has decided to permanently relocate its operations to Deyang, a city 25 miles away. Towns like Han Wang must now attract industries that can replace those that have been lost, or face permanent economic depression for years to come. They will benefit by offering something different.
In this context, one strategy is to rebuild green. The case for sustainable re-development could not be more important than in today’s China. The way Chinese society currently uses resources and degrades the environment is inherently unsustainable. China opens one new coal-fired power plant each week. Sixteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are located in China, according to the World Bank. 70 percent of freshwater lakes and rivers suffer water contamination. China is now the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. Some have even estimated the environmental degradation costs China 8-13 percent of its GDP per year.
Planning a new town in the earthquake-devastated region that puts environmental sustainability as the guiding principle of rebuilding would be an excellent attempt to turn this tide. Sustainability could be considered in every aspect of the planning process, from the layout of city streets and green space to the materials used in rebuilding, from the architectural designs to the water treatment systems. The town could implement cost-effective green technologies and processes to reduce resource consumption and pollution. There is also tremendous potential for civic engagement, especially in educating returning residents on how to keep their new town clean.
This strategy would promote a town’s uniqueness by offering a higher quality of life to businesses and citizens alike. It would also fit well with the natural beauty of the earthquake region - a region cradled by a mountain chain that stretches into Tibet. But most importantly, this would be a new social experiment to see whether economic growth can coexist with environmental stewardship in China’s context. As environmental degradation and climate change move to the top of the international crisis agenda, the world’s largest polluting nation can make a strong statement by committing to grow in a sustainable way. Will China be up to this task?
Written by Lin Yang · Filed Under Opinion
Lin Yang is currently a second year MPP candidate at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Prior to Harvard, he spent six months at Tsinghua University in Beijing, conducting research on China's shortage of water resources. He also taught high school mathematics for two years in the Mississippi Delta as part of Teach for America.
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