Vancouver, Canada (GLOBE-Net) - There is an old maxim that states "Resurrection is harder than giving birth." And while this statement might apply in many areas, it is particularly relevant with respect to the challenges of urban sustainability, where burgeoning urban population growth is bringing together city planners, clean technology developers and architectural designers to create exciting new cities that are pushing the outer boundaries of innovation in urban living.

These new cities, many of which are being built in parts of the world experiencing the most intense growth of urban populations - China, India, the Middle East - share a common element: they are all based on a systems-level approach to sustainability where cultural, environmental and economic values are being integrated into the very fabric of the community before a single stone is turned.

By breaking free of the necessity of having to rebuild from within, these experiments in new city design are not constrained by the geo-political accidents of history or of geography that have shaped many of the world’s largest cities - Rome, Paris, Mexico City, Moscow, and Delhi - and can boldly fashion monuments of incredible ingenuity that meld innovative design with functional utility.

China stands out among all countries in the world in this regard, with plans to build around 400 new cities over the next 20 years. China’s building construction activities will be the largest and fastest in human history, adding 2 billion square meters of new buildings every year - roughly equivalent to about 80,000 new high rise buildings. 

And some of these buildings will be world leaders in terms of integrating energy efficient technologies with human-oriented levels of comfort and quality of living. One of the most ambitious undertakings in China is the new city of Dongtan, the world’s first purpose-built eco-city designed to be environmentally as well as socially, economically and culturally sustainable.  

It will be built over the next 20 years on Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze river, on 86 square kilometres of agricultural land, separated from an adjacent wetland of international importance by a 3.5 kilometer ’buffer zone’ to minimize the impact of the development.  The city will cover just 40% of the total site area with the remaining land used for agriculture and energy production. Phase one to be completed by 2010 in time for the World Expo in Shanghai, will accommodate a population of 50 000, rising to a projected 500 000 by 2040.

Dongtan will integrate the most important aspects of sustainable design through a series of small villages connected by bicycle paths, a robust public transportation system, a distributed renewable energy network, and methods to recycle all waste output.  It will meet all its energy needs from renewable sources including bio-fuels, wind farms and photovoltaic panels, as well as converting all waste (including human sewage) to energy and composting, eliminating entirely the need for landfill waste sites.

Elsewhere in China, the Pearl River Tower planned for the City of Guangzhou, will incorporate the latest engineering  know-how to become the most energy efficient tower ever built. Scheduled for completion in 2009, the 71-story, 2.3-million square-foot structure will be a milestone to energy independence, relying on just wind and sunlight for its energy supply. It will be the centerpiece of a neighbourhood-wide revitalization of Guangzhou. To achieve their zero-energy goal, the designers conceived a compelling multi-faceted design philosophy: "Reduction, Reclamation, Absorption, and Generation". As noted in a blog posting on Design News, the building uses cutting-edge technologies like radiant slabs, geothermal heat sinks, and integrated photovoltaics, "but the true beauty is how synergies between the various technologies are employed to enhance efficiency."

The northern city of Harbin China is also remaking itself by creating a new urban center - an instant skyline of residential and commercial skyscrapers - built entirely from scratch across the winding Songhua River, site of a disastrous chemical spill In November 2005, when an explosion at a chemical factory spilled toxic levels of benzene into the river. Songbei, a 285-square-mile area will be packed with residential high rises, office towers, luxury villas, five-star hotels, shopping and entertainment complexes, trade zones and industrial parks. Roughly the size of New York City, the Songbei project is as much a sign of the city’s desperation as a symbol of its hope. Economic growth in northern cities like Harbin lags far behind the booming coastal provinces where the biggest manufacturing operations are located.

In neighbouring India, Sector 61 in the City of Gurgaon is transforming a former agricultural village into a dense corridor of high-tech office campuses and apartment buildings as growth spills over from New Delhi. The multi-use, privately developed parcel will accommodate 73,000 people. The master plan stresses sustainable strategies including solar orientation and pedestrian movement and the deployment of green technologies.

South Korea is another Asian country distinguishing itself by creating new cities. A new Public Administration Town (PAT) is being built in South Korea, halfway between the capital Seoul and the city of Busan on the south coast. Part of a larger ring plan for a Multi-Functional Administrative City, PAT will feature 9.7 million square feet of buildings sheltered by a nearly continuous green roof, nestle into

the existing topography to create a continuous flat expanse dotted with plants and photovoltaic cells. The city is being built to transplant several government offices from the capital.  

Although PAT is the ostensible downtown of the Multi-Functional Administrative City, it will be open to public movement and will contain many green features include graywater recycling, titanium dioxide paving, and methane production from organic waste.

Also in Korea, the New Songdo City International Business District in South Korea being developed by New York’s Gale International has been accepted as a pilot project and partner by the US Green Building Council for its LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED-ND) certification, the first national standard for neighbourhood design. Located along the coast of Incheon, 35 miles southwest of Seoul, it will be linked directly to Incheon International Airport by a 7.4 mile highway bridge. 

Songdo City’s master plan is based entirely on sustainability principles, and the city is designed around one thing:  the people who will live and work here.  When completed in 2014, Songdo will be home to 65,000 people and over 300,000 will work there. The city will be an environmental standout not only in Asia, where many urban areas are in a state of environmental crisis, but to the world.

Half a world away Saudi Arabia is setting new standards for urban design with the new King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the single largest private sector project in the region. With a total land plot area of 168 million square metres, it has the potential to create one million jobs and be home to 1.5 to two million residents. KAEC is one of the six economic cities being set up in Saudi Arabia to promote balanced regional development, achieve economic diversification, create jobs and upgrade competitiveness. The other cities include Knowledge Economic City (Madinah), Jazan Economic City and Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City in Hail.

KAEC, like other economic cities, will offer a well-planned city based on one coherent master plan taking into consideration modern requirements of people and businesses. The plan includes developing well-defined residential and commercial districts including a central business district with a financial island.

In the nearby United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi recently unveiled the Masdar Initiative, a plan to invest upwards of $15 billion to establish an international clean technology research centre, the world’s first carbon neutral city, and projects focused on hydrogen, solar, wind power and hydrogen fuel cells.

The Masdar Research Centre itself will be a model of sustainable building design.  The building will have the lowest energy consumption per square foot in the city.  It will feature the largest photovoltaic system and the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system and integrated wind turbines.  It will consume about 70% less water than a typical mixed-use building of its size.

As noted in an earlier GLOBE-Net article, one of the most ambitious undertakings in Dubai is the Energy and Environment Park (ENPARK), a fully comprehensive eco-friendly community for both commercial and residential use, as a role model for Dubai’s commitment to sustainable development.

The project will be developed on an eight million square foot area and will offer a business environment to foster sustainable development and clean energy.  The commercial components will include green commercial office space, retail and boutique manufacturing facilities as well as showrooms for energy saving technologies. It will also house energy efficient residential units as well as green hotel and conference areas.

What these few examples of new cities being built in various parts of the world reveal is that cities, if configured the right way, could become a truly sustainable habitat for humanity. By 2020, the UN projects that more than 5 billion people will be living in cities. As this rapid urbanization continues, especially in developing countries such as China and India, urban planners will need new models and new concepts to make cities more environmentally and economically sustainable.

As noted by Herbert Girardet, director of programs at the World Future Council and an expert on sustainable cities, radical new departures in urban planning and priorities for urban authorities are required for the city to ultimately become the solution for humanity.

Resurrection may be harder than giving birth, but in the case of cities it may be our only option.