Tianjin eco-city, a joint collaboration between Singapore and China, aims to become a model of sustainable and socially balanced urban living space. Planners are putting together designs for an innovative, multi-layered city using state-of-the-art technology and ecological concepts. They are aiming for the world’s first “socially harmonious, environmentally friendly and resource-conserving city” and in many ways they are leading the sustainable-city revolution.
The plan is to have 350,000 residents living in the city by 2020. Located 150 km from Beijing and 40 km east of Tianjin, the city will utilize solar and wind power, rainwater collection mechanisms, desalination systems, and other methods of efficient resource and water usage. Planners also say they are aiming to reduce carbon emissions and will use a centralized light rail system to make 90 percent of transportation in the city public.
At its website, the planners clarify their philosophy of working toward “sustainable development in a holistic and balanced manner,” which is founded on “the concept of man living in harmony with his fellow man, with the economy and with the environment.”
They clarify seven key features of the city: energy efficiency, green buildings, green transportation, water management, ecologically friendly, waste management, economic vibrancy, social harmony, and heritage conservation.
Plenty of existing eco-urban spaces focus on resource and energy efficiency, but Tianjin’s model takes green living to another level by recognizing the vitality of social balance and accessibility. Subsidized housing will be available, allowing residents from different socioeconomic backgrounds to coexist in the same place. The interconnection of public spaces will help make the community balanced and interactive.
“Communal amenities and facilities will be widely accessible. The Eco-city will be barrier-free to cater to the needs of the elderly and the mobility-impaired,” the city organizers further claim on the website.
The city’s emphasis on balance is what makes it stand out from other ecological urban plans. It will be divided into seven special districts with varying concepts and landscapes including Lifescape, Eco-Valley, Solarscape, Urbanscape, Windscape, Earthscape, and Eco-corridors.
This Urbanscape acts as the heart of the city and is composed of multi-layered spaces connected by bridges, providing maximum use of vertical space.
The Earthscape incorporates green public space, functioning as the suburb of the Urbanscape.
The Lifescape includes greenery and natural mounds, which serve as natural skyscrapers to balance out the towering apartments that line the horizon.
The development’s design will remember the importance of conserving natural spaces, as well. The thousand-year-old river nearby will not be altered by the design. Instead the wildlife and wetlands will be carefully preserved. The century-old fishing village Qingtuozi will also remain unharmed by the construction and will be incorporated as a community space for relaxation.
With this project, China and Singapore are not just transforming the concept of green living space, they are highlighting the social aspect of community development. Resource efficiency and emissions regulation is a simple matter of technology, which is constantly improving in today’s world. But social harmony should be just as important for city planners of the future.
Many current methods of city planning continue to be plagued by multifaceted issues, often related to cleanliness, economic and social balance, efficiency, preservation of natural resources, and many others. Tianjin eco-city successfully confronts these challenges through a holistic understanding of the ecological, social, and economical facets of contemporary urban living. It should serve as a model to the world for green urban planning because it reminds us of the need for a holistic approach.
