Green Shanghai?

By Aquaspace

Don't think Shanghai is "green" enough? Well, maybe its time for you to think again. Admittedly, the so called "Pearl Of Asia" still has its fair share of diesel guzzling trucks and coal burning carbonators, but there are a whole host of government led "green" projects on the go at the moment that suggest things might be about to change for the better. And even more promisingly, there are also signs that companies and individuals in Shanghai are now beginning to follow their lead.

Stunning virtual designs for the "World's First Sustainable City" on Chongming Island.

Perhaps the best publicized "green" public project taking place at the moment in the greater Shanghai Municipality is the "World's First Sustainable City" in Dongtan, on Chongming island. Designed by Arup, a London-based engineering firm, this $1.3 billion project aims to produce a city that will not only harness its energy from wind, solar energy and bio-fuels; but will also power its public transport with hydrogen fuel cells, encourage cycling by building an enormous network of paths, apply organic farming methods all over, and recycle every scrap of waste that it produces. Perhaps best of all, however, there will be no cars allowed anywhere near the place, which means no horns, no moronic drivers and no stifling petrol fumes. "Mmmmmm... haaaaaaa". You can almost taste the fresh air already!

A birds eye view of plans for the "Better City, Better Life" themed Shanghai Expo

Another important contributor to "green" awareness in Shanghai is the Shanghai Expo 2010, which is not only using the "green" theme "Better City, Better Life", but is also going to be applying it to its buildings. The World Expo Centre, for example, will eventually boast solar energy, LED illumination, ice-storage systems, glass ceilings for natural lighting, water cycling temperature reduction, ground-source heat pumping, rain water collection technologies, and enough other hi-tech "green" goodies to make even the world's best informed environmental technocrats blush a clear skied shade of crimson.

Of course some people are still not convinced that these stand alone projects represent a meaningful move towards environmental sustainability. A handful of promotional projects, they argue, tells us far more about how Shanghai wishes to be seen than the environmental impact that it is actually having. Despite this cynicism, however, there really is evidence out there to suggest that non-governmental bodies are beginning to follow the Chinese government's lead.

Commercial developers in Shanghai, for instance, have already recognized that environmental considerations are becoming an important factor for educated shoppers in the property market, and have therefore started installing electronic delay switches, LED lights and solar water heaters in developments such as the Kangqiao and Red Mangrove Communities. Similarly, another developer has now produced the Dong Jiao State Guest Hotel Garden Villas, on which more than 63% of the land is planted with oxygen producing plants, trees and shrubs.

And this is just the beginning of what seems to be a genuine movement towards widespread environmental awareness in Shanghai. Even in the heart of Shanghai's glittering business metropolis in Pudong, a leading property management company called Aquaspace is in the process of developing fully sustainable apartments that will be ready in early 2010. "We want to show that a sustainable lifestyle is something that is achievable even if you are living right in the heart of Shanghai, and we hope that other people will follow our lead" explains Aquaspace's top designer, Chen Wei. For those that enjoy a breath of fresh air - and its probably only vacuum cleaners that don't - let's hope that other people really will follow in the footsteps of company's like Aquaspace!

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