Article from Yale Environment 360 entitled China’s Grand Plans for
Eco-Cities Now Lie Abandoned:
Premise:
- Big plans from the West: Planners included McKinsey, Arup and William McDonough himself.
- Success on the ground in China: Zero.
Reasons:
In the case of Dongtan, as Paul French explains in a podcast posted on the Ethical Corporation web site, one problem was a feud over who would actually fund the project…
A second stumbling block has been the highly politicized nature of the project. When former Shanghai Communist Party chief Chen Liangyu, a well-known backer of the project, was sentenced in 2008 to 18 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power, the process stalled…
In the case of Huangbaiyu, a lack of understanding of local needs presented problems. So, too, did a lack of sound oversight: no one effectively ensured that plans on paper were consistently translated into projects on the ground.
One Comment
Very interesting article. It is a shame that this project is falling on the wayside. I have been very hopeful that more and more countries and cities would start incorporating eco-friendly building principals so it is very concerning that this much hyped and anticipated project is not able to follow through. I really hope that we can develop more cost effective ways to build green without sacrificing quality.