Eco-friendly model city has taken root in Tianjin
Environmental protection, social harmony integrated as nation strives for carbon reduction goals
Today we see beautiful lakes rather than polluted sewage ponds. That’s the first thing we did — rehabilitating the land into something that is very livable and very environmentally friendly.”
Adecade ago, Zhou Bin, a project manager at an auto factory, found it difficult to meet other residents in the new city he called home.
“While there was construction all around, the streets themselves seemed quite empty then,” he said.
But just as the famous movie line goes — “If you build it, they will come” — the construction buzz soon filled Sino-Singapore Tianjin EcoCity, which is in the northern Chinese municipality of Tianjin, with a thriving population.
“It can be really bustling now, especially during peak hours with the busy roads,” said Zhou, 38.
Zhou, an employee at a production facility for carmaker Toyota, has had a front-seat view of the successful, sustainable development with crucial government involvement, which is part of the country’s green priorities.
China aims to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. According to an action plan released last year, the country is set to increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption to about 25 percent by 2030 and lower CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.
During this year’s two sessions — the annual meetings of China’s top legislative and political advisory bodies — President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a broad and profound initiative and a long-term task, which should be advanced with unswerving efforts and in a scientific and orderly manner.
Flagship project
Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City — launched as a flagship bilateral cooperation project between the governments of China and Singapore following an April 2007 proposal to jointly build an eco-city in China — offers a pioneering model for growth that takes into account rapid urbanization and a rising emphasis on sustainable development worldwide.
China and Singapore have cooperated closely to drive the development of the eco-city, with the stated objective of consolidating best practices to transform what was once a saline-alkaline wasteland into a prosperous city that is ecologically friendly, socially harmonious and economically sustainable.
The 30-square-kilometer eco-city — which is in the coastal Binhai New Area, 45 kilometers east of downtown Tianjin and 20 km from the municipality’s port — is planned as a modern, sustainable city that can support a population of 350,000.
The eco-city began “with the intention to share Singapore’s experience in economic development that is consistent with environmental protection and social harmony”, said Teo Eng Cheong, CEO of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment & Development (SSTEC), the master developer of the eco-city.
SSTEC is a 50-50 joint venture between a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin Infrastructure Construction & Investment Group and a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Group.
“I would say that over the years, Tianjin Eco-City has been very successful,” said Teo, who listed some of the main factors behind the achievement.
First, the area was originally a wasteland with water that was polluted. The area’s population was about 3,000 at that time. With various engineering solutions, the land was rehabilitated and the water was cleaned, he said.
“Today we see beautiful lakes rather than polluted sewage ponds. That’s the first thing we did — rehabilitating the land into something that is very livable and very environmentally friendly.”
The second thing that the two countries did together in Tianjin was to take some of Singapore’s urban planning lessons and apply them to the Chinese city, Teo said.
“In terms of planning our whole city, we developed it from scratch so that it’s socially friendly and very livable. For instance, we make sure that there’s a lot of greenery, a lot of parks. So residents here, when they go out, they can walk to a park very easily,” he said.
“The design is such that you can
walk for most of your daily essentials without having to take transportation, thereby reducing carbon emissions generated by transportation.”
The third key factor in the city’s success is that its planning and development objectives were very clear, so there is a whole series of key performance indicators that the city follows, Teo said.
“We insisted on 100 percent green buildings from the start, so this has also reduced carbon emissions. We also insist on tapping renewable energy resources to meet a certain percentage of our energy needs.”
Teo said that from green buildings with waste recycling and renewable energy capabilities to easily accessible parks, “there are many indicators that the city adopts, and these have been revised over the years to ensure that they keep pace with prevailing international standards for eco-cities”.
The eco-city has more than 120,000 permanent residents and 14,000 enterprises. There are also 34 schools and kindergartens — with nearly 23,400 students — community centers that help integrate public welfare, and three major hospitals, including one for gynecology and obstetrics.
Other amenities include 38 urban parks and numerous scenic spots, such as a national maritime museum and an adventure theme park. The public transportation network includes a rail link between the ecocity and other areas of Tianjin.
Drawn by livability
For residents like Zhou, the project manager, these attractions have contributed to a level of livability that also drew his parents and parents-in-law to the city. His household of seven includes an 8-year-old daughter attending a nearby school.
“She enjoys her classes in this environment. The kindergartens and primary schools are very good here. The elders also make full use of the efficient, green public transportation and parks,” he said.
Zhou said that while his daughter may have to go elsewhere to broaden her educational options as she gets older, he will remain in the ecocity due to its livability, even if he learns of job opportunities in Beijing, a two-hour drive away.
“Infrastructure, amenities, entertainment and recreational facilities are adequate here, so there is no real need to go to downtown Tianjin,” he said.
According to the master developer, the eco-city is now building on “the strong foundation laid over the past decade and implementing a dual development strategy that will drive its transformation into an ‘upgraded eco-city’ and an ‘innovative smart city’”.
The eco-city also provides “a conducive environment for the trial and implementation of cutting-edge smart technologies that can sense, analyze, integrate and use data to respond to a variety of municipal needs”, the master developer said.
The initial planning phases for the eco-city integrated many characteristics of sustainable development, focusing on a mix of feasible, practicable technologies and policies to realize its development goals. Upgraded key performance indicators include quantitative and qualitative metrics covering renewable energy, green buildings, efficient use of water resources, effective recycling and treatment of waste, and green transportation, according to the master developer.
Residents have reaped the rewards of these moves, ranging from good air quality and potable water taps to wetland protection and shoreline retention.
Under the upgraded key performance indicators, all of the eco-city’s buildings are green structures, through “techniques and measures like natural ventilation, natural lighting, high-performance enclosed structure systems, renewable energy systems, high-efficiency lighting systems, energy management systems, water recycling techniques, green materials, green construction management and green property management”, the developer said.
The eco-city’s Low Carbon Living Lab project, which showcases best practices in sustainable design strategies and green building technologies, reported that 28 percent of energy was derived from renewable sources, and 30 percent less energy was consumed, compared with similar buildings in Tianjin, for the equivalent of 171 metric tons of coal and 427 tons of carbon dioxide.
The eco-city is also home to Tianjin’s first zero-carbon building demonstration project.
In order to make the city a “pilot model for national smart cities”, a framework system includes a smart city operations center, integrated service platforms for facilities, data and people, and various smart applications, the developer said.
The operations center aims to serve as the “brain” of the city, with real-time monitoring of city operations, smart analysis and capabilities to dispatch emergency response teams, it said.
The integrated service platforms help to strengthen the interconnection between facilities, events and people in the city, and the smart applications enable residents and businesses to “enjoy greater convenience when using medical, food, housing, transportation, entertainment and education services”, according to the developer.
Wang Bin, deputy director of the State Grid’s digital technology innovation center in Tianjin, said the eco-city’s residents have access to some of the latest technologies rolled out by the utility giant.
“They get access to our IoT (internet of things) projects, such as digital tracking of utility usage, eldercare livability monitoring, an integrated network of green spaces, new energy transportation, public spaces, lighting and other smart city infrastructure,” he said.
“The eco-city is most suitable as a test bed for the use of the latest technology, promoting green, technological and smart city priorities that can be extended to other areas,” Wang said.
Efficient use of resources
Monitoring of carbon emissions covers more than 50 communities in the eco-city, offering advanced technologies that help provide important information so that local authorities can plan the use of urban resources efficiently, he said.
“The smart utilization and customization of power control and usage can extend to other practical fields. Tracking water and gas usage, for example, can help residents better manage their financial resources,” Wang said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence solutions that respond to elderly residents’ needs have also proved useful, he added.
Looking ahead, the challenge will be a transition from a traditional, coal-based electricity supply to an installed capacity of new energy power generation, Wang said.
Teo, the SSTEC CEO, suggested that leveraging the private sector and market forces will also be useful.
The aim is to develop the eco-city into a global business hub that taps the latest developments to rein in carbon emissions, Teo said.
“We see that as a global trend,” he added. “There’ll be a lot of new companies that think of new products and new services to reduce carbon emissions, or new technologies or new processes that will help reduce carbon emissions, for industries or construction.”
“Hopefully, we can be a hub for some of these industries so that they can produce really effective products and services that can then be applied in China or elsewhere in the world.”
Teo said he expects more commercial development in the future.
“While these development projects are different in their demands, we can apply smart technologies to them to make sure that carbon emissions are always monitored and reduced effectively,” Teo said.
“Going forward, it will not just be a sustainable city. It will be a sustainable, smart and low-carbon city.”