Smog is omnipresent here in Shanghai. Much joked about, lamented and suffered by city-dwellers, the fug that chokes the sky and shrouds the buildings is very much a part of city life. Rapid growth of industry population has led to air pollution from factories and traffic, and an infrastructure too weak to cope with the boom.

However, many schemes are underway to improve the situation in the run-up to the 2010 Expo. Beijing set the standard with its eco-push prior to last year’s Olympics; 38 billion US dollars were invested between 2002 and 2006 to overhaul the capital’s infrastructure leading to an improvement of 97% in solid waste treatment. Shanghai plans to invest a total of 5.3 billion US dollars into improving waste water and waste solid treatment, and remove sulphur from coal and fuel power plants. All new buildings will be 50% more energy efficient.

It would be easy to chalk all of this up to a mere knee-jerk reaction to the approach of the Expo, but Shanghai’s government has been dedicated to environmental improvements for at least a decade. In the early 1990s, the Shanghai government began to realise that not addressing environmental problems would prevent the city rising to the status of an economic powerhouse. So, in 1993, the Shanghai Environment Project was started, with funding from the World Bank. The project dealt firstly with water supply issues, then waste disposal. It was completed in 2000, auguring vast improvements in both systems. Before the project, the city’s waterways had been in dire straits – an environmental nightmare. Much of Shanghai’s raw water came from the lower Huangpu, and was polluted by sewage outlets and waste from cargo ships coming into the port. This meant that the water didn’t even reach World Health Organisation standards. The sewage system was primitive too; workers would go from house to house collecting waste – a method that became less and less efficient as the population grew.

In 1996 the World Bank stepped in again to finance the Second Shanghai Sewerage Project, followed by the 2003 Urban Environment Project, destined for completion this year.

One of the most interesting moves towards the greening of Shanghai is the development of Chongming Island. The world’s largest alluvial island, Chongming sits 30 kilometres east of the city, and is nicknamed Shanghai’s ‘rice bowl’ thanks to its fertile soil. It is also a haven for migrating birds, and is unsullied by pollution and noise. In 2004 the municipal government invited bids for development projects, and eventually selected Chicago architecture firm SOM who are also the brains behind Dubai’s Burj tower and the planned Freedom Tower in New York City. SOM’s idea was to create a conurbation based on the tenets of ecology and sustainability. Only 15% of Chongming’s land would be used for housing; the rest would be left as natural habitat. Eight high-density cities would be built along the island’s coast, small enough to be walkable, and connected by a rail network. Energy would come from solar and wind power, and an innovative sewage system would be established whereby polluted water would be filtered through the wetlands and thus purified. A hydrostatic pressure system would prevent seawater entering the water table and create reserves of drinking water. Outside of the cities, some of the land will be given over to agriculture on a model similar to California’s Napa Valley – providing supplies for Shanghai’s luxury restaurants.

One of the first areas of Chongming’s development is Dongtan. The land is privately owned. It was given to the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation by the municipal government in repayment after the Asian Financial Crisis, with the proviso that they would develop it in an environmentally forward-thinking way. The SIIC employed UK-based engineering firm Arup to create a plan for Dongtan. They finally came up with an 86 square kilometre pollution-free zone using renewable energy, and a sustainable sewage and recycling system. Future residents will be a third less polluting than mainland Shanghai-ites. Arup planned that Dongtan’s urban area would be split into three districts, each with low-rise residential buildings. Special ventilation systems mean less need for air-conditioning. Since air-con units push city temperatures up by 4% during summer, this is incredibly important. By 2010 Dongtan will have 25,000 residents, rising to 1.5 million by 2040.

As for renewable energy like solar power, Shanghai also has its finger on the pulse. The city government placed 100,000 photovoltaic systems on rooftops in 2005. These create 430 million hours of power per year, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40,000 tons and saving 20,000 tons of coal.

There are plans in place to introduce hydrogen fuel cells to power cars, since 79% of China’s air pollution comes from traffic, and we will soon overtake the USA for most automobiles purchased. In Shanghai, a switch from petrol fuel would necessitate 124 hydrogen fuelling stations around the city.

The construction of a huge wind farm by the Shanghai Environment Group and the Shanghai Huadian Electric Power Development Company has provided 50 million kilowatt hours of power to the city – far more than was previously generated by the three smaller farms that used to provide just 25 megawatts. Central government wants 3% of China’s energy to come from solar power by the year 2020, so this sort of development is a step in the right direction.

Like any other metropolis, the city of Shanghai has a huge responsibility both to its people and the rest of the world to become more environmentally aware, and improve its ecological track record. With the Expo in sight, our city is making leaps and bounds towards living up to the 2010 motto ‘Better City, Better Life’.

See also:  Green Shanghai Part I: Parklife
 

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