Sustainable Living, Better Asian Cities & Economies

Now that the world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history with a sweeping shift from the countryside to the city where now more than half of the world’ populations now reside. Underpinning this paradigm are the economies of scale concentrating urban growth,  and yielding a more productive society; predictions are that  by 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion, with urban growth concentrated mainly in Africa and Asia. The Asia Pacific region alone is home to 60% of the growing world population and accounts for over 40% of the global economy (i).  Consider also that the land mass occupied by cities based on satellite imagery, indications that all urban sites including green as well as built-up areas cover only 2.8 per cent of the Earth’s land mass. This means that about 3.3 billion people occupy an area less than half the size of Australia.

By far, cities concentrate poverty, slum growth and social disruption, but on the other hand, they also provide better opportunities than rural areas for upward mobility-as no country in the industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanization. South Koreas’s economic miracle has been attributed to its urbanized population and careful land use planning in Singapore has allowed the country to benefit from strong economic growth and social cohesion ensuring that sufficient land is safeguarded to support continued economic progress and future development. However the challenge for urban planning in Singapore,  is the arrangement of housing blocks in the maximum density possible, without compromising transport efficiency (ii).

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants and. by 2025, 136 new cities are expected to enter the top 600, all of them from the developing world and overwhelmingly—100 new cities from China (iii).

With western economies struggling, China and India’s growth continues and rapid urbanization has been a key growth factor in their success over the last three decades. Between 2011 and 2020, China’s urban population is set to increase by 26.1% and has already the world’s largest stock of housing (iv).  More than this, forecasts are that by 2030, 1 billion people will be living in its cities and while this may seem unsurprising for a country with 1.3bn people, Indian residents, numbering over 1.1bn, enjoy less than one-half of the total living space of their Chinese counterparts (v).

Thailand is also following the global trend of urbanization as 76 provinces have approximately 68 million people, has been transforming from a rural to an urban society at a rate of 27% in 1980 to 34% in 2010 and is expected to reach 53% by 2040. As part of its urban development strategy, the Thai government has implemented land readjustment projects to free -up previously land-locked land and rearranged, or upgraded it to urban plots equipped with basic infrastructure such as roads and drains (vi).

To Sprawl or Not to Sprawl

There is much debate among experts over the advantages of compact versus decentralized cities, but no real consensus. However compact cities are more sustainable, because they minimize commuting, thereby using less energy and reducing air pollution. Sprawl additionally increases water consumption and eats up green space. Although few urban planners defend sprawl, some question whether intensive use of infrastructure can deliver a more sustainable urban future. They also question whether dense occupation is acceptable to the general public. A large house on a large lot, with good automobile access to facilities, is what most people seem to want. With this said and giving the current trends of population shifts, e demand for smarter more sustainable urban living will continue unabated. This will mean that urban planners and property designers will need to build infrastructure such as roads, waste disposal, waterways and efficient mass public transport systems and  housing  that will sustain future generations, by consuming less rather than more resource than are available thus minimizing an individual and society’s carbon footprint (vii).

Urban Design and Sustainable Living

However meeting the challenge of sustainability and urbanization is no small task to achieve as planners and developers will have to address both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the city’s built environment and incorporate designs that embrace sustainable living and reduce the carbon footprint. Aesthetics, being the traditional consideration of urban design can only be more important when combined with the functional aspects to generate an environment that is visually pleasant, convenient, and comfortable and which conveys a sense of place, pride and belonging.

Bring this into context, Kuala Lumpur Bangkok and Singapore has experienced rapid development over the last decade and the challenge for urban planners and designers to incorporate all the aforementioned considerations Beside accommodating sustainable urban growth in these cities, they will need to factor in the ethnic and cultural composition of a city which determines its character as much as, if not more than, its physical expression. This said, by virtue of their sheer vibrant and multi-cultural composition, all of which will provide the stimulus to guide urban design initiatives and create a distinct and unique identity, thus fostering a sense of community and social harmony Property developers and architects are also embracing these considerations by constructing properties thus minimizing the carbon footprint, with functional aesthetics multicultural elements incorporated into the design.

For example, just recently in Bangkok, one designer built a home incorporating rammed earth and recycled steel prefab as well as a container home the year before. (viii) In Kuala Lumpur, other innovative designers was inspired by the traditional Malay kampong house models and built the “Idea House”  optimizing natural ventilation and minimize low angle sun. It also employs light thermal mass materials that mitigating the absorption of thermal heat gain, such as aluminum, steel, and high-performance thermal glazing to ensure that the internal environmental quality is maximized. Photovoltaic (PV) cells on the roof, provides enough energy per year to power conventional housing needs with an excess of energy generated that can be re-routed back into the grid, and is an opportunity for income generation.”  Internet and digital technology also plaing its role connectivity and networking in modern living, Wi-Fi, video enhanced security, digital signage, tele-presence and smart building management systems (ix).

Singapore has emerged as leader in urban greenery with developments with such as ’Tampines Concourse, which is the first building in Singapore to be constructed with extensive use of recycled materials for the structural building components. Awarded the BCA Green Mark Gold Plus, the development has been hailed as  a sterling example of a sustainable  development from start to finish using  design features such as an energy-efficient building envelope design and eco friendly fittings for energy and water efficiency. Concerted efforts were made to construct the development with a wide range of recycled materials for its structural building components. The “Green Concrete” that was used for Tampines Concourse comprises a number of sustainable materials, namely copper slag, recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). Apart from sustainable construction materials, other prominent green features include a natural day-lighting system to leverage on natural lighting within the atrium and lift lobbies (x).

Conclusion

As urbanization growth increases in the Asia Pacific, the challenge for urban planners and property designers will be to construct infrastructure and housing that embraces sustainable outcomes reducing a society’s carbon footprint and incorporate functional aesthetics concurrently. They will need to also factor in the ethnic and cultural composition of a city which determines its character as well as its physical expression, As our cities grow the dynamic composition will provide the stimulus to guide urban design initiatives and property design to create a distinct and unique identity, thus fostering a sense of and social cohesion and harmony

References

i. State of world population 2007Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/presskit/pdf/sowp2007_eng.pdf
ii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning_in_Singapore#Urban_Renewal_in_Singapore
iii. Urban World: Mapping the Economic Power of Cities, March 2011, Mckinsey Global Institute,    http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/urban_world/index.asp
iv. Ibid.
v. Building Rome in a day-The sustainability of China’s housing boom, A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Access China service, http://www.eiu.com/Handlers/WhitepaperHandler.ashx?fi=Marketing_Building_Rome_in_a_day_WEB.pdf&mode=wp
vi. Udom Puasakul Land Readjustment in Thailand, Asia-Pacific Housing Journal, www.ghbhomecenter.com/journal/download.php?file=1219Jan11wh2djhy
vii. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “What is sustainability?” Retrieved on: 2007-08-20.
viii. Sustainable Architecture Comes to Life in Bangkok, http://www.good.is/post/sustainable-architecture-comes-to-life-in-bangkok/
ix. Enewletters Malaysia’s first carbon neutral house, April 27th 2011, http://www.cio-asia.com/mgmt/leadership-and-mgmt/malaysias-first-carbon-neutral-house/
x. http://www.1.net.my/2009/07/first-carbonneutral-development-in-singapore-and-asia-pacific/

This entry was posted on Monday, June 27th, 2011 at 1:57 pm.
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