World&#39s first eco-city to be showcased at UK forum

The masterplanning for the city will be explained by Rainer Zimmann and Alan Barton of consultants Arup who are working as a strategic partner with Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) on the integrated proposals Dongtan.

Dongtan is being built off the coast of Shanghai

Arup explains that at three quarters the size of Manhattan and located on the third largest island in China at the mouth of the Yangtse river, Dongtan will be developed on 630 hectares of land as a sustainable city to attract a range of commercial and leisure investments.

Ecologically sensitive design will be a key element of the masterplan. The site is mostly agricultural land adjacent to a huge wetland of global importance.

Priority projects for phase 1 include capturing and purifying water, waste management recycling, reducing landfills that damage the environment, and creating combined heat and power systems, linked to the use of renewables, that will provide the technology to source clean and reliable energy.

SIIC’s vision, explains Arup, is to create a development with low energy consumption that is as close to being carbon neutral as possible.

Resource
Mr Zimmann, a senior chartered environmental engineer, with Arup, explained that the city will be a template for sustainability in city planning throughout the world. “Waste management and recycling issues are very important for the city and we will be looking at all aspects of material flows. This includes looking at the storage and handling of waste and how it can be treated as a resource.”

Mr Zimmann said that within the UK the company is also seeing a growing interest in broader and sustainable approaches to city and town management. “Some authorities are now getting pretty clued up about all these issues and are better applying principles of sustainability to new projects although the extent to which large scale developments can slip through the net is quite incredible.”

Day one of the forum, April 18, will see sessions on how to prepare waste strategies for industry, waste policy, hazardous waste, as well as the carbon challenge for local authorities. Day two of the forum, April 19, will see sessions on organics, wood and MBT, WEEE and battery recycling.

Some places are still available at a day rate of 135 inclusive of lunch. For details, tel: 020 7633 4500.