Europe and China – Towards a sustainable urbanisation

In response to the challenges outlined above, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe (JPI UE) have paved the way for a long-term cooperation under the strategic theme of Sustainable Urbanisation in the context of economic transformation and climate change. For this year’s initiative, they have identified four thematic research areas to address the most important challenges regarding sustainability.

Climate change and new urban economies

One of the most relevant questions in the context of climate change is how to improve urban resilience and adaptive capacity. While Europe has maintained its status of economic development for a long time, China has undergone an impressive pace of change since the economic reformation and its opening in the 1980s. These changes have not only improved the living standards of millions of Chinese people, they have also affected, among others, the environment, demography and financial climate.

These consequences of a rapid growing economy in China have much to do with the country’s linear economy model. Within a linear economy, raw materials are used to make a product and after its usage it will be discarded. To ensure that there is enough resource for food and energy supply, a switch from a linear to a circular economy is urgently needed, as

“a circular economy model would focus on regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops.” [1]

Moreover, new knowledge needs to be generated in order to properly enhance a) the water supply, b) the green energy system and c) sustainable infrastructure in mobility.

Transformation of energy systems and strengthening of urban circular economies

The economy model of a city has a certain impact on the energy system of that city. They are mutually strengthening each other. A circular economy model prevent waste by making products and materials more efficient and reusing them.

As a consequence, the energy use of urban cities which includes topics such as smart infrastructure development, green energy production, as well as efficiency and supply transitions need to be supported by a circular economy model.

This approach requires a closer look at different aspects, such as the reduction of fossil energy use, the increase of renewable energy consumption, the storage of urban energy and the support for the merging economic growth.

In the long run, a more efficient, safe, sustainable and cost-effective energy system is being expected to get deployed.

Urban public administration and services innovation

Climate change suggests that cities and urban areas face uncertainty and risks. How can urban management foster innovation capacity of cities and urban areas to address the ongoing dynamics? It has become crucial to enhance the capacity for urban governance, civil participation and technological development.

This entails an approach of institutional reform coordination, public service innovation and public transition management:

“that develops and implements effective management of urban agglomerations and urban-rural integration to promote sustainable urbanization and well-being.” [2]

Urban data management

The major challenge in providing functional urban data management is the question of increasing the quality and availability of data to support policymaking for sustainable urbanisation. It has become a methodological challenge to develop a monitoring system to measure the progress of the sustainable development goals. The methodological approach encompasses questions such as how to develop indicator systems to evaluate the process of the sustainable urbanisation in European and Chinese cities. Equally important is the topic of how to establish analysis methods to foster the influence of decision-makers, urban planning, technologies and governance in cities.

Data management in cities is not only about the methods to be developed in order to address uncertainties, it is also about understanding the most fundamental aspects of cities, such as how they function as an organism.

“…a comprehensive and long-term urban database are urban observatories and living labs. …urban observatories will support the acquisition and management of detailed datasets to deepen our insights in to the functioning of cities.” [3]

The overall ambition of the partnership between Europe and China is to shape and generate knowledge on practical interfaces (climate, economic etc.) in the process of sustainable urbanisation.

Note: This article is based on Sustainable and liveable cities and urban areas – Europe & China Joint Call for proposal, 31.01.2018.

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy
[2] Urban Europe. (2018). Sustainable and Liveable Cities and Urban Areas – Europe & China Joint Call for Proposals. [pdf]. Available at: https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/app/uploads/2018/02/NSFC-JPI-UE-Joint-Call-31-January-2018-0201. P.13
[3] Urban Europe. (2015). Transition towards sustainable and liveable urban futures. [pdf]. Available at: https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/app/uploads/2016/09/JPI-UE-Strategic-Research-and-Innovation-Agenda-SRIA. P.53

Keywords

Sustainability, Urban Europe, Europe-China Joint Call, circular economy, adaption and mitigation, climate change, China, urbanisation, risk management, fossil energy, low-carbon, urban agglomeration, living labs, renewably energy