Eco-Towns

What is an Eco-Town?

A sustainable development work towards “zero-carbon” status

Features of an ecotown:

environmental approaches to managing waste

green spaces to enhance biodiversity construction practices that minimize

waste incorporates high efficiency and

reuse for water

Features of an eco-town:

well designed, attractive places to work and live

utilize a well developed infrastructure

Features of an eco-town:

Have transit links, as well as standard roads, that connect them to surrounding cities

Have long term plans for sustainability and specific, achievable targets

Planning Example

Housing Green Space Clean Industry

Vehicle parking Pedestrian Areas

Neighbourhood Centres

Eco-Towns: United Kingdom

New towns of 5-20,000 homes Objective: provide affordable housing

At least 30-50% must be affordable housing

Eco-Towns: UK

All homes must be within a 10 minute walk of public transport

Emphasis on public transportation and HOV

Parks, playgrounds & gardens make up 40% of the town

Eco-Towns: UK

Must have a wide range of local facilities

Must appoint a group to oversee and manage the town, as well as its development

Eco-Towns: UK

Need to include plug-ins for electric vehicles

Must encourage work from home by building live/work units and local technological resource centres (e-centres)

What makes eco-towns in the UK CED?

Enable greater community ownership and management of assets

Encourage participation in cultural and recreational activities (as a town)

National government is making them largely self-governed, owned and operated

Why Eco-Towns? (UK)

Housing demand outstrips supply annually in Britain

Homes have become increasingly unaffordable

Government wants to utilize “brownfield” land

Why Eco-Towns? (UK)

New towns can deliver affordable housing faster

More than ¼ of all British carbon dioxide emissions are produced by homes

Funding for UK Eco-Towns

Governments provides education, health care and social services

Government funds initial start-up and planning

Long term funding is expected to be almost entirely from the private sector

Management, Delivery & Planning

Government will establish a “stakeholder reference group” to bring together experts in sustainable development

Government wants to minimize planning delays and will expedite the process for those with a clear plan, funding and available sites

UK Examples: Northstowe

9500 homes built on an old army barracks

Intended to include: secondary school, 6 primary schools, a civic hub and a local business district

Local business district will provide 5000 jobs along with shopping and leisure facilities

UK Examples: Northstowe

Solar water heat, photovoltaic panels (solar) for micro-generation

£100 million in funding is from the government for a guided bus plan

£5 million in funding from the government for advanced infrastructure developments

UK Eco-Towns: Northstowe

Eco-Town Criticisms: UK

National government may usurp the power of local authorities, could lead to corruption

Initially not linked to surrounding developments, which increases vehicle dependency

Eco-Town Criticisms: UK

Opponents claim some sites are not eco-friendly e located on pristine countryside, not

brownfields

European Eco-Towns

Have long been in practice in the countries such as Sweden and Germany

Most started in the 1970’s with the dawn of environmental conservatorship

Eco-Town: Vauban, Germany Founded in 1970’s on the ground of an

old army barracks, by nuclear power protesters

5000 homes built and 600 jobs created

Nearby Freiburg is a University town CED: local decision making and planning

Eco-Town: Vauban, Germany Nearly 50% of households are car free,

many belong to a €600 per year car share program

A parking spot costs €20,000 per year and is on the outskirts of town

Vauban is linked to Freiburg by a railway, tramline, main road and two bus routes

Eco-Town: Vauban, Germany Houses are attached and are 4 stories

(maximum)

Houses were built in housing blocks to maximize urban density

Eco-Town: Vauban, Germany Most homes generate more power than

they use, so power is sold back to the national grid

Homes are “passive”

Eco-Town: Vauban, Germany

Japanese Eco-Towns

To date, there are 19 eco-towns in Japan, with more approved for future

Eco-Town: Kitakyushu, Japan

Founded in 1987, Japan’s first eco-town project

It is a 2000 hectare industrial park , located on reclaimed land, which was previously a landfill and port

Eco-Town: Kitakyushu

Founded to help clean up the heavily polluted air and Dokai Bay

Once known as “the Gray City” and is now known as “the Green City”

Dokia Bay, 1960’s Dokai Bay, Present Day

Kitakyushu: Two Objectives

1) To stimulate the economy by nurturing the growth of environmental industries that take advantage of industrial capabilities

2) To create an integrated system in harmony with the environment and to involve industry, the public sector and consumers with the goal of creating a recycling-oriented region

Eco-Town: Kitakyushu

The Industrial eco-town consists of 3 zones:

1) Comprehensive Industrial Complex2) The Practical Research Area3) The Hibiki Recycling Area

Eco-Town: Kitakyushu

With a focus on industrial recycling, corporations in the region have become the largest financial contributors

Corporations fund the construction of recycling plants specific to their industry

For example, the Nishi-Nippon PET bottle recycling plant, built by Nippon Steel and Mitsui & Co.

Eco-Town: Kitakyushu

The project is so successful it now has a large pool of resources to collect from

Demand for the products they produce is growing

The surrounding town enjoys the spillover effects from improved air, water and infrastructure

Eco-Towns: Conclusions

Must be planned and implemented with the involvement of surrounding communities

Should have a public-private partnership, with long-term funding primarily from private sources

Eco-Town: Conclusions

Should continually search for new technologies innovative techniques to lower consumption

Should put energy back into the national grid

Independent environmental agencies should monitor eco-town’s use of energy over time to ensure standards are met

Eco-Towns: Conclusions

Should be located on a site in need of revitalizing and/or clean up

Must be based on environmentally sustainable, long-term town planning

They are a sustainable way forward for urban growth globally, both for residential and industrial communities

The End