Article on Taichung's Urban Decay and Expansion

Despite efforts over the years to revive Taichung's old Central District, the city's urban core remains in a state of rapid decline. In contrast to the stagnation of the old city center, development in Taichung's new Zone Seven is booming. In the August 2010 article One Taichung, Two Worlds, Commonwealth Magazine (天下雜誌) provides excellent context on Taichung’s urban decay and expansion issues.

The article notes the rapidity of Taichung’s modern urban development:

“Taichung's overnight urban expansion has been intense. Prior to the tenure of Mayor Tseng Wen-po in 1981, municipal Taichung occupied just 57.4 hectares. However, after eight urban development programs under Tseng and successor Lin Po-jung, the city expanded by 1754.2 hectares, growing 30 times over. From retaining a considerable amount of agricultural land, Taichung suddenly turned into a concrete jungle."

Commonwealth Magazine makes the connection between Taichung's rapid urban development and the profitability of a perpetual state of urban expansion:

“Besides currying favor with the public, it has additional benefits for the Taichung city government. Since the 1980s, development of rezoned city districts has become a major source of income for the city. Nearly all of the Taichung city government's dozen urban rezoning projects have made money. In the Phase Seven Urban Development Project – the most profitable of them all – sales of land alone generated revenues of NT$9.45 billion, and after subtracting development costs, it still produced net profits of NT$5.2 billion.”

Lastly, the article also highlights the difficulty in reversing the trend of urbanization.

“when high rises are built on agricultural land, there is no turning back, raising the cost of "greening" and environmental protection efforts.”

Taichung's simultaneous urban decay and sprawl should be a familiar narrative to many cities in the developed world. Taichung will face serious challenges to rejuvenate its central district and alter its course to a sustainable path of urban development. More to come on this issue soon.

Introduction (Cont.)

In this post, I would like to provide a bit of general background information on eco-cities, the Taiwan Strait Climate Change Incubator (TSCCI) project, and the Energy Masterplan for Taichung City.

What is an eco-city?

Although the term "eco-city" is a bit vague and perhaps over-used in attempts to greenwash projects, it is also not necessarily futuristic or impractical. Eco-cities are urban areas designed with environmental conservation, energy efficiency, and (more recently) a low carbon footprint in mind. Eco-cities achieve their goals through numerous measures including (but not limited to):

• renewable energy sources
• energy efficiency
• public transportation
• green buildings
• waste recycling
• water conservation and re-use
• preservation and expansion of green space
• smart grid technology
• education

Eco-cities are largely conceived in two forms. Many current eco-city projects, such as the Masdar eco-city in Abu Dhabi or the Sino-Singapore eco-city in Tianjin, are new cities created from scratch. There are also eco-city projects that retrofit existing cities. While the former gives wider latitude to its planners, the latter presents further challenges but is ultimately more applicable to the needs of the world’s industrialized metropolitan areas.

What is the TSCCI Project?

The Taiwan Strait Climate Change Incubator (TSCCI) project incorporates eco-city proposals for the cities of Taichung, ROC and Xiamen, PRC. The TSCCI project was created by CHORA Architecture and Urbanism founder Raoul Bunschoten, who has worked with partners in Xiamen and Taichung on energy master plans for both cities. While each city has its own distinct strategic plan, there is a planned carbon-trading system that will link the two urban centers across the strait.

Taichung Energy Masterplan

Later this year, I will have an opportunity to go to Xiamen to examine its eco-city proposal and progress, but for now my focus will be on Taichung. Taichung is an interesting eco-city candidate because of the familiarity of the challenges it faces. Like many cities in the developed world, Taichung is confronted with traffic congestion, infrastructural insufficiency, and urban decay. Additionally, Taichung's districting situation adds a further dimension of influence to the urban development policies it adopts. By the end of 2010, Taichung City will merge with Taichung County, consolidating into one municipality. Thus, urban planning for Taichung will soon encompass a broader area, creating additional opportunities to carry out sustainable urban development projects.

Taichung has already taken steps to become a greener city. Taichung Mayor Jason Hu has emphasized carbon reduction and at the 2007 Bali Conference, Taichung (along with Taipei and Kaohsiung) agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 60% below 1990 levels by 2050. With its planned new convention center and metropolitan opera house, Taichung is constructing landmark green buildings that will convey its status as a sustainable city.

In order to achieve Taichung's vision as a model low-carbon city, the Taichung City Strategic Energy Masterplan under Climate Change was commissioned by the Taichung City government. The proposal was co-drafted by Professor Shuenn Ren Liou of Tunghai University (my Fulbright sponsor), Raoul Bunschoten, and Mr. C.S. Shen of S.C.S. and Associates Architecture Firm. In order to help Taichung City achieve its carbon emission reduction goals, the plan identifies six areas of Taichung City for green retrofitting:

• Old Shui-nan Airport
• Central Business District
• Dado Mountain Corridor
• Green Belt
• Fazi River
• Old Taichung City Hall

The proposal outlines specific green development plans for all areas except the Fazi River and Old Taichung City Hall. So far, only the re-development of the Shui-nan airport area has begun. Although CHORA and Tung Hai University’s proposal for Shui-nan airport's revitalization was not adopted by the Taichung government, its recommendations heavily influenced the energy efficiency and renewable energy components of the final proposal that was commissioned.

Taichung’s energy master plan proposal takes into account Taichung’s pre-existing configuration of open space, meteorological trends, and urban heat island effect. The plan offers a vision of eco-city development through five interrelated initiatives:

• Energy devices
• Renewable energy
• Energy infrastructure
• Education
• Organizational reform

Over the course of the year, I will examine the various districts of Taichung and their green urban development initiatives in more detail. When applicable, I will draw parallels to green development in Taiwan's other cities and their potential transferability to other international cities.

Introduction

大家好 and welcome!

Over the upcoming year, this blog will serve as an outlet for my Fulbright research on Taiwan’s green energy sector. I am based at Tung Hai University in Taichung where I will be examining the Taiwan Strait Climate Change Incubator (TSCCI) project’s impact on Taichung City. The TSCCI project is a cross-strait partnership between Taichung, ROC and Xiamen, PRC that endeavors to create eco-cities in both urban areas and further cross-strait economic and cultural exchange.

Although the TSCCI eco-city proposal for Taichung (co-drafted by the Tung Hai University Department of Architecture) is my main research focus, I will use its recommendations and the issues it raises as a vehicle to explore Taiwan’s pathway towards sustainable cities.

Why Taiwan?

While China currently garners much of the world’s attention in regards to East Asian energy development, a deeper examination and understanding of Taiwan’s energy policy and urban development may be more instructive for the West.

In contrast to the exponentially growing metropolises of China, Taiwan’s cities are already built and their populations relatively stable. Thus, like many older cities in the U.S. and Europe, Taiwan’s urban areas require precise sustainability retrofits, not construction of entirely new metro areas. Taiwan also enjoys a vibrant democracy and free press. Thus, the fusion of electoral politics and the media (as in the U.S.) are a major factor in determining Taiwan’s ability to enact energy legislation and transition to a green economy.

Taiwan’s current level of dependence on imported fossil fuel is unsustainable. However, Taiwan already possesses advantages that lend themselves to exact rapid and lasting change. Taiwan has excellent human capital, academic institutions, business infrastructure and entrepreneurship, and technical innovation. The government has also recently passed energy legislation calling for the creation of pilot eco-cities and directed funding to stimulate targeted sectors of green industry.

I believe that a closer examination of how Taiwan greens its cities will identify solutions that can be adapted to first-world cities globally. I hope that this blog will be a resource for those interested in Taiwan’s eco-city development, green energy policy, cross-strait energy cooperation, and scalable solutions to green urban areas internationally.