‘Placemaking’ can future-proof Asia against climate change

Asia's cities are growing at a rapid pace, with over 2.2 billion people, or 54% of the world's urban population living in Asian cities currently. By 2050, the urban population in Asia is expected to grow by 50% -- that's an additional 1.2 billion people.

But the region's rapid growth comes at a cost. Millions across Asia are now starting to feel the effects of rising temperatures, especially those who live in cities, which are usually warmer than their surrounding areas. Asia alone accounts for over 57% of global annual carbon emissions.

However, combating climate change does not have to come at the expense of growth. Urban development can be part of the solution. Placemaking, where we create quality spaces that people want to live, work and play in, can be transformational in addressing climate change. It is a mechanism for cities to shift from short-term, consumption-driven development to long-term, sustainable growth that prioritises environmental stewardship and social well-being.

We already see placemaking in action in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (SSTE) located in China. Once an uninhabitable wasteland, it is now a breathing, livable city designed around sustainable development principles that spans 30 square kilometers. It is home to more than 150,000 people and 30,000 companies, setting new standards for modern living in China and beyond. Kickstarted in 2007, the Eco-city is a bilateral project between China and Singapore, with the aim of transforming non-arable wasteland into an a sustainable and liveable city, leveraging expertise in areas such as urban planning, environmental protection, resource conservation, water and waste management and sustainable development.

With China experiencing the largest scale of urbanization in history at an unprecedented pace, it sought a new approach to urban development that is "resource-conserving, environmentally friendly, economically efficient, and socially harmonious." However, there was a lack of guidance on an integrated approach to tackling environmental challenges at the city level, hence spurring the SSTE collaboration.

Today, the Eco-city has mostly met its initial goal of building a sustainable and livable city. As of 2022, some key performance indicators it has achieved include all its wetlands being protected; all its buildings conserving water and energy; and all its residential areas being within a five-minute walk to a park or green space. It leads the way in green buildings -- working toward its goal of having 100% green buildings, the Eco-city has formulated operations and management-related standards to guide green buildings over the life-cycle of their development.

Buildings in the Eco-city are also designed with green building concepts such as natural ventilation, natural lighting, high-performance enclosed structure systems, renewable energy systems, high-efficiency lighting systems, energy management systems, water recycling techniques and the use of green materials -- all modeling what a sustainable city of the future would look like.

In other parts of Asia, cities are also tapping into placemaking to not just address the impact of climate change, but also for rejuvenation.

Just over 50 years ago, Marina Bay in Singapore was nothing but a swathe of seawater off Singapore's southern coast. Today, it boasts the Gardens by the Bay, which was part of the nation's plans to transform its "Garden City" into a "City in the Garden." The Gardens were built with the aim of raising quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city, but serve as an iconic attraction that drives tourism dollars.

Beyond that, it is also a model for how a city can balance growth with its role as a key tourist attraction, but also designed with sustainability at the center. The Gardens were designed with energy and water efficiency in mind -- converting horticultural waste into energy for cooling conservatories, tapping into solar energy to light up the Supertrees at the Gardens, and capturing rain in the lakes that is cleaned by aquatic plants and used for irrigating the Gardens.

Meanwhile, Malaysia began transforming Putrajaya, 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, into a green city as early as 1997. It constructed the Putrajaya wetland with the purpose of treating catchment water from the Putrajaya Lake. Malaysia subsequently built community gardens in Putrajaya in 2008, initiating a tree planting program that aimed to plant 900,000 trees across both Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. This was not only to increase urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature, but to also increase green urban nature for carbon storage.

From creating a blueprint for a green city to rebuilding a city to be more sustainable, we've seen how Asian cities are starting to address the impact of climate change with placemaking. These cities have modeled success and as urbanization picks up pace, the question isn't if placemaking can play a role, but how quickly cities can embrace it as a core strategy for sustainable growth.

This article was originally published on Nikkei Asia on Nov 3, 2024