More than 30 young people of different disciplines from Asia, Europe and the US participated in the study trip.

Five groups dealt with specific problems of sustainable urban development such as infrastructure, financing and technology.

The former Under Secretary for the Environment in Hong Kong Dr Christine Loh presented already implemented and planned concepts for a climate friendly development of her city.

The seaport Shenzhen in Southeast China is internationally gaining attention for its Low Carbon City. In the newly built urban quarter, different features for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are implemented.

The Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou produces electricity for the building with its eight meters high, free-standing wind turbines.

In the past years, China has put many efforts in positioning itself as global pioneer in fighting climate change. The country has implemented measures to save resources and emissions in many different fields. Sustainable urban planning and design is a key component of the climate policy in the PR China. Chinese metropolises are engaged in a competition to develop individual projects which are also recognised internationally. Numerous projects – spanning from innovative urban traffic concepts and the generation of renewable energies in the urban space to entirely new “eco cities“ at the suburbs of large cities – are currently in the implementation phase.

These projects and the experiences derived from it offer valuable impetus for the urban development in other countries of Asia, but also for other continents, such as Africa. Therefore, KAS RECAP and the Hong Kong-America Center (HAC) jointly organised a study trip for future decision makers from Asia, Europe and the US. For two weeks, the students, PhD candidates and young professionals of various disciplines visited four Chinese cities, each with a distinct history and very different challenges. Numerous field visits of infrastructure projects in the transportation, energy and building sector as well as research and urban planning institutes allowed the participants to view the respective concepts from different angles. By talking to civil society initiatives, responsible politicians and consultants, they gained insights in the background, implementation and current progress of the projects.

In order to examine the complex development of Chinese cities with an interdisciplinary approach, the participants formed five working groups concerned with the topics built environment, urban infrastructure, policy, economy/finance and technology. During the study trip, the groups dealt with specific questions of their topic and explained their findings in a report. The results will be summarised as recommendations for future urban planning.

Hong Kong was the first station of the study trip. Due to its special political status, the Special Administrative Region faces many opportunities to implement sustainable political agendas on its own behalf. An integrative concept for a climate friendly development till 2030 is the current basis for urban planning in the city. The programme encompassed sight visits and talks at numerous urban institutions: a public zero emissions building, the airport of Hong Kong, the urban weather observatory, a coal fired power plant, a solar power park and a research centre for renewable energies. A meeting with Ms Dr Christine Loh, the former Secretary for the Environment of the Hong Kong government, rounded up the programme.

On the last day in Hong Kong, the students were given the opportunity to deal in a creative manner with the concepts of a car-free city. In a distinct workshop co-organised by an Italian professor of design at the Tongji University Shanghai, the participants designed collages illustrating their thoughts and ideas of sustainable urban development. A detailed report about this event is available.

The following part of the study trip constituted a stark contrast the experiences in Hong Kong. The neighbour city Shenzhen is controlled by the central government of Beijing, but it has inherited a lot from the former economic dynamics of Hong Kong. Recently, Shenzhen is also setting new benchmarks in urban planning innovations. The most prestigious project is an urban quarter which was newly built in accordance with ecological findings – the “Low Carbon City“. The young city was also the first pilot project for the Chinese emission trading scheme. Besides the China Emission Exchange, the participants also had a talk at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The study trip went beyond Southeast China on its next station at Wuhan in Central China. The metropolis is already bothered by the changing water level and the noxious pollution of the Yangtze river. Wuhan University organised a multi-faceted programme at the institutes of environmental law, energy economics and new energy.

The final destination of the study trip again was in the south-eastern part of China. In Guangzhou, the centre of the Pearl River delta, the participants had the opportunity to visit the 12th China Urban Housing Conference. The event brought together experts and students of urban planning disciplines to discuss recent trends of an integrative, socially and ecologically oriented urban development. On a local excursion, the participants visited a skyscraper featuring the latest developments of energy technology as well as an old city quarter which has been renovated to become climate friendly. The study trip was concluded by a workshop in which the five thematic groups presented their findings to each other and discussed their impressions.