Cities and Infrastructure
Transition in China

With the annual rainfall 1200-1500 mm and the majority falls in spring and summer, the city of Changde faces the severe risk of urban inland flood and its intensity goes even worse when climate scenarios show more fluctuating in precipitation. Meanwhile, with the rapid progress in urbanization and industrialization, urban rivers turned to muddy and smelly with the surface overflowing with cyanobacteria. In the purpose of updating city infrastructure to be as flexible as a sponge in adapting to environmental changes and inland flood risk, as well as addressing the urban river pollution issues, sponge city has been strategized as a key measure to deal with water problem and as a core urban adaptation approach.

In the Outline of the 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China, issued in 2010, it was the first time that addressing climate change was established as a separate chapter, putting forward the strategic requirements for enhancing capacity for climate change and considering impacts of climate change in planning and urban construction.

Beijing’s sustainable landscape further expanded by the end of 2020: The Liangma River area in Chaoyang district was renewed by the Danish planning bureau NordiQ. The river crosses Beijing’s core area with a total length of almost 6 kilometres. Before its renovation, Liangma river was heavily polluted and the surrounding

As the urbanization rate in China reaches around 60% and quality becomes priority for people living in urban areas, the theme of this year is renewal and inheritance—new paradigm of urbanization. Some speakers include:  Mr. Thomas Kraubitz mainly talked about urban renewal policy in Germany