Green Infrastructure in Chinese Cities

Book excerpt: Since 2014, and the start of the New-type Urbanization Plan (NUP), we see a turning point in the sustainability agenda of China. One of the main indicators is greening cities and the built environments, which will be covered holistically in this edited book. From the perspective of green infrastructure, in particular, the book approaches key areas of ‘forest city development’, ‘sponge city program’, ‘green roofing’, ‘nature-based solutions’, ‘urban farming’, ‘eco-city development’, etc. This is the first time that such important areas of research come together under the perspective of green Infrastructure. The results would be beneficial to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in China and across the globe. The comprehensive set of findings from this book will benefit other countries, as we aim to highlight some of the best practices of the current age. The main aim of the book is to put together an excellent group of scholars and practitioners from the field, focusing on the topic of ‘Green Infrastructure in Chinese Cities’. In doing so, we aim to cover some of the key ‘best practices’ for sustainable urbanism. Divided into four parts, the book covers four key areas of (1) Policy Interventions, (2) Planning Innovation, (3) Design Solutions, and (4) Technical Integration. In doing so, we cover an array of best practices related to green infrastructures of various types and their impacts on cities and communities in China. We expect the book to be a valuable resource for researchers in the areas of sustainability, urbanism, urban planning, urban geography, urban design, geographical sciences, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, and urban ecology. The book covers essential factors such as policy, regulations, and programs (in Part 1), planning paradigms and their impacts on urban development (in Part 2), integrated design solutions that suggest sustainable urbanization progression (in Part 3), and technical knowledge that would be utilized for the future development of green infrastructure practices in China and beyond. Lastly, this edited book aims to provide a collaborative opportunity for experts and researchers of the field, who could contribute to the future pathways of sustainable urbanization of China. Lessons extracted from these contributions could be utilized for other contexts, which will benefit a wider group of stakeholders.