Chapter 1: Introduction
1.3 Methodology
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This work does not judge whether or not either one of the construction concepts is inferior towards the other one but rather focusses on the question why the Chinese prefer to develop these construction projects and build whole new cities and why this concept is more visible in China than in other regions of the world.
1.3 Methodology
Recent studies on ecological cities in China have one thing in common; they mainly present the eco-city’s possible future perspective and result. Introducing and comparing cities’ improvement towards their current situation of city development in China. The question of whether the development of an eco-city from scratch is a sustainable development itself is not an issue. Research on eco-cities should put more emphasis on the eco-cities’ development and its clout on socio-economic and ecological environment.
The purpose of the study is to evaluating the likeliness and feasibility of the planning, construction and implementation process of the Tianjin Eco-city and to comprehend why the city is developed at the current location in China.
Why are the SSTEC and its concept more likely to be implemented and constructed in the People’s Republic of China than in the Western hemisphere?
In order to get a better overview of this project and it’s feasibility it is necessary to define variables which are helpful for the analysis of the research. The dependent variable should indicate the feasibility of the development of the SSTEC as a whole new city in China.
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There might be many different factors and aspects which are influencing or could influence the feasible outcome of the development of the eco-city, so it might be possible to select several different influential coefficients. Yet the research is just concentrating on some of them to get a more clear and detailed overview instead of a broad perspective which may address more different aspects but probably less specific and supportive content.
This study will describe the terminology of Chinese state capitalism and its specific characteristics and influence and foster the development of the Tianjin Eco-City. With support of the (unique) available possibilities and measurements the Chinese authorities can draw on the mechanism of defining necessary ecological standards and targets by themselves. If needed it is possible to alter and stretch requirements in either one direction: in order to improve the standards and set higher target objectives or to reduce and adjust and achieve conditions which are more appropriate, feasible and comply with Chinese circumstances.
The analysis of the used indicators in the eco-city might give a clearer view of whether or not the used indicators for the eco-city are comparable on a national and international level and their possible influence on further research and development in the section of sustainable development. Furthermore another variable may be represented by the involvement process of the citizens in the eco-city and by ascertaining in how far this development might represent a pioneer project in this field of cooperation in China.
This kind of integration process especially by including and involving citizen and possibly other (independent) actors could raise the opportunity to revisit certain weaknesses and enhance strong points in the construction process of the
eco-‧
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city17. Such an integrated approach may help to prevent critical detriment towards socio-economic aspects and the environment, support to classify and dissect the trajectories and lead to problem-solving measurements in a very early stage.
Figure 1 Methodology Scheme
Source: Author’s Creation
The inquiries which were conducted in the eco-city should reflect and provide an overview about the current situation. However they are able to present a perspective which differs from the data and information which is provided from official side and often only reflects perspectives of a finished construction and definitely is not represent the actual situation on site.
Due to the fact that the detailed questionnaire which was originally planned would have needed the authorization and permission of some administrative bodies in the eco-city and possibly might have been declined, I decided to do a rather simplified version of questions to ask the citizens in the city about their impression and opinions towards the eco-city.
17 Baeumler, Axel et al., Ed. Sustainable Low-Carbon City Development in China. The World Bank, 2012, ix.
van Dijk, M.P. “Chinese eco-cities, an integrated sectoral approach or an eco-cities approach?” Sixth Urban Research Symposium, 2012, 1-5.
Miller, Donald, and Gert d. Roo. Integrating city planning and environmental improvement: Practicable strategies for sustainable urban development. 2nd ed. Urban planning and environment. Aldershot, Hants, England, Brookfield, Vt: Ashgate, 2004.
Feasibility
Indicator System State Capitalism
Integration
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A total amount of 50 participants were questioned for this survey. I’m aware of the fact that the answers of the participants are only able to represent their subjective view of the eco-city and its development and therefore only vaguely serve as a representative survey for the whole eco-city. Nonetheless it makes it possible to observe some tendencies and interesting points of view of the project, which might be regarded as an evaluation of the on-site situation and circumstances of living in the Tianjin Eco-city at the time of August 2013.
It should be mentioned that both inquiries by the staff at the Office for Environmental Affairs, the districts and other working facilities and citizens who are working and living in the eco-city were handled with care and precaution.
Several questioned persons were asking me if these inquiries would serve as an interview and survey. If that were the case they would decline to answer or even mentioned to call the manager or other person responsible in dealing with an interrogator or this particular situation. This behavior is in consistent with some of the facts which will be mentioned later by referring to limitations of the study.
To obtain and gather information or doing an official survey by any institution always necessitates backup and authorization. The on the spot behavior suggests that it is not advisable for those people to give statements or interviews or even answer surveys. To contravene and act contrary to those probably unofficial “directives” might cause personal problems for both the respondent and the interrogator. The following explanation of the asked questions verifies that the inquiries to residents on the spot were made on a non-political basis which wouldn’t cause any problems.
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The participants were asked five different questions which were designed to cover essential factors of their living experience in the city. The first question should give some indication of the purpose of living and settling in the eco-city.
Second, since when had the person moved into their residence? Next up was questioning whether or not there was scope for further improvements and what could be enhanced or optimized in order to guarantee the best possible outcome for the eco-city. The fourth question should clarify whether it would be possible for the residents to express their concerns and if they have the opportunity to raise questions and put forward their opinions. At the time of the survey the living situations and actual amount of permanent residents in the eco-city was unclear, that was one of the reasons to include the fifth question.
The purpose of the last question was to find out whether or not the residential complex was adequately occupied and inhabited, which could provide information of the living and real estate situation in the eco-city at that time.
Some might argue that the last question is rather irrelevant in order to obtain a valid objective view and opinion about the Tianjin Eco-city, but due to the fact that it wasn’t possible to obtain current information about the housing occupancy in the eco-city it is interesting to see the housing situation from actual residents’ point of view instead of someone who is just stating data, especially due to the fact that several media reports are stating different numbers of residents which are not compatible with information provided in an self-conducted inquiry.
Particularly when discussing the possibilities of scalable and exportable functionality beyond the Chinese boarders it might be an interesting approach.
A successfully implementation of a grassroots participation or involvement of
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residents participation could drastically improve the prestige and possibilities for other cities or regions to adopt the Tianjin Eco-City’s concept, implementation methods and acknowledging the expertise and evolvement of the project.
1.3.1 Timeframe
The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City is a project which is still under construction and just small parts of the whole city have been finished so far. The construction of the so-called start-up area has been completed whereas the Eco-Business Park only partly has been built yet. Even though the rest of the eco-city is not finished yet, it is still possible to analyze the current process and make predictions at the present stage. The construction of the city is organized in three development phases, of which solely the first phase has been completed yet. As for now, the planned timeframe and calculations have been respected. Nonetheless, further research is necessary in order to make sure the strict planning and development conditions will be kept.
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