Construction and architecture have a strong impact on the quality of our lives. This principle is even more evident when we reclaim and restore an area that was previously abandoned and decayed.
Let’s consider Chanba’s case, in the Shansi Province, China. It was a degraded place surrounded by the waste made by generations. Its soil was one of many victims of the fast and irrepressible Chinese economic advancement. Today this very area is undergoing a radical change, supported by the Chinese government, which nowadays needs these cases to bare witness to their new global leadership in green economy and sustainable development.
As recently set by Berlin urban develop plans, the reconversion of abandoned urban areas with green and clean approach is possible. In Chanba the planners wanted to create a perfect symbiosis between man, urban area, water and public and private green areas. After cleaning up the area and removing all types of waste, the project started by focusing on the relation between the city and the rivers Chan and Ba, touching the area.
Sustainable construction in degraded areas
In 2004 the Municipal Committee and the local administration of Xi’an took measures to improve the environmental context of Chanba area establishing the Committee for the construction, enhancement and management of Chanba, specifically aimed at managing the rivers Chan and Ba. It was then possible to combine the ecological criteria within the construction of an industrial area.
Today the ecological district of Chanba is a livable and suitable place to start a new business, thanks to all the new infrastructures and the productive spaces. It also has become a modern region with green areas, quoted as best practice in the field of green development.
The ecological area of Chanba is an example for a sustainable future, where the key word has been ‘conversion’. A building model of sustainable development has been shaped by managing all urban construction activities from the environmental focus.
A sustainable future
Looking down from the Chang’an Pagoda you can admire the park of the International Exhibition of Horticulture in Xi’an, a gorgeous landscape made up of rows of colorful trees and pools of water. After 13 years, the area of Chanba has been transformed into one main chinese trend for ecological areas, characterized by an harmonious symbiosis between man, water and nature. An example for the Chinese path to sustainability, which interests us even more because China seems the new global superpower interested in committing itself to the health of its citizens, and indirectly the world’s. For this reason, inquiring about the Chinese issues on sustainability seems more and more a duty, instead of a curiosity.