China's New 'Forest City' Will Make You Rethink Urban Cities
Source: Forbes on June 30, 2017
When China decides to do something, the country can be incredibly agile and quick in implementation. One example is the construction of a "Forest City" that pushes the boundaries of sustainable urban planning and development, a concept the EPA should certainly take a look at.
The Chinese government has broken ground on this Forest City with the ambitious plan to have it fully completed by 2020, an urban development that will be covered in plants and solar panels. The city will sit along the Liujiang River in the mountainous region of Guangxi in southern China.
The design is the brainchild of Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA), an Italian architectural agency known for environmentally focused urban designs. A key premise for this Forest City will be to fight air pollution that has engulfed many of China's metropolitan areas and remains a critical health threat to the Chinese people.
The city will include typical buildings such as schools, offices, hotels, hospitals, and homes of course. Albeit, these will all be covered in thousands of trees and plants of various species.
Below are some key statistics about the city, including its ability to scrub the air of CO2 and pollutants and release oxygen. As the city ages and trees become older they will only absorb more CO2 and become more effective. A single adult tree can absorb 48 pounds of CO2 and about 260 pounds of oxygen per year. This is because trees, opposite to humans, take in CO2 and release oxygen during photosynthesis.
- 10,000 tons of CO2 absorption per year
- 57 tons of pollutant absorption per year
- 900 tons of oxygen produced per year
- 30,000 inhabitants
- 40,000 tress within the city
- 1 million plants and over 100 species within the city