Roundtable Discussion: Assessing China’s Eco-cities

Roundtable discussion with Professor Cunkuan BAO, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Fudan University - one of China’s leading authorities on eco-cities. The meeting is an extra-ordinary opportunity for practitioners and academics working in the field of eco-cities to familiarise themselves with the latest policy developments and challenges facing eco-cities in China.

The Chinese government has made eco-cities a prominent component in its search for sustainable solutions to China’s rapid urbanization. Eco-cities are found across the country and promise to deliver convenient living conditions, low carbon footprints and a renewable energy revolution. While some projects have been quite successful, many others do not deliver on their promises. Besides, the question of definition is also contested. There is a lack of national guidelines that define what is an eco-city, what does it mean and how should it be regulated? The lecture will address the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of these developments and look into future prospects and offer insights into how city authorities in China work with planning and who are doing what.

Professor Cunkuan BAO from Fudan University in Shanghai is one of China’s leading authorities on eco-cities and has more than 15 years of experience with eco-city planning and strategic environmental assessment for urban development programs in China.

Moderator: Jørgen Delman, Professor, Department of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies, UCPH

Practicalities
The meeting is open to university researchers, participants from the private and public sector as well as students.

Organisers
ThinkChina.dk Working Group on Green Growth and Fudan-European Centre for China Studies, University of Copenhagen