China has unveiled a new model for a city that can be economically successful while also being both environmentally friendly and good for public health.
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The model will be tested in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, with the goal of demonstrating excellence in achieving harmony across a spectrum of fundamental human and societal needs.
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The regional project is aimed at forestalling potential "city ills" as China undergoes rapid urbanization - a process, experts say, that brings both merits such as new growth and nuisances such as ruthless power consumption, pollution and property bubbles.
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The task is being undertaken by city government in Zhenjiang, a city measuring 220 square kilometers and housing about a million residents.
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"Principles of environmental protection, people's health improvement and resource and energy conservation will be upheld during planning and construction to establish a new type of city," said Professor Zhou Muzhi of Tokyo Keizai University.
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Zhou led an international team of designers - more than 50 urban planning experts from China, Japan and Europe.
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Plans include a streetcar network for mainstream transportation and large natural areas for ecological diversity. About 65 percent of the Zhenjiang's land area will be preserved as farmland, water and greenbelt.
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Moreover, a city energy management system will be integrated to help with power conservation.
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Noted Italian architect Mario Bellini, who is a member of the design team, said the new city will feature five island-like modules surrounded by farmland, water and greenbelt to facilitate residents' comfort, health and work.
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A medical cluster will be developed in the city as an economic engine.
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According to Zhou, construction will be in stages and is expected to be completed by 2030.
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"Ecological civilization will be supplemented by the high-end medical and healthcare industry from Japan and will attract related investment," Zhu Xiaoming, mayor of Zhenjiang, said.
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The medical cluster will include large specialty hospitals, medical research academies, medical education institutions and supplementary infrastructures such as hotels, according to Yoshinori Yokoyama, a noted social systems architect in Japan who is one of the project designers.
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He said that the medical cluster, coupled with sound policy and a firm financial foundation, could be a positive influence on the delivery of healthcare services as well as cost control.
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Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said recently urban planning was an important element in improving public health.
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The Chinese public has begun to pay more attention to environment and health issues, he noted, citing results from a recent nationwide survey. The survey, conducted by the commission, found that health awareness among the Chinese people had steadily improved in recent years, as had access to medical services in a country whose medical reform is ongoing.
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But a gap still existed between the rural and urban population, he said.