China's "Great City"

China is working on building a car-free city, estimated to be completed in about eight years and housing around 80,000 people. Is the a glimpse at what the future of urban development may be?

While I do think working towards a cleaner urban environment is a good idea, I think that I would really miss having a car to drive around in if I lived in a city such as this. To many people, especially those like me that live in rural areas, a car gives a feeling a freedom that isn't easily matched.

Would you want to live in a city like this, and give up your car? I know that many people who live in large cities don't own a car, but to me it's almost inconcievable to live without one.

www.greendump.net...

Altering most of today’s cities to eliminate cars altogether would be a daunting, if not impossible, proposition – which is why China is starting from scratch. Great City will be built around a high-rise core housing 80,000 people, entirely walkable, and surrounded by green space.

Planned for a rural area outside Chengdu, the high-density Great City will give residents access to a ‘buffer area’ of gardens and greenery making up 60% of the total area of the city. Walking from the center of the city to the green spaces takes just ten minutes, and other nearby urban centers will be accessible by a mass transit system.

Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture say the city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a more conventional city of the same size; it will also produce 89% less landfill waste and generate 60% less carbon dioxide.

www.dezeen.com...

When completed in about eight years, Great City will be home to about 30,000 families totaling 80,000 people, many of whom will also have opportunities to work within the development. The distance from any location in the city to any other location will be walkable within about 15 minutes, all but eliminating the need for most automobiles. The city will also be connected to Chengdu and surrounding areas via mass transit to be accessed at a regional transit hub at the Great City center.

reply to post by isyeye


Looks like the city in the movie "Equilibrium"

I would not give up my car.

I would not live in a city that was so tightly compact.... What if someone farted... Seriously.....

I do not currently live downtown anywhere because of the compact nature of the beast....

We beat China to it... Come to Chicago anyone living downtown most likely gave up there car.

reply to post by isyeye


I think it is a great idea for China right now. Their problems with smog over there definitely needs to be quickly addressed.

Would I live there? No. I had crowds and people walking too slow in front of me. If and when the US ends up as crowded and dirty as China, I'd like to see some of these cities in the works.

My concern would be food supply though. Maybe incorporate plenty of vertical farms for each housing building that can feed it's occupants.

Cool read thanks!

What about the empty cities they have now?
Shouldn't something be there first ? I think I smell a rat

reply to post by cody599


Hide the cheese!

Would cut smog and that, but how would you move all your furniture and stuff when you moved in / out?

Or if you have heavy items you need to get to your home for whatever reason, there'd be problems like that, unless they allow lorries in and out, but that would defeat the object.

reply to post by isyeye


My very first thought on reading your post - great way to completely control an entire population. Take away their cars and you take away the individual right to travel when it suits the person - so everyone travels on government transport which is tightly controlled.

Smell a rat - one poster stated - that is an understatement. China where babies are thrown out with the garbage and a recent description of China by a local - it's very dirty and they spit everywhere!!! Sounds like the government need to tidy up their affairs - well - building a city to completely control the lives of Chinese people is not the answer. Controlling people is never the answer only the path to a never ending supply of problems. Just look at poor Mother Earth and her enslaved People!!!

Much Peace...