Zhang Speaks on USGBC Sustainable Planning Panel
In late December, co-director of Sasaki’s Shanghai office, Dou Zhang, ASLA, SITES AP, attended “Involve & Evolve” Urban Sustainable Planning Panel hosted by USGBC in Shanghai. With 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the background, USGBC invited Zhang as an expert in sustainable planning and design to share her rich practice experience.
Zhang employed Luohu Streetscape Renovation as an example of how landscape can contribute in the urban renewal process. She states that through systematic thinking, design can be a good influence on decisions. In the context of sustainable planning, landscape design should have a flexible framework to accommodate future changing needs. The process, Zhang suggests, should start with a blueprint and collaborate with multiple government agencies.
This project aims at systematically improving the city image, in order to align the urban renewal effort with the positioning of Luohu district, to improve the spatial quality and experience of public realm, and to celebrate Shenzhen’s identity as the first special economic zone.
In response to the adaptability and impact of SITES system on landscape design in China, and the integration with “sponge city” technology system, Zhang shared experience with the Xuhui Runway Park project to explore how many aspects of sustainable design solutions balance among aesthetics, practicality, and economy.
Xuhui Runway Park, a notable adaptive reuse project in Shanghai, kicked off in 2016. Two segments were recently completed, from Longlan Road to Fenggu Road, and from Longyao Road to South Langshui Road.
Together with Zhang, Lingling Gong, representative of the first LEED ND Pt certificated project in Asia, Shanghai EXPO Urban Best Practice Area, and Yinying Zhou, associate director of urban design at SOM, also shared their opinion and vision on sustainable design.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly: “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
