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Green and Smart (4) – Chengdu’s Yulin District: A District of Small Blocks

Permalink to Green and Smart (4) – Chengdu’s Yulin District: A District of Small Blocks

Neighborhoods comprising small blocks will be important to promoting the diversity and organic nature of China’s cities in the future. Chengdu’s Yulin was developed spontaneously as a neighborhood made up of small blocks. The neighborhood hosts a variety of businesses, services, and community activities, and is a successful example of using small blocks to create economic vibrancy in a Chinese neighborhood.

Why China’s new urbanization guidelines are a major milestone for urban sustainability

Permalink to Why China’s new urbanization guidelines are a major milestone for urban sustainability

Last week, China’s State Council released a new set of guidelines for strengthening urban planning and development. As the world’s most populous nation, China’s urban development will set the tone as urban populations continue to grow worldwide.

Green and Smart (3) – Why Walkability is Critical to Urban Sustainability in China

Permalink to Green and Smart (3) – Why Walkability is Critical to Urban Sustainability in China

From massive superblocks to seemingly infinite series of ring roads, Chinese cities have increasingly been designed to serve cars. The trend is leaving its mark: congestion clogs streets and smog spews from ubiquitous cars, putting urbanites in an all too literal chokehold. One of the things falling apart, in the wake of this gasoline gyre, is something far less conspicuous than car culture, yet critical to China’s future: walkability.

A Visual Tour of Sustainable Urban Design Principles

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Developers and local governments can establish a new pattern for sustainable cities in China. The scale and speed of China’s urbanization is unprecedented – whether the country’s urbanization proceeds sustainably will critically impact the world’s efforts to mitigate climate change.

Trending Topics – Four Reasons Why 2016 is the Year of the Wholesale Power Market

Permalink to Trending Topics – Four Reasons Why 2016 is the Year of the Wholesale Power Market

Electricity from competitive wholesale power markets keeps the lights on for two-thirds of all Americans, but things may be about to change – for the better. Four factors will make 2016 a turning point for policymakers, clean energy providers, and wholesale market operators to work together and modernize America’s regulated wholesale power markets.

Green and Smart (2) – How to Learn From our Mistakes: Save Your Cities From Cars

Permalink to Green and Smart (2) – How to Learn From our Mistakes: Save Your Cities From Cars

China’s urbanization offers incredible promise, but stronger action is needed to implement the goal of “building cities for people” for it to truly succeed. California and the United States have learned firsthand the high cost of building cities around cars. It’s not too late for China to avoid making these same mistakes.

Trending Topics – After Paris, The State of America’s Electricity Sector Emissions

Permalink to Trending Topics – After Paris, The State of America’s Electricity Sector Emissions

With the Paris talks just ending and policymakers thinking about how to meet national commitments, it is a useful time to review the current status of U.S. power sector emissions and energy trends shaping the next decade.

Green and Smart (1) – Discussing Green and Smart Cities

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China Development Bank Capital, Energy Innovation, and the Energy Foundation have released the Green and Smart Guidelines for Urban Development. This series looks more closely at the issues related to sustainable urban development in China.

Paris and beyond: Next steps to a low-carbon future

Permalink to Paris and beyond: Next steps to a low-carbon future

Now that the Paris conference on climate change has wrapped up, it is an ideal moment to take stock: Can we land the world on a reasonable climate future? What is required to do so?

Trending Topics – Performance Management Ideas for Public Power

Permalink to Trending Topics – Performance Management Ideas for Public Power

Market forces are precipitously changing the role of utilities. Private companies are offering customers more choices and control over their electricity through energy efficient products and services, demand management, self-generation like rooftop solar, smart electric vehicle chargers, and on-site storage. At the same time, the role of utility-scale wind and solar is growing, as costs have plummeted since 2010.