Green City Vision, Strategy, and Planning

Abstract

Nineteenth century, the City Beautiful Movement, known as the “white movement,” contributed to the urban design system and attached importance to the cityscape. At the end of the twentieth century, the “green movement” became popular and urban development. More and more countries now attach importance to the planning issues of ecological and livable cities. Under the vision of the “green movement,” a lot of similar urban development being discussed, such as sustainable development, environmental coexistence, sustainable cities, compact cities, healthy cities, quality of life, intermediate cities, eco-cities, shan-shui cities, and so on. The thinking of green city planning were integrated into these series of developmental strategies. An ideal green city is aimed to achieve via the vision, strategy and planning, based on ecological environment approach.In this chapter, the concept of green city and the theories of developmental strategies are discussed, and the policy of promoting a green city is expounded.

1 Introduction

1.1 Background and Motivations

The “green city” concept emerged in the 1970s, developed rapidly, and became an important concept of urban development. The philosophy of the green city existed in many planning theories, such as Chinese garden design, garden city theory, urban park theory, urban ecology, and so on. In the early twentieth century, the trend of centralization and decentralization for city greening were all based on green objectives, implied green ideas to improve the living urban design theory including greenbelts of garden city, green cores of neighborhood units, green network city designs, etc. In the late twentieth century, many new urban design theories emerged. With the growing recognition of the environmental crisis in the 1970s and of climate change in the 1990s, environment awareness, the concepts of sustainable cities, healthy cities, compact cities, and ecological cities evolved gradually and then gave birth to the concept of the green city, revealing a new beginning in urban design theory. Green city planning and design is one solution to the global warming phenomenon (Wikantiyoso and Tutuko 2013).

Concepts such as the “garden city,” “new town,” and “techno-city,” which occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, are some of the major representatives (Joss 2011; Zou and Li 2014). Later, “climate-neutral city,” “low-carbon city,” “smart city,” and “sustainable city” can also be considered as sister terms of the “eco-city” (Register 1987), which covers various notions and approaches to sustainable urbanism, rather than a conceptually coherent and practically uniform phenomenon (Joss 2012; Zou and Li 2014).

“Green city” is a new term; so far, there is no universally accepted definition, and no clear concept of it is recognized. Many scholars have studied and defined the green city from different viewpoints. Some have devised their own indicators to express the green city. Various scholars have believed that the green city is essentially human civilization and the nature of the earth. Some have believed that the green city is equivalent to the garden city, ecological city, sustainable development city, or forest city, but with different language expression. Many other scholars have supposed that a balanced social, economic, and environmental system may be called a green city.

1.2 Definition of a Green City

The city is a place characterized by its social, environmental, and economic system, and a specific function or administrative region forming patterns of human settlement, population, structure, and characteristics of artificial activities (OECD and China Development Research Foundation 2010). The city is not only a man-made environment. Parks, gardens, trees, and other green spaces are integrated parts of the city environment. Green spaces represent far more than simply an effort to balance the manufactured with the natural. Greening the city is one of the most direct definitions of the green city. However, the green city is not just greening of a city; “green” contains a deeper meaning and refers to a comprehensive design method, innovation, and renovation, to minimize the impact on the environment.

The United Nations Environment Program (2011) defines the green city from the perspective of urban development and environmental quality. A green city is defined as an environmentally friendly city that is represented by environmental performance indicators (Meadows 1999). Other indicators are diversified housing, a public transportation system, human-oriented traffic, an ecological footprint, etc. (Ewing et al. 2010). The definition of green cities through environmental quality performance does not mean ignoring social justice. In fact, a greener living environment can promote more equitable treatment of a city’s residents. There is no universal solution that could be applied to every city in any country. Adaptable, responsive, and innovative solutions that differ from one place to another enable green cities to emerge in various guises and recognize the variation and dynamism of cities (Asian Development Bank 2015).

A green city is a healthy city full of green and vital spaces, while also being a people-oriented and livable city. On the other hand, it is a cultural city with its own characteristics and style, and a city with sustainable development of its environment, economy, and society. Planning the future of the city with the green development concept, improving the urban ecological environment, and enhancing people’s well-being will be the inevitable trend of urban development. Therefore, the green city should be planned according to local conditions, combined with local resources and climate characteristics to actively promote greening and beautification, and to build the natural beauty and ecology of the city. In addition, we should actively develop urban forests, protect rivers and wetlands, improve the natural and ecological functions of the city, and enhance the comprehensive carrying capacity of urban ecology. The green city should pay attention to city pollution control, advocate energy saving and carbon reduction, develop low-carbon industry, and encourage green transport. Cities should promote green ideas, protect the earth’s ecosystem, and jointly create a better green future.

Even a city that is completely filled with green buildings cannot a green city. An ecological, low-carbon, and livable green city should facilitate green, low-carbon construction, applying reasonable patterns of urbanization and minimizing resource consumption. One of the key contents of a green city is alleviation of traffic pressure, which requires residential areas and business areas with mixed living and functions. Meanwhile, the concept gives a lot of weight to technology in the pursuit of a green, energy saving, carbon reducing, and healthy living style. To achieve a green city, overwhelming control of all pollution and highly efficient use of resources, as well as friendly communication between people and nature, are indicated.

2 Construction of a Green City

2.1 Conceptual Development

The world now is facing climate change, while the human life system has exceeded the load capacity of the earth. A considerable number of serious challenges have been raised for the foundation that the civilization of all human kind intends to maintain. Instead of timid gradual efforts, the best strategy for each city should be construction of a new era of the green city through transformation of the global challenge into future opportunities, coupled with the efforts of governments and the public, with a macro vision.

The green city, which is not easily achieved, needs to experience a series of gradual changes, which can be divided into three stages: nature resource conservation, renewability, and organic restoration. The ultimate goal is to transform the city into a restorative, organic, and green city.

The first stage is nature resource conservation, which means that city assets are saved, maintained, and used with efficiency. Resource recycling is dependent on reducing importation of energy and resources. The city itself is an efficient machine, which maximizes the performance of each city asset and decreases the overdraft of production. The city economy is constructed based on economic strategies that can advance ecological benefit, green industrial technology, ecological conservation, carbon reduction, alternative energy, and green buildings. For instance, carbon reduction and ecological systems could contribute to ecological resources in the future. For the long-term future of the city, it is essential to conserve the forests and preserve the water environment. The development strategy of the city is to preserve the local environmental assets and strategically invest in the emerging green industry. Urban planning must carefully consider stable supply of energy and food, reduce community costs, and strengthen neighborhood service facilities.

The second stage is renewability. A green and ecological city is eco-effective. The city’s energy primarily comes from renewable energy sources, and other natural resources follow a process of an economical closed cycle. Organic city gardens are vital to deploy reusable resources and make use of unused resources. All waste will become materials for other resources, realizing zero waste in the city. This solution for the twenty-first century is constructed on the systematic science of ecological industry, green buildings, green public facilities, and green urban design. The ecological strategies of open space, meanwhile, address the management of storm water and water resources. The entity of a city is a complete community comprising several regional centers and certain neighboring areas. This kind of city focuses on ecological interests and zero waste for the benefit of various city assets through gradual improvement of products and creation of additional ones in the production process. A city should decrease its carbon footprint and reuse water resources, as well as local reusable resources, to fulfill its energy demands. The financial resource of a city mainly depends on local development, economic strategies, and export of techniques and experience, demonstrating local and strategic investment. Community pays attention to sustainable learning and applies systematic science in all kinds of fields, such as government, the private sector, the academic sector, and nongovernmental organizations. The city—itself a living laboratory—serves as a learning center for eco-cities, leading the practice of green renewability.

The third stage is organic restoration. In this stage, a green city aims to recycle the organic environmental system and is dedicated to supporting itself with energy received from the sun, wind, and water, geothermal energy, and natural resources. The city becomes just as alive as a tree, which is supported by local resources. Relevant science and technology creatively offer lifestyle and organic solutions. The entity of the city is represented by a series of communities of different scales, from the local community scale to the global scale. This city must take full advantage of ecology in production processes for the ultimate achievement of improving its ecological performance and human life, as well as benefiting from city assets.

A city can gradually transform itself into an organic green city through natural resource conservation, renewability, and organic restoration.

2.2 Vision

Amid the rush of the green movement, six themes are focused on in discussions and policies worldwide: (1) green and natural resource waste management, natural resource restoration and management, air quality, etc.; (2) water resource and river basin management, climate change, etc.; (3) public construction and green transportation, etc.; (4) human education in urban development and management, etc.; (5) energy saving, use of renewable resources, green buildings, etc.; and (6) international information and international cooperation, etc.

The author proposed strategies and actions according to the above topics, with th consideration of city characteristics and requirements to resolve problems simultaneously. (1) city greening: to conserve the nature, to improve the city coverage, and to develop city agriculture; (2) green water: for the purpose of city storm water management, a low-impact development (LID) is recommended to improve permeability and water, create a water-friendly environment, and strengthen the attraction of water storage; (3) green transportation: to replace the vehicles with advanced public transportation systems, pedestrian systems, and cycle-friendly systems; (4) green block: ecological blocks and environmental awareness. (5) green energy to reduce emission of greenhouse gases in daily life and improve air quality; (6) green information and communications technology (ICT) to promote beneficial application of the internet and digitization according to international standards.

3 Development Strategies for a Green City

3.1 City Greening

City greening refers to green spatial networks (Benedict and McMahon 2001) with multiple functions, which are beneficial to improve the quality of natural and architectural environments. It covers connected networks constituted by natural green spaces (forests, natural resource zones, conservation zones, etc.), artificially managed green land (city parks, green land, water storage, and historical landscape design), and connecting spaces (pedestrian streets, cycle paths, green corridors, and waterways). Greenbelts have been designated to contain expansion and engender more compact growth (Ma and Jin 2014). City greening should be involved on all space scales from the city center to rural areas. The planning of green infrastructure provides, conserves, and connects these green spatial networks to further link the strategy planning for rivers, forests, natural conservation zones, city green land, and historical remains, achieving a network of green land and green corridors with a diversity of landscapes and ecology. (Chris Blandford Associates 2007).

3.1.1 Optimize Forest Resources

The existing natural resources, green systems, and other green infrastructure are optimized to avoid loss of the original ecological function of the existing green resources, caused by urbanization and expansion. From the city-forming perspective, the substance of urban design actually involves three main elements: natural environmental factors, artificial environmental factors, and nonphysical environmental factors (Wikantiyoso and Tutuko 2013). Regulations, action plans, and management strategies are therefore established to further solidify, strengthen, and maintain the vitality of urban nature plots and to optimize natural resources and ecological performance. The specific points are: (1) maintenance of natural green resources: to define and control the division and management of natural green resources, green resource conservation, and sensitive areas, with increased city afforestation and protection of original forests, and establishment of forests, rivers, coastal areas, and windbreak forests; (2) establishment of urban growth boundaries (UGBs): UGBs, setting up city development restrictions, avoiding violation of environmentally sensitive mountains, and green resources and changes of land use; (3) division and setting-up of green corridors and buffer green belts: to divide, set up, and manage the buffer zones at the city margins, as well as the buffer green belts between ​incompatible land use, to recognize and manage important production and ecological agricultural land, with a series of green corridors and communities and extension of ecological green, ensuring the quality of natural green resource; and (4) conservation of existing ecological corridors and vegetation diversity, to identify and manage key rivers and green corridor buffer zones, ecological corridors, wetlands, and network nodes, and minimum widths of ecological corridors and their connectivity (Chang 2010).

3.1.2 Replenish Green Resources

Vertical and horizontal types of blue and green corridors are coordinated by creation, improvement, and consolidation to achieve artificial development of a green infrastructure. A comprehensive matrix space is created, based on points and lines. Review and transformation of land use further adjustment of idle space and changes of land use. The strategies are as follows: (1) optimization of existing green land in parks to improve the quality and quantity of green land; (2) advancement of green systems development of leveled green spaces in parks and management of leisure, recreational and nature-oriented parks, creation and management, and facilitation of green reserve land for parks; (3) addition of potential green space in the city: addition of green space to schools and to official and public facilities, prioritizing green suggestions for division of agricultural areas into urban–rural development areas; offering to set up citizen farms and community-experience organic farming areas, standardizing landscape management and buffer zones around agricultural areas; (4) transformation of idle land: conducting strategic plans to cooperate idle ground with the green infrastructure system, prioritizing green infrastructure establishment before development, ensuring green development of new land after construction of underground railways; and (5) review and remediation of land use with regard to gray infrastructure: reviewing land use by existing gray infrastructure, incorporating green infrastructure planning into major construction projects; setting up buffer green belts around gray infrastructure, and improving the green coverage and quality of gray infrastructure.

3.1.3 Enlarge the Area of Green-Covered Resources

In the existing city space, gray infrastructure is relocated to enlarge green-covered areas. Green-covered areas are enhanced with regard to the current infrastructure to improve the environmental effectiveness (Chang 2010). The development strategies are as follows: (1) construction of green corridors on city roads: defining roads over 30 m in width as avenues, greening of city freeways without interfering with traffic visibility, and conservation and maintenance of the city’s old trees and characteristic vegetation; (2) urban microclimate environmental regulation: planning of vegetation in the city’s wind-guiding channels, mitigation of heat islands in the community, use of green land plans, and planning of freshwater resources, windbreaks, and vegetation planting; (3) strengthening of the greenery in the surrounding areas of green infrastructure: greening of undeveloped reserve land for public facilities, improvement and establishment of green coverage, ensuring high permeability ratios in open space, and promotion of corner space and community greens; and (4) greening advancement of city buildings: use of green roofs and vertical greening of buildings (platform and walls, etc.), encouraging cooperation between green land plans and water retention (the water cycle), maintenance and management of urban habitats for living things, and improvement of the urban green coverage ratio and green visibility ratio.

3.1.4 Develop City Organic Agriculture

With limitations on the availability of agricultural land in cities, high-rise agriculture is proposed to incorporate green ideas and agricultural production into the city. City leisure agriculture promotes organic farming in the city and healthy organic farming in the surrounding areas. Vertical leisure agricultural building centers can be introduced regionally to allow the experience of farming for fun and achievement. On the community scale, more empty space in schools, which can be transformed into cultivation space for leisure agriculture (Chang 2010). The development of organic agriculture, meanwhile, improves the health and the quality of life and air quality (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2).

Fig. 2.1

Existing urban conditions and development strategies for city greening in Taipei city: (a) existing urban conditions; (b) maintain existing forests; and (c) increase green areas and the green network system in the city (Chang, Hsiao-Tung 2010)

Fig. 2.2

City greening strategies to increase green areas and green corridors in the city (Chang, Hsiao-Tung 2010)

3.2 Green Water

Green water is defined as methods to reduce rainwater runoff and pollutants using LID. LID contributes to water quality with the techniques of permeability, evaporation, and rainwater reuse, avoiding and reducing pollution in rivers, streams, lakes, coastal waters, and groundwater.

During the urbanization process, impervious pavement caused effects on the city environment. Ground runoff and peak flow after pouing rain results urban flooding and waterlogging. The impervious ground coverage ratio has direct influences on ground runoff and changes city flooding and the macroclimate. A decrease in the impervious ground coverage ratio can effectively contribute to reducing city flooding, increasing the groundwater supply, restoring the normal water cycle, and mitigating urban heat island effects (Dietz 2007).

3.2.1 Improve Water Quality and Conserve Water

To improve water utilization in the city, an effective system for the city water cycle, ecological purification methods, and the popularization of sanitary sewers are required.

A high-efficacy city water cycling system is constructed within the city cope with water use and transform city rivers into a hydrophilic space for fishing and fun. With climate change, the reuse of water and rainwater is improved, and water leakage is reduced. Sanitary sewer construction all discharged sewage is treated. In water environments, water quality is purified ecologically with constructed wetlands by natural treatment to achieve double purification, vitality of living things in the water, and activation of the water environment.

3.2.2 Reduce Storm Water and LID of Public Infrastructure

A set of plans is drawn up for ground permeability, water storage, and reuse of storm water, such as rainwater gardens, green streets, green roofs, green highways, permeable pavements, and recycling of rainwater and reused water, etc.

LID development of a permeable city calls for construction of green streets to collect rainwater from roads, bridges, and pedestrian streets, with connection to rainwater gardens (Origin Ltd., Team Orgon 2009) (Figs. 2.3 and 2.4). In particular, ecological tanks are to prevent flooding in low-lying areas, on hillsides, and in marginal and waterlogged areas. On hillsides and in areas, each building site endeavors to improve the permeable area and the water conservation area, as well as the utilities for rainwater, cooperating with water cycle strategies. The effects of rainwater are decreased, and it is discharged into a freshwater river system after purification, which also reduces pollution in the river. In contrast to traditional storm water treatment, which typically only mitigates peak flow rates, the use of LID also helps to maintain the predevelopment runoff volume. Cluster layouts, grass swales, rain gardens or bioretention areas, and pervious pavements all reduce the “effective impervious area” (Booth and Jackson 1997) of the watershed, or the area that is directly connected to the storm water system (Dietz 2007). Implementation of LID principles is a shift (in storm water management) toward volume-based hydrology (VBH), a storm water control approach that focuses on management of storm water volumes. VBH is founded on the premise that reduction of storm water volumes will automatically help to solve other related problems such as pollutant loading, water velocity, peak flow rate, erosion, and sedimentation (Reese 2009).

Fig. 2.3

Development strategies for city green roads

Fig. 2.4

Concept for storm water permeability and storage and reuse facilities

3.2.3 Construct a Hydrophilic Environment

Initially, waterways such as rivers in the city were managed as a resource for human benefit, including water supply, flood mitigation, disposal of wastewater, and minimization of disease (Walsh 2000; Paul and Meyer 2001; Morley and Karr 2002). However, this has led to degradation of their ecological functions—an issue that was initially ignored (Paul and Meyer 2001). Rivers and waterways could be rehabilitated for natural control of city temperatures and implementation of hydrophilic planning.

3.3 Green Transportation

The goal of green transportation is to replace transportation based on fossil fuels.

Energy consumption is dominated by transportation to meet the basic needs of citizens. Transportation could effectively promote the construction of ecological cities with low energy consumption and pollution, which are the key technologies required for transportation in this century. A sophisticated system of public transportation pedestrian and cycling environments to improving quality of life and are also symbols of an advanced city. Green transportation is therefore promoted to enhance public health (Froehlich et al. 2009).

3.3.1 Increase the Utility of Public Transportation

The popularization of public transportation is improved, and private transportation is reduced.

This strategy prioritizes public transportation. Private transportation is reduced once the metro line network and public transportation connection system is perfect, which the return of people-oriented environments and mitigation of air pollution. The ways to achieve this are as follows: (1) plan the extension of bus lanes; (2) promote civic minibuses and provide a “last one mile” service to the community; (3) use buses with a low chassis to conserve energy and make them convenient for senior citizens and vulnerable groups; (4) support the mass rapid transport (MRT) system with buses, increase feeder cars, and shorten the original bus routes to reduce the need for private transportation; (5) develop a whole set of integrated land use and transportation strategies to reduce commuter driving rates and increase the mixture of land use, and provide space to meet people’s basic living needs within a certain distance; (6) it is recommended that automobile users pay for the environmental costs caused by that use—air pollution and traffic jams—through tax or parking fees; and (7) evaluate and charge congestion fees in central areas and assess possibilities and management practices.

3.3.2 Improve Sidewalks and Bike Paths

Sidewalk quantity and quality are improved, and public consciousness of bike transportation is strengthened.

Within neighborhoods, transportation pays attention to safety and comfort, as well as the environment, for biking. After completing the MRT system, public transportation is improved and motorways are reduced, enlarging the areas of sidewalks, sidewalk trees, and biking. The streets are returned to the people, allowing provision of shade and fresh air.

Business activities along the streets are stimulated, and consciousness of walking and biking are increased as steps toward zero-pollution transportation. The ways to achieve this are as follows: (1) sidewalks are renewed and permeable paving surfaces are applied; (2) traffic calming is planned for roads in communities, and the speed limit for automobiles is reduced to encourage people-oriented transportation; (3) prohibit against motor vehicle parking on the arcades and sidewalks to ensure safety and leisure space for walking; (4) road morphology is reviewed and road areas are reduced, with widened sidewalks and increased bike lanes; (5) lines for pedestrian priority are marked in streets surrounding schools and markets with a width of less than 8 meters; and (6) facilities are set up for bike parking, with rental services at MRT stations, schools, and large public facilities for the convenient links with other modes of public transport, and an off-site system of bike returns is planned for all city markets, office areas, stations, schools, etc.

3.4 Green Blocks

Green blocks are intended to achieve a live model of an ecological city vision. Simply speaking, in this kind of settlement, people have access to basic life necessities within a 15-min walking distance, and public transport is available. Commuting and transport are reduced while mitigating the influence of high prices or shortages of fossil fuels. In addition, the people’ attitude changes and environmental consciousness also plays an important role in the construction of this ecological life model. Existing life habits can be transformed into environmental conservation and natural symbiosis, gradually strengthening the green life idea and constituting an integrated ecological city from point to full scale (Team Oregon LLC 2009).

3.4.1 Develop Lifestyle Settlements

Fifteen-minute walking neighborhoods are constructed, and ecological blocks are promoted.

This model aims to reduce transport, foster an environment of carbon neutralization and zero waste, and satisfy people’s basic needs within a 15-min walking distance (Figs. 2.5 and 2.6). Walking can fulfill people’s basic needs when fossil fuels are expensive or when there are energy shortages. Investigation and analysis are done to identify areas, which are remedied by policies and incentives. For some sites, ecological blocks are applied as comprehensive plans for energy conservation in buildings and facilities, water resources, and to further set standards and demonstrate viability cities are gradually transformed into symbiotic environments of life, production, and ecology through comprehensive review and adjustment of individual sites. (1) Construct a life model of a settlement with a 15-min walking distance. (2) Construct the standard of a 15-min-walking-distance neighborhood. Incentives or feedback programs are encouraged to remedy deficiencies in basic living needs. (3) Energy conservation and renewable energy strengthen the design of energy conservation in the residential community and create sustainable renewable energy. (4) Ensure there is 100% recycling of waste in the community, and reduce the demand for domestic water by recycling systems for wastewater treatment and rainwater recovery systems. Recycling water is used for irrigation, and equipment with low water consumption is used. (5) Create a people-oriented transport environment with mass-transport-oriented development, connected with sidewalks and biking paths in series. (6) Ensure that 40–60% of the residential space is green land, and encourage green roofs, green facades, and growth of vegetation in open spaces (Origin Ltd., Team Orgon 2009).

Fig. 2.5

Concept for a 15-min walking neighborhood for a settlement community

Fig. 2.6

Green block neighborhood

3.4.2 Promote Environmentally Friendly Education

Incorporate ecological courses into campus education and education in residential communities.

With the goal of environmentally friendly promotion, educational proposals are deployed for both schools and communities to change people’s original living styles and attitudes to pay attention to environmental issues and practice the concept of protecting the earth, forming a bottom-up national movement (Figs. 2.5 and 2.6).

3.5 Green Energy

The global greenhouse effect is mainly caused by the significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which stems from city activities and industrial production. From the perspective of city development, the greenhouse effect can be mitigated through energy saving, pollution reduction, etc., with obvious benefits.

It has been pointed out that office buildings consume the most energy in cities. Possible ways to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases include the promotion of green buildings, designs for regional energy production, and use of renewable energy. The most effective way starts with a reduction of unnecessary energy consumption in daily life. The energy conservation measures discussed in this research are relevant to the public and are easily implemented to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (Broek et al. 2002).

3.5.1 Conserve Energy

High-efficiency lighting fixtures are applied. Electrical appliances with energy-saving badges are chosen. Indoor air circulation is promoted by opening windows or using fans. Switches are turned off when not in use. Walking, biking, and public transport are encouraged. A few efforts (Chase et al. 2001; Heath et al. 2003; Pinheiro et al. 2001) have been made to conserve energy in server clusters by tackling the high base power of traditional servers, i.e., the power consumption when the server is on but idle. Other efforts (Bohrer et al. 2002; Elnozahy et al. 2002, 2003) have tackled energy consumed by servers’ microprocessors. Finally, the energy consumption of disk array-based servers has received some attention as well (Zhu et al. 2004).

3.5.2 Set Up Regional Energy

A demonstration area for a regional energy system is developed. Central energy supplies the energy for buildings and equipment, including steam, hot water, cold water, electricity, etc. Supporting incentives and investment benefits are created. Regional energy-supplying systems are promoted.

3.5.3 Use Renewable Energy Effectively

Power generation systems using solar power are set up in parks, green land, squares, and new and old buildings. Waste is planned to be converted into energy using direct combustion, physical conversion, heat transfer, biotransformation, chemical conversion, etc. The benefits of existing renewable energy are refined, including improvements in incineration plants, generation of biogas, and power generation using reservoirs. Industrial parks for renewable energy are planned, including solar/silicon industry, biomass energy, and geothermal research centers. Renewable energy is considered the key strategy for economic development. Environmentally friendly power generation systems are encouraged, with incentives for renewable energy, facilitating growth of the renewable energy industry.

There is a current prototype for a green energy greenhouse system, which can be installed in suspension outside a window in order to automatically supply electric power for its internal operations by means of a solar power generation device configured therein, such that a plant-based ecological environmental system, similar to a greenhouse, can be maintained within a window box (Hung and Peng 2016).

3.5.4 Facilitate Green Transport and Fuel

Promote the use of mass transit vehicles, reduce energy consumption and pollution by transport, and introduce new transport modalities with low energy consumption and low pollution.

3.6 Green Information and Communications Technology

Digital applications are enlarged. Based on the axis of an intelligent city and a ubiquitous integrated service, functions are performed through electronic government, network communities, and digital life. Wireless and fiber broadband networks are constructed to provide services including travel cards, an intelligent transport system (ITS), a single municipal web-based portal, location-based services (LBS), and health care for citizens, etc. The one most closely related to the ecological city is ITS, which aims to improve the convenience of mass transport. Intelligent information technology is also applied to prevent disasters and reduce commuter traffic flows during traffic peaks.

The application of intelligent technology in disaster prevention includes geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), remote sensing (RS), management information system (MIS), etc. Electronic commuting allows more flexible selection geographically for individuals or enterprises. Real-time communication and video conferencing contribute to reducing traffic (energy conservation) and travel times within cities, further mitigating air pollution. ITS has improved the use of mass transport systems and decreased the oil consumption involved in searching for parking. Development of digital technology can be applied to assist in achieving a green city (Shim et al. 2009).

3.6.1 Accelerate Construction of Wireless and Fiber-Optic Cable Networks

(1) Pursue continuous construction of a 5G city wireless broadband network. (2) Finish cable laying off main roads for supply of fiber-optic cabling to homes.

3.6.2 Apply Intelligent Technology in Disaster Prevention and Relief

(1) To continue database construction and management of disaster prevention and relief: construction and updating are continued for the disaster database, disaster mode database, real-time data monitoring, data on disaster prevention and relief resources, data on areas with fire rescue difficulties, and the database on disaster relief energy. (2) To continue the construction of a real-time monitoring system: a monitoring system for potential landslides and dangerous stream flooding is constructed, and flood monitoring and warning facilities and installations are set up in suitable locations in easily flooded and low-lying areas. (3) Personnel training for application of procedures and technology for disaster prevention and relief: for effective application of database information, the personnel should be trained in the “four S’s”: GIS, GPS, RS, and MIS.

3.6.3 Facilitate Electronic Commuting

Companies with electronic commuting are used as a demonstration. Consulting is provided for companies contemplating introduction of electronic commuting.

3.6.4 Develop an Intelligent Transport System

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are state-of-the-art approaches based on information, communication, and satellite technologies in mitigating traffic congestion, enhancing safety, and improving the quality of the environment (Shah and Lee 2007; Ambak et al. 2009). The term “ITS” refers to integrated applications employing combinations of information, communications, computing, and sensor and control technologies, which aim to improve transport safety and mobility and reduce vehicle emissions. Many technologies have been developed to enhance vehicle safety by preventing crashes, reducing trauma during crashes, or reducing trauma following crashes. ITS have significant potential to enhance traffic safety (Ambak et al. 2009). Some of the main requirements are as follows: (1) build the equipment needed for a dynamic system of buses and intelligent stop signs; (2) integrate transfer, payment, and dynamic information systems for buses; (3) establish guidance systems for parking information; and (4) establish a system of mass transport and transport information inquiry by a person.

4 Conclusions and Suggestions

The green city is a concept that calls for joint effort and action.

In a city, people tend to have rather simple demands regarding their living environment and often ignore environmental issues that have not recently had a serious influence on their living environment. However, as greenhouse effects and heat island effects become more prominent, the close relationships between ecology, the living environment, and life are gradually better understood. The issue of creating a green city requires mostly recognition and action, but also entails apprehension and needs to be valued and subsequently maintained.

Environmental quality and consciousness could be improved by green volunteers if citizens attach importance to and care about the living environment. Environmental consciousness calls for substantial changes to promotion and publicity. The existing environmental ecology can be greatly benefited by small changes in the living environment, which should be demonstrated to the public. The optimal way to promote environmental consciousness is to let people be accustomed to, deploy and see the green landscape of the environment.