Interview with Peking University Professor Yu Kongjian: Improving urban resilience to respond to climate challenges through nature-based approaches
As the most important gathering place for production and living behaviors, cities have gradually become a consensus to take the lead in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Among them, how to improve urban resilience and reduce the negative impact of natural and social disasters has become one of the important contents. Recently, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reforms and Promoting Chinese-style Modernization"(hereinafter referred to as the "Decision") mentioned the need to establish a sustainable urban renewal model, policies and regulations, strengthen the construction of underground comprehensive pipe corridors and the renovation and upgrading of old pipelines, and deepen actions to improve urban safety and resilience.
At present, how to rebuild the spatial pattern of the city that adapts to nature? How should nature-based urban ecological resilience be reflected? What impact does improved urban resilience have on cities 'response to climate change? In this regard, our reporter interviewed Yu Kongjian, a professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Design at Peking University.
Photo of Professor Yu Kongjian
Yu Kongjian, Ph. D. at Harvard University, Dean of the School of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University, and Academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, returned to China in 1997. He has been committed to the research of land ecological security and urban and rural planning and design, and has systematically proposed a sponge city construction based on Chinese traditional ecological wisdom. The concept and method have been practiced in more than 250 cities and promoted around the world. The results have won the National Design Award, the Oberland Award and the World Landscape Architecture Lifetime Achievement Award-the Sir Jericho Award. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Rome, Italy, and the University of Biological Sciences, Norway, and is a distinguished professor of Yangtze River Scholars in the Ministry of Education.
China Environment News: Previously, the "Decision" mentioned the need to deepen actions to improve urban safety and resilience. One of the four major tasks deployed in the "Five-Year Action Plan for In-depth Implementation of the People-oriented New Urbanization Strategy" issued by the State Council is urban renewal and safety and resilience improvement actions. In this regard, what do you think is the significance of the current emphasis on "urban resilience"?
Yu Kongjian:With the rapid advancement of urbanization, cities face increasingly complex and changeable challenges, including extreme weather events caused by climate change, frequent natural disasters, resource shortages and social risks caused by dense population. In this context, improving urban resilience has become the key to addressing these challenges.
First, emphasizing "urban resilience" means that we must make cities more resilient and resilient, especially in the face of natural disasters and climate change. By optimizing urban infrastructure, especially natural-based ecological infrastructure, and enhancing the city's disaster prevention and resilience capabilities, we can significantly reduce the impact of extreme events on urban functions and residents 'lives. By building a more resilient urban system, we can more easily respond to climate change-triggered events such as floods and heat islands, and ensure that cities can quickly resume functioning after disasters.
Secondly, the improvement of urban resilience is inseparable from urban renewal. In the process of urban renewal, we should fully introduce green infrastructure and optimize the city's spatial layout and functional configuration to enhance the city's ecological resilience and social resilience. For example, through the construction of ecological infrastructure such as sponge cities, urban waterlogging can be effectively alleviated, urban microclimate can be improved, and water resource utilization efficiency can be improved, thereby promoting sustainable development of cities.
More importantly, emphasizing "urban resilience" reflects our people-oriented development philosophy. The improvement of urban resilience is essentially to ensure the safety of life and improve the quality of life of every resident. In the advancement of new urbanization, ensuring that cities can effectively respond to various risks is the core of realizing people-oriented urbanization and realizing people's yearning for a better life.
China Environment News: Among "Urban Resilience", what are the characteristics of nature-based ecological resilience? What are the advantages and irreplaceability of the utilization of natural ecology compared with traditional engineering facilities?
Yu Kongjian:The natural-based ecological resilience in "Urban Resilience" is unique systematic and comprehensive, which gives it irreplaceable advantages in responding to climate change and improving urban resilience. By integrating multiple functions of the ecosystem, nature-based solutions not only provide comprehensive ecosystem services that are difficult to achieve with a single engineering approach, but also provide long-term guarantees for sustainable response to environmental changes and social needs.
The biggest feature of natural ecosystems lies in their systematicness and comprehensiveness. Compared with traditional "gray" infrastructure, natural ecosystems can provide multiple ecological services at the same time, with dual functions of mitigation and adaptation. They can not only cope with extreme weather caused by climate change in the short term, but also improve the city in the long term. Overall environmental quality. For example, wetlands, forests and green spaces in cities can not only alleviate floods, droughts and heat island effects, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sinks and increase urban biodiversity. By increasing the city's green spaces and water bodies, the sponge city concept can not only absorb and store rainwater, alleviate waterlogging problems, but also release water during drought, purify water quality, nourish habitats, help cities adapt to climate change, and reduce urban maintenance expenses.
Using the power of ecology, we can achieve a more ecologically livable, efficient, charming, and sustainable urban development model. Therefore, in the process of improving urban resilience, nature-based ecological resilience is not only necessary, but also the only way to achieve long-term sustainable development.
China Environment News: Nowadays, in the fight against climate change, many cities have issued urban adaptation action plans, and many cities have also begun relevant urban transformation actions. In your opinion, how should urban construction adapt to climate change? In this process, what key aspects need to be paid attention to?
Yu Kongjian:In order to effectively respond to climate change and achieve truly sustainable development in urban construction, we must go hand in the three aspects of "mitigation","adaptation" and "social change".
Among them,"mitigation" is the fundamental measure to control climate change and the first step in responding to climate change. At present, many cities have taken measures in terms of energy structure adjustment, building energy-saving renovation, and transportation system optimization. However, mitigation measures alone are not enough to fully address the challenges posed by climate change.
"Adaptation" means enhancing cities 'ability to cope with climate change and ensuring that cities can quickly resume normal operations in the face of climate disasters. For example, the construction of sponge cities is one of the means for cities to adapt to climate change. At the same time, I also believe that the concept of sponge city should not be limited to urban green spaces and small areas, but should be extended to the level of "sponge land" and "sponge basin", and even the sponge earth.
Under the framework of "Sponge Land", the natural environment and land use of the entire country need to be considered in a coordinated manner. Through systematic planning and management, ecological, efficient regulation, storage and utilization of water resources can be achieved, the threat of floods and floods can be reduced, and the improvement Ecological environment. The "Sponge Basin" requires the entire basin to be regarded as a whole and enhance the overall resilience of the basin by coordinating water resource management and ecological protection in upstream and downstream areas based on nature. Through practice on a larger scale, we can more effectively respond to climate change and improve the country's overall ecological security and sustainable development capabilities.
In addition, I think climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also a profound social issue. Therefore, it is indispensable to fundamentally transform production and lifestyle, that is,"social change" with green lifestyles as the core. It includes changes in education, culture, policy and other aspects, and is a long-term strategy to deal with climate change. I think the core of social change lies in its ability to guide people to fundamentally change their relationship with nature and make the relationship between man and nature more harmonious.
China Environment News: You just mentioned sponge cities. We also know that you have been deeply involved in the planning and engineering practice of "sponge cities" and sponge land over the past 30 years. In your opinion, what experiences has the construction of "sponge cities" brought to improve the city's ecological resilience? Given the current frequent occurrence of various extreme weather events around the world, what changes has the construction of "sponge cities" brought to urban development and people's lives?
Yu Kongjian:The construction of "Sponge City" provides important experience for improving urban ecological resilience. Its core lies in systematically solving the problems brought about by urbanization through the strategy of "decentralizing infiltration at the source, slowing down energy dissipation at the process, flexibly adapting at the end, and supplying water with space". A series of problems such as water shortage, floods, non-point source pollution, urban heat island and urban public space. This strategy enables cities to more effectively adapt to and mitigate the impact of water disasters when faced with the challenges of extreme weather and climate change by restoring and strengthening the natural hydrological cycle.
Against the background of frequent extreme weather around the world, sponge cities have greatly enhanced the city's flood control capacity through nature-based rainwater management methods and made up for the limitations of traditional "gray" infrastructure. At the same time, the construction of sponge cities has also Through comprehensive improvement of ecosystem services, it has significantly improved the urban microclimate, effectively reduced the urban heat island effect, reduced water, soil and pollution levels, provided more rest space, and made the city more livable. Comprehensively improve the ecological, social and economic benefits of the city.
Photo caption: Meishe River in Haikou City, Hainan Province transforms gray infrastructure into resilient green infrastructure through ecological design. (Photo provided by interviewees)
China Environment News: In your opinion, what new opportunities have been brought about by the advancement of urban resilience and climate change adaptation? What suggestions do you have for future construction work?
Yu Kongjian:In my opinion, the opportunities in improving urban resilience and adapting to climate change are not only reflected in technological innovation and industrial development, but also in changes in social governance models.
First of all, technological innovation is an important opportunity. With the deepening of understanding of climate change, more and more green technologies and solutions have emerged, such as the widespread application of renewable energy, the promotion of smart city technology, and the innovation of nature-based solutions. The application of these technologies can not only effectively reduce carbon emissions and improve the urban environmental quality, but also inject new impetus into economic development and create a large number of green job opportunities.
Secondly, the construction work to adapt to climate change has also promoted the innovation of social governance models. The construction of resilient cities requires close cooperation among governments, enterprises, communities and citizens. This multi-participatory governance model will help enhance the city's overall adaptability and enable it to better cope with future challenges. At the same time, extensive public participation and awareness raising will also promote the popularization of more sustainable lifestyles and form a more resilient and adaptable society.
For the construction of cities in the future, I believe that we must first continue to deepen nature-based solutions. These solutions not only provide long-term ecological and economic benefits, but also enhance the resilience of cities in the face of uncertainty.
Secondly, we must strengthen the foresight and flexibility of planning and design. We need to reserve enough space and flexibility in urban planning and design to cope with various climate change scenarios that may arise in the future.
Third, we must focus on social and cultural changes. In the process of improving urban resilience, changes in public awareness and lifestyle are crucial, including values and aesthetics, travel methods, and daily food, clothing, housing and transportation.XiHabit. Through education and publicity, more people can understand the impact of climate change and response measures, and actively participate in relevant construction work, which will lay a solid social foundation for the construction of resilient cities and cities to adapt to climate change.
