But I did like the part of the Wired article, where Gutierrez discusses the development of his concept: wanting to make use of the waterfront, and to make the new towns water-centred, he thought first about Venice -- not unnaturally -- , and then had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of very old Chinese towns with canals.  Therefore his vision of Dongtan turned out that it should not look Western, it should not look futuristic, but it should be a reinterpretation of that old native tradition of canal-towns.

There is a recent Chinese movie, whose name I forget (I think it was about a child who was a musical prodigy), which takes place in part in one of those towns.  It was indeed reminiscent of Venice, and so of course was very charming.

I did not notice any mention of Arup's taking thought for a rising sea level.  Perhaps it was there, but I overlooked it.  There was a mention of some sort of clever defense against extreme storm surges, but that is not quite the same thing.  And they seem to be predicting that the island will actually grow, as it continues to collect silt.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

The best quality renderings I've been able to find are in this New City Skyline article. The renderings focus on expansive water views and recreational walkways. There's little evidence of the pedestrian oriented frontages or human scale storefronts that experience shows are necessary to create truly walkable urban spaces.

In terms of design, the renderings are remarkably similar to Reston, VA and other "New Towns" of the 1960s, with the addition of windmills. But windmills packed that closely together will interfere with each other, so that's not going to happen the way Arup is picturing it.

It's also interesting how their study of density led them to conclude that compact, 4-8 story development, equivalent to downtown Stockholm, was the best environmental solution. I've read similar studies and made some of my own that find historic urban patterns outperform the "tower in the park" model or the "edge city" model in most cases.

Ped Shed Blog

Until the world's economic markets start judging China based on its stance towards the environment (and its citizens), then we are in real trouble.

Andrew Eisenberg
The gateway project is wrong---http://www.livableregion.ca

In fact one of the most interesting aspects of the Wired article comes early on, the discussion that the local developers who hired Arup, the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation, and who now seem to be giving wholehearted support to Gutierrez's project, may at any time easily and unpredictably change their minds about how they want to spend their money, with the result that Dongtan may end up amounting to no more than an "eco-Potemkin village."

Nevertheless, I cannot help feeling that there are many Chinese -- perhaps not the ones in positions of power and influence, unfortunately -- who do sincerely care about environmental issues, and are disturbed by the destruction that their country has inflicted upon itself in the name of economic progress.  Just with respect to wildlife conservation, there evidently are Chinese who are concerned about the fate of the black-faced spoonbill, the panda, the tiger and other wildlife.  Probably there are more than a few who were saddened and chagrined by the loss of the Baiji last year.

There is a measure of hope, at least, in the possibility that the government will recognize that their foreign policy goal of projecting an image of cutting-edge modernity and enlightened progress more and more requires them to give environmental concerns very high priority.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.